Dive Review of Argonauta in
General Travel/Other Locations/Sardinia - Cala Gonone

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Argonauta: "Awesome cavern diving", Jul, 2023, by SHARA NEIDELL, PA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 12485.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Please do not be misled by the star ratings regarding marine life - this is truly cavern diving. Did two incredible dives. 1) Utopia - deep dive (31.8 meters); you literally do 3 bumps to get down and then head right into the cavern. Follow the line and you're in an incredibly large opening. At the end of the line head back out. Truly amazing to descend to this depth and travel through such a large opening. 2) Bel Torrente - shallower dive (5.8 meters); this one you go down, get into the cavern and surface swim for a while admiring the stalactites and stalagmites. And then swim back underwater on the way out. The views inside are unlike anything I've seen before - the huge space and the vast number, size and shape of the stalactites and stalagmites is breathtaking! So, let me set the stage for this. I was on an extended trip to Spain and Italy with my non-diving spouse. We eventually made it to Sardinia and then to Cala Gonone. The thing to see here is the incredible coast - cliffs that literally drop right down into the water, with numerous caverns and rocky beaches along the shore. We spent a day exploring in a zodiac and hitting some of the beaches but I really wanted to see what was down under. And then I found Argonauta dive shop (there are a couple of others in town but no one was doing a cavern diving trip). Met the staff, including Lorenzo, and arranged to dive on a Sunday morning. Showed up on Saturday afternoon to do paperwork and get all the rental gear (remember: we were here on an extended non-diving trip). Rental gear was in really good condition - they dive 5 mil suits with hoods. Met the boat on Sunday morning at the dock where we loaded up and headed out. It was just me diving with Lorenzo! He had agreed to take me out and show me the wonders of the underwater caverns (and had rearranged his schedule to do so). Another staff member, Lucy, stayed on the boat. We headed out early, before all the zodiacs with an incredible shoreline in view. Lorenzo was extremely safety conscious and spent a good portion of the ride out going over logistics - including that anyone can call the dive at any moment. It was so encouraging, given that we were going exploring in the caverns. I'm not cavern certified but have been diving the caverns in Mexico before - and Lorenzo made sure that I was comfortable and understood everything. (Before he even agreed to take me, we talked certifications and experience/ number of dives - this is not for new divers!). We were a bit more relaxed for the second dive - knowing each other a bit better and it was shallower with a substantial air pocket in the middle. Sardinia would never have been at the top of my list for a dive destination - but those caverns were incredible. And I was extremely impressed with Lorenzo - who is friendly and professional at the same time. The dive map shows a number of other sites, including a couple of wrecks (for those interested). And I'm told that on some of the other sites, they see rays and other fish. I chose to explore the caverns - and I'm so happy I did. If you're in the area - and are interested, I highly recommend checking out Argonauta. BTW - not sure of the water temp and visibility varied; lots of thermoclines in the second cavern
Websites	Argonauta
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Mostly Caribbean, some Asia
Closest Airport	Olbia	Getting There	Fly into one of the 3 airports on Sardinia or ferry across from Italy; rent a car
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	-°F / -°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Lorenzo is very safety conscious; rule of thirds for air consumption and obey all NDL
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	I don't dive with a camera

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Dive Review of Argonauta in General Travel/Other Locations/Sardinia - Cala Gonone

Argonauta: "Awesome cavern diving", Jul, 2023,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Argonauta in
General Travel/Other Locations/Sardinia - Cala Gonone