ALAINS CLIFF - BEST OF THE BEST
- DEPTH: Diving depth on this cliff is from 20 to 40 m but the cliff goes down to maximum 96 m
- DIFFICULTY: Difficulty of this dive depends mostly on conditions and currents but is usually accessible for beginners as well for experienced divers
- VISIBILITY: From 30 to 50 m. crystal clean water
- CURRENTS: Sometimes especially during low season current are strong and can make problems for beginners.
- SPECIAL PERMITS: No special permits needed
- TYPE OF DIVE: Drop off
- RECOMMENDATION: One of the best Cliff dives you will ever find. Huge Gorgonia coral fans everywhere. One of though dives.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVE
Alain’s cliff is one of most famous cliff dives in Croatia and with the good reason.
Dive starts safely on plateau around 3 to 8 m depth. Slowly you work your way over to the edge of plateau where fun begins. Alains is a direct drop off from 8 m down to a 90 m and has a canyon in the middle. This is probably the closest feeling to flaying you will ever experience; the magic of this cliff is visibility. It is so crystal clear, that you can in fact see almost entire cliff in one glance, from surface to the bottom. It can take your breath a way. When you come on the depth between 20 and 40 m, depending on your experience and diving category, balance your buoyancy nicely. On one place cliff breaks and makes a vertical canyon full of caves and gorgonia coral fans. Usually on this place there is a school of different bigger fish. During entire length of the cliff there are clouds of small fish all around. After some swimming cliff brakes again and goes directly toward near by island V. Smokvica. This is the place where current is usually strongest. Once you pass the curve currant suddenly stops. Just by following the cliff, which gradually goes in to s small bay on the island all the way up to 5 m depth.
TIPS & TRICKS
Watch out for your depth, visibility is so good in some periods that it can trick you in going too deep. Take extra time to adjust your equipment still on the dive boat, so once you jump in to the sea you are ready to dive. If the currant is strong get as close to the cliff as possible and watch out for your breathing rate. This dive was rated No.1 in Adriatic by dive magazine journalists.
POSSIBLE TO SEE
On this dive best thing is ambient but you can still see scorpion fish, moray eels, octopuses, different corals, colorful algae, schools of fish, spiny lobster, forkbeards, red mullets, lots of cracks and holes to peak in to, on occasion bigger fish which patrol here regularly.
