Cineque Terre (Levanto), Italy - Where to Freedive?

[josh1]

Friends,

I am from the US staying in Levanto through Sept 17th. Could anyone here offer tips or best places to go for freediving? Off-shore or by boat. Would like to spearfish but no gun.

I'd like to hunt octopus but no experience. I understand lobster are not legal to collect.

Happy to hire a boat or pay a local to show me the ropes for a half-day.

Grazie!

 

[Binfins]

Hi josh,
You should go to punta mesco, better by boat.
I reccomend you also to visit all the 5 villages, especialli manarola and vernazza. And if you are not only diver, also it's very pretty to have trekking routes to go to one village to another.
Visit this pgae, find there good info: http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/area-marina-protetta-cinque-terre.asp?id_lingue=1

Friends,

I am from the US staying in Levanto through Sept 17th. Could anyone here offer tips or best places to go for freediving? Off-shore or by boat. Would like to spearfish but no gun.

I'd like to hunt octopus but no experience. I understand lobster are not legal to collect.

Happy to hire a boat or pay a local to show me the ropes for a half-day.

Grazie!

 

[dimitris33]

I've been there last year on my honeymoon and stayed at Vernazza. You should visit all five villages and take a boat to PortoVenerre. Forget about freediving and walk the trekking paths and the via del amore.

Spend a day if you are strong enough to visit Portofino.

Dont take a car. Use train.

This place is perfect!!! And great food and wine!

Have fun!

 

[kjflyfish]

Dimitris, I'm also considering visiting Cinque Terre. Are you saying that the freediving/spearfishing is no good there?

 

[dimitris33]

I think spearfishing is not allowed there as it is a protected area from Unesco and it is a National park but I am not sure about this, you better check with local Naval policia. I snorkeled for a while and waters were rough and deep with a lot of fishes around!

I think its a nice place for deep free diving on the rope if you have a buddy but be aware of the many small boats travelling around between the villages, use a nice big float if you want to live!

My advice is to stay in Vernazza as it is the most beautifull of all 5 places.

I loved this place...

 

[kjflyfish]

Thanks Dimitris. Can anyone confirm the no-spearfishing rule??

 

[dimitris33]

Here is a little map if you can read Italian..

 

[kjflyfish]

So is the red hatched zone (which dominates the entire map) the no-take area?

 

[dimitris33]

I think so but not sure...

 

[Jon]

Anyone have a current water temp and vis report for the Cinque Terre??

Jon

 

[spaghetti]

Local weather report online for Cinque Terre here:
Previsioni Meteo Riomaggiore - Weather Riomaggiore | IL METEO.IT

Probable train strike on the 21st of the month.

Jon, when will you be in Venice? I'd like to catch up with you if it's not a super-busy day.

 

[Jon]

We just canceled the Venice portion of our trip and switched over to Siena and Lucca. We weren't crazy about the extra long train rides and it will give us a reason to go back in another 10 years.

What's going on in Rome today?

Jon

 

[spaghetti]

We just canceled the Venice portion of our trip and switched over to Siena and Lucca. We weren't crazy about the extra long train rides and it will give us a reason to go back in another 10 years.

What's going on in Rome today?

Jon

Well, Jon, Venice was a must-see but I agree that a very long trip would be more of stress than enjoyment. Keep it short was a good idea.
You'll have to come back again some day, though, and you and I will go to Venice romantically together, okay?

In Rome today, the usual crap. A protest meeting of unions and students (supposed to be non violent) has been infiltrated by the so called "black block", who set the city on fire.
Some say the BB are really an anarco-insurrectionalist organization, some say they're just a bunch of pshychotic brats who need to express a rebellious identity, some say they are neo-fascist trolls of the establishment.
Fact is you just try to organize a non-violent protest meet up, and the BB pop up from nowhere to destroy everything....:vangry

Hopefully, Rome will be back to normal for tomorrow.

 

[spaghetti]

PS. Maybe it's too late for Kolt,
spearfishing is okay at Levanto, while it's strictly prohibited in the proper Cinque Terre (the "five lands": Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Rio Maggiore) that's a Marine protected area.
Enforcement is serious: don't play with spearguns there, just go to Levanto, or Lerici, where you can hunt legally.

You may contact Gabriele Del Bene (spearfishing national champ, twice vice-world champion with the italian national team, Apnea Academy instructor) for guided spearo-trips in the area. Gabriele Delbene | Facebook

 

[Jon]

I'm packing super light for this trip (not a diving trip, but a 10th anniversary trip for my wife an me) and was wondering if it's worth it to bring along a mask and snorkel this time of year?

I have no room for wetsuits or fins and no plans to spearfish. I was just hoping to jump in along the hiking trails to go for a peek. Since my plan is to pack VERY light I was wondering if I should just leave those things at home as well. Is there an place to rent along there??

I guess it's just my luck that the first trip my wife and I take together in 10 years is being greeted by wide spread protests. :blackeye

Jon

 

[spaghetti]

I'm packing super light for this trip (not a diving trip, but a 10th anniversary trip for my wife an me) and was wondering if it's worth it to bring along a mask and snorkel this time of year?

I have no room for wetsuits or fins and no plans to spearfish. I was just hoping to jump in along the hiking trails to go for a peek. Since my plan is to pack VERY light I was wondering if I should just leave those things at home as well. Is there an place to rent along there??

I guess it's just my luck that the first trip my wife and I take together in 10 years is being greeted by wide spread protests. :blackeye

Jon

It much depends on the weather to determine how clear the visibility, how much fish can be seen inshore, et cetera. But basically it's one orf the nicest sea bottoms of the upper Med. Would be a pity to be there and not give a brief look underwater....

You can find it one way or the other as shown below (and the swells are as beautiful to watch as a clear day): :inlove

 

[spaghetti]

Unfortunately, the weather has been destructive this days in the area.
The Cinque Terre are devastated, there are many persons missing and a few fatalities. Reports say it's like a tsunami the other way round: it's flooding from land towards the sea.

Hope Jon and his missus escaped it. Fingers crossed.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GgnXMpMZw8]Alluvione nella splendida Monterosso - YouTube[/ame]

 

[dimitris33]

Sad to hear that and see these images...This place is very beautifull...

 

[Jon]

Re: Cinque Terre (Levanto), Italy - Where to Freedive?

HOLY CRAP! I was there that day!!!!!

We left Vernazza on the 8:19 am train so that we could catch the 10 AM train from La Spezia to Rome. It was raining when we left, and continued to rain almost all the way to Rome, but I had no idea it was going to be that bad!

We were in Monterosso the night before and hid out in a coffee shop to escape the rain. Funny thing was the first day was super sunny and I had plenty of chance to get in the water.

I guess we lucked out on a number of days. The protest and riot was the day before we got to Rome, the train striked happened to be on the day that we took a bus trip to Siena, and the flood happened hours after we left the Cinque Terre! I must be just about the luckiest ******* around!rofl

I'll post more photos later on, but I just got home late last night and I won't get a chance to look at them until later.

Here's a couple of photos that I do have:
Harbor view of Vernazza
Street view of Monterosso
Inside the coffee shop in Monterosso

Jon

 

[spaghetti]

wew, at least all is well with you my friend!

The flood has been really horrific, nothing like that has ever happened in that area through decades....

I'm happy you're ok and enjoyed the trip. Next time come in summer and pick me up (and bring on your spearguns).