Scuba diving at Cerboli

Precisely because of where it sits, going scuba diving here is more suited to divers of a certain level: in actual fact, the tiny island of Cerboli is in the channel of Piombino approximately 4 miles from the Island of Elba.

Drop your anchor in a cove at a depth of approximately 13 m along the southern coast of this tiny island and start swimming down the ridge that gradually reaches a depth of 45 m.

At the far end, at a depth of approximately 15/16 m, you will see a tunnel that has an entrance or exit just a little further down. The circular perimeter is almost vertical at the beginning and the walls are completely covered in parazoanthus and multicoloured sponges.

Go down the siphon slowly and you will see that the base consists of both shingle and sand. At one point you will also notice that light filters, so this obviously means there is another entrance somewhere nearby.

At a certain point the tunnel starts to go upwards towards the surface of the water. Once you are out you will notice that the wall is surrounded by beautiful, deep blue water, and in the cracks you will see octopus, red fish, moray eels and the odd cray fish, as well as beautiful yellow and red sea fans.

As you head back upwards make a point of looking out towards the open sea and you will see snappers and also some pelagic fish.

Photographs kindly lent by Riccardo Buralli - Diving in Elba