Level: Free shore access This spot have a free shore access: you can go snorkeling there freely and without having to book a tour or pay an entrance fee.
This spot has been added by
3 spots added - 30 photos shared
Last updated on January 1, 2024
Cala Croce is a beautiful rocky inlet on the southern coast of Lampedusa. Two beaches, Cala Croce Beach and Spiaggia Portu Ntoni, are nestled in the cove, giving access to a very nice snorkeling area. Lots of fish, including wrasse, salema, combers, as well as bottom dwellers such as flounders and stingrays can be observed near the shore.
Cala Croce is a narrow rocky bay located on the southern coast of Lampedusa Island. You can access it through Cala Croce Beach or from Spiaggia Portu Ntoni (see map below). Both beaches have free access: you can sit on the beach for free or rent sunbeds and parasols for a fee.
You have two different options to enter the water: from Cala Croce Beach itself (snorkel entry 1 on the map above), or from Spiaggia Portu Ntoni (snorkel entry 2), a smaller beach also located in the bay.
It is recommended not to snorkel Cala Croce when there is Scirocco wind (rough seas). In the high season the beach can be crowded but the bay is still good for snorkeling.
Our preferred itinerary is to enter the water from Cala Croce and follow the east coast. However, you are free to snorkel almost everywhere in the bay (take a dive flag with you if you snorkel outside the swimming area).
As most Mediterranean snorkeling locations, Cala Croce features no coral, but rocky areas, extensive sandy beds and Posidonia meadows. Depth ranges from 3 to 6 feet/1 to 2 meters over the shallow sandy areas close to the beach to up to 26 feet/8 meters in the central part of the bay.
Cala Croce hosts a lot of fish and marine life. Among the most common fish species spotted at snorkeling depths are the peacock wrasse, the rainbow wrasse, thicklip grey mullets, as well as schools of salema. Painted combers, quite colorful, are also frequently encountered at the foot of the rocky drop-offs.
Lucky snorkelers might also come across small pelagic stingrays, which occasionally visit the sandy beds.
There is a bar, a restaurant and services (sunbeds and umbrella rental on the beach) on the beach.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
