Diving in Mošćenička Draga

If you want to dive in a beautiful house reef with a big variety of species, the diving base "I LOVE DIVE" is the right place for you. The reef offers great dives not only for advanced divers but also for beginners and is therefore suited for all levels of training. Philip and I went to Mošćenička Draga over a long weekend with the diving club BlueSunlight - where we also did our IDEA-certified training - to dive in the beautiful Adriatic Sea. By the way, I highly recommend the training by BlueSunlight in Eggersdorf to anyone who wants to start diving. You learn the most important things to dive well and safely. As a member of the dive club itself, you have the advantage that you can borrow equipment for free and pay less for training courses. We also took advantage of this offer on this trip.

In Mošćenička Draga in Croatia, you find the small diving base "I LOVE DIVE", run very personally by Emir. It is located at Antuna Rosovica 28 and belongs to the Jadran Pansion.

Tel.: +385 98 329 329
E-mail: info@ilovedive.com

Addr.: I LOVE DIVE
Antuna Rosovica 28
51417 Moscenicka Draga
Croatia

When it's not busy, you can park on the access road on the platform right by the diving base to unload your stuff. There is plenty of space to change and hang up your gear. You can also leave your diving gear locked up there overnight so you don't have to take the wet equipment into your car or apartment and unload it back at the diving base the next day. Rental equipment is also available.

The diving base has three high-pressure compressors to refill the steel tanks for the dives. After each dive, you only need to put the tanks on the right side in the space provided for them to get refilled by the team. On the left side, you will find the filled tanks.

When we were at the base, the tanks were in good condition and all filled to a little over 200 bar. We were very satisfied.

There are tables on which you can place the steel tanks and secure them with a strap so they do not fall over. The elevation of these tables makes it easier to slip into the jacket and put on the equipment. From the big terrace of the base, you reach the water via stairs in the rocks. Some of the steps have beautiful stone patterns. At the bottom of the rocks is a small platform where you can put on your fins and step or jump into the seawater. Then it's time to dive under.

Two-banded sea bream (Diplodus vulgaris)

The house reef provides a variety of species and fantastic rock formations and offers some wonderful diving experiences. You can expect beautiful rock formations, small caves and holes, gorgonians (also called sea fans), yellow cave-sponges, schools of fish, zebra seabreams, tiny colourful snails, octopuses and much more.

Painted comber (Serranus scriba); Yellow cave-sponge (Aplysina cavernicola)

Rock goby (Gobius paganellus)

Painted comber (Serranus scriba)

Amongst all the fascinating impressions, don't forget to look at your dive buddy and ask if everything is ok. For me, the best dive buddy is Philip. I can rely on him and, thanks to his interest in film and photography, I can sometimes be found in front of the camera too. Moreover, he doesn't put any pressure on me. Instead, we tackle challenges together so we have the best dives together.

Philip

The house reef is really worth seeing. Even after several dives, you still don't have enough of it. It is suitable for all levels of diving, whether beginner or advanced.

Damselfish (Chromis chromis)

If you start the dive to the left, you can dive nicely along the house reef. On the right side, a little further on, there is an old wall that belongs to a disused drainage pipe which guides your way back to the orange ladder. You use the orange T-ladder to get out of the water. It is suitable for fins, so you don't have to take off your fins to get to shore.

As clean as the dive site is, you might find rubbish from people. If you come across some trash on your dive, as long as you are not putting yourself in a risky situation, I would strongly advise you to take it out of the water with you. The diving base has rubbish bins, so you can dispose of the trash and make a small contribution to the health of the reef. Even if you find beautiful shells, corals, stones, creatures, etc., do not take them with you because that would be an intervention in the ecosystem. So you don't take anything out of the water unless it clearly doesn't belong there.

Once you have done your dive, take care of your equipment. You can rinse your diving equipment with fresh water via a hose and put it into tubs available at the base. After diving, you can sit comfortably at tables and benches with the other divers and exchange experiences, thoughts and tips with each other.

Sarah & Philip

Should there ever be a problem, Emir, the head of the diving base, knows what to do and obligingly offers his help and knowledge. You feel comfortable and in good hands, surrounded by the nicest people.

A short holiday for diving in Mošćenička Draga pays off. If you want to know more about the area or find a great accommodation, read my blog post about Mošćenička Draga here.

We enjoyed diving at "I LOVE DIVE" a lot and would love to come there again to experience more beautiful dives along the house reef.

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. - Jacques Cousteau

♡