Testa del Leone - Portofino & Liguria
Testa del Leone, off the Portofino coast, offers a solid Mediterranean dive without being overly dramatic. The wall drops down, giving you plenty of vertical space to explore, and it’s where we’ve often found good concentrations of red coral, particularly in the deeper sections, alongside those striking pink sea fans. Keep an eye out for ornate wrasse darting through the poor cod, and if you’re lucky, a killer alga patch, though we prefer to focus on the healthier areas. It’s a good spot for a relaxed drift, suitable for divers comfortable with a bit of depth and keen to photograph those iconic Mediterranean species.
- Location
- Portofino & Liguria, Italy, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 44.308230, 9.183700
Marine Protected Area: Area naturale marina protetta Portofino
Nearby Dive Sites in Portofino & Liguria
- Abyss Diving Center (wreck)
- Accademia Blu Diving Center
- Airplane Wreck WWII (wreck)
- ALFREDO CAPPELLINI - 7m (wreck)
- Ancorone
- Andrea Ghisotti (ex Scoglio del Raviolo)
- Argentarola Caves - 10-30m (cave)
- ARMATAN III - 22m (wreck)
- ASD POSIDONIA
- Baia di Castiglioncello - 10m
- Bettolina - 30m
- Biboz - 49m
- Bigo - 26m
- BOLZANETO - 55m (wreck)
- BR20
Nearest Dive Centres to Testa del Leone
- 2.0 Diving - ["PADI"]
- 7 Perle ASD - ["PADI"]
- A 2.0
- Abissi s.r.l.
- Accademia Blu Diving Center
- ACQUA ACADEMY ASD - SSI
Marine Life in Portofino & Liguria
Home to 73 recorded species including 37 reef fish, 9 sharks & rays, 8 whales & dolphins, 4 sea snails & nudibranchs, 3 hard corals, 3 crabs & lobsters.
Notable Species
- Blue-white Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - Whales & Dolphins
- Bushy Coral (Cladocora caespitosa) - Hard Corals
- Damsel fish (Chromis chromis) - Reef Fish
- Red coral (Corallium rubrum) - Soft Corals
- Sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti) - Hard Corals
- Corb (Sciaena umbra) - Reef Fish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Scarlet Coral (Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia) europaea) - Hard Corals
- Pink Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa) - Soft Corals
- Razorback (Balaenoptera physalus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Common Spiny Lobster (Palinurus elephas) - Crabs & Lobsters
- mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) - Jellyfish
- Wrasse (Coris julis) - Reef Fish
- Painted Comber (Serranus scriba) - Reef Fish
- Salema (Sarpa salpa) - Reef Fish
- Garrupa (Serranus cabrilla) - Reef Fish
- Moonfish (Mola mola) - Reef Fish
- Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) - Whales & Dolphins
- Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - Whales & Dolphins
- conger (Conger conger) - Reef Fish