Patrizia picked me up from my hotel in the van. She was warm and friendly and told me about the dives we’d be doing, local sea conditions, her life as a diver. In other words, my diving day started from the moment she arrived. Both dives were beautiful, just off Isola dei Cavoli. The first was Nave (The Boat, named after a rock formation). The second was one of the Canyon dives. Roberto pointed out many things and took time to take in the beauty. He sets a slow and calm pace. I’ve never seen such enormous schools of Barracuda (both dive sites) and I also spotted Fireworms on the sea floor on the 2nd dive. We also saw large Groupers, Parrot fish, different types of Wrasse, and... “a very fast fish”—I still haven’t figured out what scooted past me . The swim-through arch on the second dive was beautiful. Roberto brought me over to a rock to see delicate almost lace-like white creatures and also other Nudibranches in vibrant colours elsewhere. I never would have seen them without him. Roberto went far beyond expectations. After I had a problem upon descent with my mask and panicked, he looked after me for the entire dive. At the time, I thought I didn’t need that level of attention. In hindsight, I probably did. There were 6 of us, but he took control of the situation and still had his eye on everyone else. Despite diving for over 20 years, holding an Advanced Open Water certification, thinking I had developed good habits, I didn’t react how I thought I would. To be clear, there was nothing “wrong” with the mask. I initially thought it fit better than my own, but that wasn’t the case underwater. I was lucky to be with a man like Roberto. He took the time to calm me down and reassure me that I could in fact breathe and that I was entirely safe. After our dives, he rebuilt my confidence. He made me feel better about what happened. Hot tea and biscuits and crackers were served between dives, with great humour. Some beautiful fish (pictured) entertained us in a feeding frenzy when Roberto swept some crumbs over the side of the boat. We were also given water. When we returned to shore, we rinsed our own wetsuits, hoods, masks, boots and fins, but otherwise didn’t lift a finger. All equipment was loaded on the boat for us, and we didn’t have to unload either. (We had each been allocated a crate at the dive centre for anything we didn’t want to bring with us.) Patrizia changed the tanks over, which was efficient, but we still checked them, in line with safe diving practice. Reception staff were immensely helpful, especially when I accidentally left my computer on the back of a sink in the toilet building, not even in the SubAquaDive building. (Some might like to know that the Toilet facilities are part of the general Marina complex and are free, but the Marina Showers cost 2 euros.)They went and got my computer for me while we were on the phone together and then kindly gave it back a couple of days later when I was able to return to Villasimius. The other thing I’d highlight about the SubAquaDive reception staff was just how easy they made it for me beforehand. I don’t choose who I dive with based on slick websites, but good communication is important to me. I expect people to be out on a dive, not sat at a desk, but these guys replied fully and almost instantly, in English. They answered questions so comprehensively, they pre-empted many questions. That was not my experience with any other Sardinian dive centre. They do not require “chasing”. They proactively want you to have the information. Once you compare what they are offering, to what you can figure out from elsewhere, it’s an absolutely obvious choice to go with the people who are invested in Customer Service and who make sure every diver returns safely, having experienced the beauty of Capo Carbonara Marine Protected Area. I simply cannot recommend them enough. 10 stars, if it were possible. Because SubAquaDive offers free Nitrox, I didn’t want to potentially be the only person on the boat diving without it, so I enquired about finally doing the PADI Enriched Air certification. It turns out that I was wrong about any need due to other divers in the group, but it was still worthwhile to have done the course. Most Isola dei Cavoli dives are shallow, because that’s where the wildlife live, around 18m. Their course prices were competitive—just ask them, as it’s not listed on the website. It included all the online instruction materials beforehand, which were significantly more comprehensive than I expected, and also in person instruction prior to dive covering how to use analyzer; calculations for maximum depth and reverse—the best blend for a known depth; how to fill in the log; how to set my own computer; and an eCertification Card, which arrived straight away. Roberto was great at explaining things. Calculations I’d struggled to understand suddenly seemed like common sense. For those interested in equipment, they had the Best fitting size 36 boots and fins I’ve ever worn. They were so secure, they never felt tight, but I needed help getting my fins off, which is the opposite of what often happens to me. The XS 5mm wetsuit they found for me was in immaculate condition. An additional shortie on top and a hood meant I wasn’t cold at all. Water temperature was 21C at the bottom in October. I had 2kg extra in my BCD pockets to account for the added shortie plus my own slight lack of fitness since my last dive, which felt about right. It was nice to not have to have all of it around my waist and it helped balance the weight of the tank too, in terms of streamlining and trim, given the tank size. My BCD was fine, and we took them off in the water, so we didn’t have to climb the boat’s ladder with 15L steel tanks on our backs, a service I really appreciate. I just can’t get over how good SubAquaDive is, and how nice they all are. If you want to dive in the beautiful Capo Carbonara Marine Protected Area , I’d highly recommend SubAquaDive.

Amazing trip and we had a lot of fun with julia, who is a great instructior! Thank you for the great adventure! Lovely greetings from Marie and Jakob from Werda, Germany🤣

The snorkeling was amazing, we have seen so much. Julia our guide was very helpful and friendly! The tour is well worth its money! Great experience!

Awesome trip to Cavoli Island! Fun boat ride - you’ll be grateful for the wetsuits 😉 Highly recommend for people who enjoy snorkeling!!

The guide was very nice. It was a very enjoyable outing, everyone was having good fun. We saw lots of fish and got told what they were. The two outings were very nice and we got to experience different parts of the nature reserve.

We were 6 people and booked a 4h snorkling trip to the capo carbonara. The jurney was stunning with good snorkling spots and interesting informations. We'd really recommend this trip for anyone who wants to explore the capo carbonara by snorkling. We visited the beautiful beach at Isola dei Cavoli and even saw some dolphins during our ride back to the harbour. Our Guide Francesca and our Captain Luana did an amazing job, thanks a lot. :)

We had a great trip for a scubadive. Fransesca, Roberto, Astrid & David fullfill their job with humor, passion & serious profession. If you want you could get a free experience with the divinggear in the hands of Roberto. The sea was rough...so we had a great trip ! Great laugh and of course great view under water!! Thanxxx

I would like to say what an amazing experience my 8 year old daughter had. I had always promised to take her diving when she was old enough. I cannot thank Luana and Alberto enough for making her first dive experience so special. Luana was so incredibly attentive to my daughter during her first ever dive at 8 years old. Alberto was likewise fantastic in making sure all was good with the positioning of the boat and our safety. I have been lucky enough to dive all over the world, but this dive operation is so slick, smooth, safe and sublime I would recommend it to anyone that is in the area. I look forward to diving again with you in September. A beautiful 🤩 unforgettable lifetime memory for myself and my daughter 🐬

Just a great trip. Recomend to everyone who wanta to see beuatiful underwater life. Beautiful setting and an outstanding informative crew.

WOW! What a wonderful dive operation Alberto runs. I have dived all over the world and this shop is the best!! Friendly, professional, knowledgeable, passionate and accommodating staff in the most spectacular marine park in Europe. I had the immense pleasure of diving and snorkelling with Subaquaservice for 4 days and it was beyond expectations. My daughter is 6 and had her first introduction to snorkelling here. She was completely looked after from start to finish and got to see a beautiful eco system. She is hooked and has been in the water all week since then. For my dives I had the pleasure of being guided by a local marine biologist who showed us big groupers, shoals of barracudas and morays to name a few. My only regret is that I can not live here!! (Not yet)

While we enjoyed our snorkeling experience once we finally got to the snorkeling spot, we had significant concerns about the safety procedures of this company. Our tour took place on a windy morning when the waves/surf outside the marina were quite high and rough. The boats they use are small zodiacs which are easily tossed around in high surf and don't have hand holds for passengers. We were frustrated and concerned that there was 1) no safety briefing before we left the marina, 2) no life vests offered for the children onboard the zodiac (ages 7, 8, 10, and 11) -- who could have easily bounced out of the boat when it hit a big wave, 3) the guides only asked "can everyone swim?" once we arrived at the snorkeling spot. We asked the captain to stop the boat midway to the snorkeling spot and get life vests for our youngest kids when it became apparent how rough the sea was that day. We overheard one of the guides say (in Italian) that the "mothers were more nervous than the kids." We absolutely should not have had to ask for life vest for the children; they should have been offered/provided for the children (even on a calm day). Additionally the life vests were not easily accessible (in a latched storage area at the bow of the boat). I would hesitate to use this company again especially when going with children who are not very strong swimmers.

We drove 3,5 hours in order to enjoy this activity because it was praised as the best snorkel trip on Tripadivsor but actually it was the worst waste of time in my whole life of any journey that I every had. The team is great, very friendly, helpful and take good care of you BUT (!) it is totally not worth for driving 8hours a day to have this snorkel trip because we didn't see many fishes. ok differently described: we only see very very very few fishes or actually hardly any fish. I am not an expert in marine protected area but it looked like any other places on Sardinia when we went snorkeling but way deeper. we didn't see any coral riffs or anything it was just stones. It is a shame to waste travelers highly valued holiday time if you promise marine protected area with picture filled with a lot of fishes. totally waste of time - money can be saved again but not the time that went wasted. _A well meant advice_ ---> just go to different beaches for a snorkel trip, it is cheaper and you will be happy to see fishes because on that trip we hardly see any fish. Any beaches on Sardinia is beautiful, really! any beaches!

Beautiful clear water. The group here was very nice and accommodating. Surrounding scenery dramatic. Equipment rented was first-rate.

Wonderful experience, The area is just awesome ! The view, the fish, all !! It's magnificent ! We have a really great time 😀 the staff is great, very sweet and smiling ! I recommend it ! Thank you again for the moment !

We had several dives with you. Advancend, Introdive (my boys 10 and 14) and the Open water brevet for the junior 14 years. The introdives were done very professionally and 1:1. I could entrust both my boys to the instructors with a good feeling. Very nice and patient team. Gladly again. Thank you SubAquaDive-team.