Staying Home Sucks, home
Mia amata Ustica
Ustica, the nearest town, 2 km away. Photo: Pavla Mačoková from Praga, Repubblica Ceca, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Grotta Azzurra

Dive site · Italy

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

71Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 21 out of 100

Sea
2.1 m
Wind
23 kn
Gusts
31knboats in
Air
17°C

Tue 3 · 40 out of 100

Sea
1.6 m
Wind
12 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
19°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
19°C

Thu 5 · 82 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
20°C

Fri 6 · 83 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
19°C

Sat 7 · 83 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
19°C

Sun 8 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
11 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
19°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 181, good
  2. Mon 221, poor
  3. Tue 340, poor
  4. Wed 466, good
  5. Thu 582, good
  6. Fri 683, good
  7. Sat 783, good
  8. Sun 863, good
  9. Mon 977, good
  10. Tue 1061, good

The site in six facts

  • Down to 20 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 20 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
  • Faces NWswell from there reaches it
  • Best May–Aug7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Grotta Azzurra
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov81, good0.3 m5 kn9kn18°C
Mon 2Nov21, poor2.1 m23 kn31knboats in17°C
Tue 3Nov40, poor1.6 m12 kn16kn19°C
Wed 4Nov66, good0.4 m6 kn8kn19°C
Thu 5Nov82, good0.4 m6 kn16kn20°C
Fri 6Nov83, good0.2 mflat6 kn11kn19°C
Sat 7Nov83, good0.1 mflat4 kn8kn19°C
Sun 8Nov63, good0.5 m11 kn19kn19°C
Mon 9Nov77, good0.6 m10 kn17kn20°C
Tue 10Nov61, good0.7 m12 kn15kn21°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 01:01 +0.1 mLow 07:05 −0.1 mHigh 14:08 +0.2 mLow 20:53 −0.1 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:29 +0.1 mLow 08:26 −0.1 mHigh 15:25 +0.1 mLow 22:22 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:02 +0.1 mLow 09:54 −0.1 mHigh 16:35 +0.2 mLow 23:28 −0.1 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best May–Aug

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov5of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Grotta Azzurra

A cave dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NW: swell from the NW reaches it, and wind from the SE blows out to sea. 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 2.5 km away. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 28°C in August, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). For Advanced divers the best months are usually May, June, July and August, with about 7 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ustica. Within 5 km we also list 12 dive sites.

  • What it is Cave.
  • How deep Down to 20 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 2.5 km away.

Water about 20°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 25 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jul, Aug and Sep (over 30 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,220–US$2,310 each

about US$1,220–US$2,310 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to PMO, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$543–US$1,130
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$107–US$174
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$268–US$449
Food7 days eating outabout US$301–US$563
Totalabout US$1,220–US$2,310

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Ustica

Closest

Ustica

4 min by car · 30 places to stay

about US$100/nightcountry average

See 30 places to stay in Ustica · Booking.com

About Ustica its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$100 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 19h 20m

About 19h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → PMO, changing at Dublin Airport (DUB), then 1h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 20 m, about usual for the month (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.