Rhodes, Dodecanese, Greece

Lindos Bay

Lindos Bay is a sheltered horseshoe-shaped cove on the east coast of Rhodes, immediately below the ancient Acropolis of Lindos with its temple of Athena Lindia and Crusader-era fortress. The bay is enclosed by two rocky headlands that keep surface conditions calm even when the meltemi blows from the north, and the substrate descends gently from a sandy beach to a maximum depth of around 22 metres at the bay mouth. The dive is divided between rocky reefs along the headlands and sandy stretches in the centre. Resident species include dusky grouper, Mediterranean moray, common octopus, two-banded sea bream, painted comber, ornate wrasse, scorpionfish, damselfish and seasonal schools of salema; sandy patches host common stingray, weever fish and razorfish, and Posidonia seagrass beds support pipefish. Because the entire bay sits beneath the Acropolis archaeological zone, divers may not touch, recover or photograph for commercial use any artefact found, and any discovery must be reported to local authorities.