Bivouac camping only

Diving in Nosy Lava is like diving on the edge of the world! At 155 km from Nosy Be, it is far away from everything: very little fishing, very little diving, a great variety of sites, superb drop offs; in the south west, vertiginous drop offs (-20 to -400 m),  or else jagged drop offs with canyons, arches, cavities, and large numbers of pelagic fish; to the north west, the drop offs are less vertiginous but teeming with fish. Only downside : the sharks have never seen divers, so they shy away. With a rebreather you get to see dozens of sharks (grey sharks, bull sharks, white tip sharks), all sorts of rays (stingrays, eagle rays, mobulas, mantas …) as well as tuna fish, kingfish, barracuda, jackfish – and other smaller species !

The island is a former prison and still home to 3 former convicts who, when the prison closed, had nowhere else to go! On Nosy Lava, it is best to dive when the tide is rising, there are a lot more more fish, the difference between rising and falling tide is remarkable.

Season: In October and May there may be strong winds (beginning and end of the windy season); from early November to end of April conditions are good, but the rainy season falls in December, January and February – the weather is often good during the day with rain at night, but if there is a cyclone tail there can be up to 7 days of rain! In 18 years here, I have only seen bad weather (a cyclone) once in December. From early June to late September there is too much wind.

We offer you the opportunity to dive on Nosy Lava island, but we have chosen not to go for a cruise formula, for these reasons:

• • Speed : on our fast catamaran, you leave Nosy Be in the morning (departure 6h30), arrive in Nosy Saba in the evening, with a dive on the way! From the second (not the fourth) day onwards, you will already be diving on the spots around Nosy Lava- 2 days gained and the same goes for the return trip! (Return on the last day: 5 pm)
  • Given the speed of the boat, scheduling 3 day dives and one night dive is no problem at all.
  • Shorter stays (3 nights 4 days) are only possible with a fast boat like ours.

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