Agia Pelagia, Crete, Greece

Mononaftis Bay

Mononaftis Bay sits immediately west of Agia Pelagia on the north Cretan coast and is one of the island's most-used training and macro photography sites. A gentle pebble beach drops into a shore-accessible cove sheltered on three sides by headlands, where divers find a sandy slope to around 8 metres before encountering a series of low rocky reefs that step down to roughly 22 metres at the mouth of the bay. The protected geometry keeps surface conditions calm even when the open Aegean is choppy, and currents are typically negligible. Resident marine life is rich and accessible: common octopus, Mediterranean moray, bearded fireworm, damselfish, painted comber, two-banded sea bream, and the occasional dusky grouper patrolling the deeper edges. Patches of seagrass host sea hares and pipefish, and night dives reveal squid hunting along the sand. The shallow shelf and easy entry make Mononaftis ideal for open-water courses, refresher dives and macro photographers, while still rewarding more experienced divers with consistent fish life.