Whenever I’m travelling around the Greek Islands I like to explore the best sites, both manmade and natural. While most of the time it means walking through spectacular fortresses, hiking up mountains and visiting ancient ruins, it also means putting on the scuba gear and heading into the deep blue.

Below the surface of some of those beautiful bays and near many of the islands, are fascinating shipwrecks, sunken towns and amazing marine life. It seems that the underwater world hides just as many special sites as the dry land! A lot of the smaller islands don’t have the facilities or dive operators to show you around, but in the more popular places you can typically find a reputable guide who can take you to the best spots. Personally, as awesome as the marine life can be, I prefer the sunken wrecks and relics you can dive on.

Across the Mediterranean there are literally thousands of shipwrecks, spanning two millennia of history. It makes for a rich and varied diving experience, where one day you can be exploring an ancient Roman vessel with its cargo of amphora, and another you can swim through a sunken battleship from World War 2. These ghosts from the past are at times quite moving, as there are feelings of awe and wonder you get when gazing upon the decaying structures. You start to imagine what life was like for those that were once aboard, and what they went through as their ship went down.

If natures beauty is more your thing, then there’s still plenty to keep you entertained. There are ample of great dive sites across Greece where you can explores caves, walls, reefs and habitats abundant in fish, coral and other marine life. Popular destinations include Schinaria and Elephants Cave in Crete, Mirmigi Reef (Lesvos), Dragonisi Island Caverns (Mykonos) and The Caves in Santorini.

So when you next head to Greece, don’t just sit on the beach and splash in the shallows. Take the plunge and check out what lies beneath. You’ll be surprised just how amazing the scuba diving is!