Safety · Destination Guide
Mediterranean walls, historic freediving water, and Riviera culture on one rail-linked coast
The Riviera combines professional dive infrastructure with busy urban water. The main operational risks are boats, wind-driven changes, exposed sites, thermoclines, current, rocky access, depth, and breath-hold blackout. Use a licensed local provider, accept conservative site selection, carry appropriate insurance, and know the French emergency numbers before boarding. Conservation is equally practical: Posidonia seagrass, coralligenous growth, underwater sculptures, and cetaceans are easily damaged or disturbed by anchoring, contact, collection, poor buoyancy, and aggressive vessel approaches.
DAN advises at least 12 hours before flying after a single no-decompression dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives in a day or multiple days of diving. Decompression diving requires a substantially longer interval. These are minimum guidelines, not guarantees; add margin for deep, strenuous, repetitive, or symptomatic dives and seek diving-medicine advice when uncertain.
Call 112 or 15 for a suspected decompression illness, arterial gas embolism, drowning, serious barotrauma, chest pain, neurological change, or loss of consciousness. Administer the highest practical concentration of oxygen, keep the diver resting, record profiles and gases, and follow emergency-dispatch instructions. Do not drive an unstable diver directly to a chamber or return the diver to the water. CHU Nice operates a hyperbaric medicine service at Hopital Pasteur 2, but access and treatment should be coordinated through emergency medical services. For non-emergency fitness-to-dive questions, use a physician trained in diving medicine rather than relying on a general travel clearance.
Boat traffic and navigation channels
The coast is busy with ferries, tenders, sailing boats, motor yachts, and fishing activity. Do not surface-swim across marked channels, display the locally required signal, and follow the skipper's ascent and pickup procedure.
Rapid weather and sea-state changes
Mistral or other regional wind, localized storms, and swell can turn an exposed cape or offshore rock into a poor choice. Expect site swaps and accept cancellations without pressuring the operator.
Thermoclines and cold at depth
A warm surface does not guarantee warm water below. Carry adequate exposure protection, end the dive before shivering affects judgment, and plan freedive recovery around repeated cold immersion.
Current on offshore rocks and walls
Raventurier and other exposed objectives can develop meaningful current. Use a surface marker buoy, stay within the guide's route and gas plan, and be ready for a blue-water pickup.
The Bay and Cap d'Antibes to Lerins Islands Natura 2000 site is predominantly marine and includes seagrass, reefs, drop-offs, and canyon-influenced habitat. Posidonia is a slow-growing protected seagrass that stabilizes seabed, stores carbon, and shelters marine life. Maintain neutral buoyancy above it and never anchor or drag equipment through a meadow.
Offshore waters are part of the Pelagos Sanctuary shared by France, Monaco, and Italy. Choose wildlife operators that avoid high-speed pursuit, cutting across animal travel, crowding, prolonged approaches, and entry into the water with cetaceans unless a specific lawful scientific or professional protocol applies.
Do Not Do This
Avoid entering when boat traffic and navigation channels. Confirm local briefings before committing.
| Contact | Role | Phone | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| European emergency number | Police, ambulance, fire, and coordinated emergency access | 112 | 24 hours |
| SAMU | Urgent medical assistance and medical coordination | 15 | 24 hours |
| Fire and rescue service | Fire, rescue, and urgent incident response | 18 | 24 hours |
| Maritime emergency from shore | Contact with French maritime rescue coordination for emergencies at sea | 196 | 24 hours where the service is reachable |
| Maritime emergency from a vessel | VHF distress and rescue contact | VHF channel 16 | Continuous maritime watch |
| CHU Nice Hyperbaric Medicine | Regional hyperbaric hospital service at Hopital Pasteur 2; emergency access should be coordinated through 112 or 15 | +33 4 92 03 77 72 | Hospital service; call emergency dispatch first for an acute dive accident |