Cyprus
Best Time to Dive in Zenobia
34.89°N 33.65°E
Aim for June to October once the water has warmed to 26 °C from 19. Too few records to show a wildlife season, so the weather picks the month. The wider season runs May to November.
- Best time
- Jun–Oct
- Water
- 17–28 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Season runs
- May–Nov
- Dived from
- day boat
- Tidal range
- 0.2–0.4 m
- Species logged
- 2
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Zenobia — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Moderate | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Moderate | Poor |
| Water temp (°C) | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 21 |
| Visibility (m) | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 |
| Marine life | Steady | Quiet | Steady | Busy | Quiet | Busy | Busy | Peak | Steady | Steady | Quiet | Quiet |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Jun–Oct
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Zenobia diving season
April to October · Peak season
7 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 19–28 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 2 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is calmer. It rains less.
November · Shoulder season
1 monthJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 23–23 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 5 days a month
Diving conditionsSeas are usually flat. The wind eases. It rains more.
December to March · Off season
4 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 17–21 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 7 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is rougher. It rains more.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Zenobia water temperature and weather
65 underwater observation records · 15 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Zenobia water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
Rarely
rough enough to cancel
Seas top 1.5 m on 2% of days. Enough to cancel a day boat
0
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
4
wet days a month
0 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.4 m | 1% | 7 | 1 | 17 °C | 9.9 h |
| February | 1.1 m | 0% | 5 | 1 | 17 °C | 10.7 h |
| March | 1.2 m | 1% | 5 | 1 | 20 °C | 11.7 h |
| April | 1.0 m | 0% | 4 | 1 | 24 °C | 12.9 h |
| May | 1.0 m | 0% | 3 | 0 | 28 °C | 13.8 h |
| June | 0.7 m | 0% | 1 | 0 | 31 °C | 14.3 h |
| July | 0.6 m | 0% | 0 | 0 | 34 °C | 14.1 h |
| August | 0.7 m | 0% | 0 | 0 | 34 °C | 13.3 h |
| September | 0.8 m | 0% | 1 | 0 | 32 °C | 12.2 h |
| October | 0.8 m | 0% | 3 | 0 | 28 °C | 11.1 h |
| November | 1.0 m | 0% | 5 | 0 | 23 °C | 10.1 h |
| December | 1.2 m | 0% | 9 | 2 | 19 °C | 9.7 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Poor | February week 1: Poor | March week 1: Moderate | April week 1: Moderate | May week 1: Poor | June week 1: Excellent | July week 1: Excellent | August week 1: Excellent | September week 1: Excellent | October week 1: Excellent | November week 1: Good | December week 1: Moderate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Poor | February week 2: Poor | March week 2: Poor | April week 2: Moderate | May week 2: Good | June week 2: Excellent | July week 2: Excellent | August week 2: Good | September week 2: Excellent | October week 2: Excellent | November week 2: Good | December week 2: Poor |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Poor | February week 3: Poor | March week 3: Poor | April week 3: Excellent | May week 3: Good | June week 3: Good | July week 3: Excellent | August week 3: Excellent | September week 3: Excellent | October week 3: Excellent | November week 3: Good | December week 3: Poor |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Poor | February week 4: Moderate | March week 4: Moderate | April week 4: Excellent | May week 4: Good | June week 4: Excellent | July week 4: Good | August week 4: Excellent | September week 4: Excellent | October week 4: Excellent | November week 4: Poor | December week 4: Poor |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: first of October
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 19 °C | 1.3 m | 17 km/h | 24% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 18 °C | 1.5 m | 18 km/h | 22% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 18 °C | 1.4 m | 17 km/h | 24% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 18 °C | 1.3 m | 16 km/h | 23% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 17 °C | 1.3 m | 16 km/h | 21% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 17 °C | 1.2 m | 17 km/h | 22% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 17 °C | 1.0 m | 17 km/h | 21% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 17 °C | 1.0 m | 17 km/h | 15% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 17 °C | 1.3 m | 18 km/h | 11% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 17 °C | 1.2 m | 19 km/h | 17% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 17 °C | 1.1 m | 19 km/h | 18% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 18 °C | 1.1 m | 19 km/h | 14% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 18 °C | 1.1 m | 19 km/h | 18% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 18 °C | 1.1 m | 19 km/h | 16% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 19 °C | 1.0 m | 18 km/h | 10% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 19 °C | 0.8 m | 18 km/h | 10% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 20 °C | 1.0 m | 19 km/h | 15% |
| Week 2 | Good | 20 °C | 1.0 m | 19 km/h | 12% |
| Week 3 | Good | 21 °C | 1.0 m | 19 km/h | 7% |
| Week 4 | Good | 22 °C | 1.0 m | 19 km/h | 6% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 23 °C | 0.8 m | 19 km/h | 4% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 24 °C | 0.7 m | 19 km/h | 5% |
| Week 3 | Good | 24 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 6% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 25 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 4% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 26 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 1% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 27 °C | 0.6 m | 20 km/h | 1% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 27 °C | 0.6 m | 21 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Good | 27 °C | 0.7 m | 21 km/h | 0% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.7 m | 21 km/h | 1% |
| Week 2 | Good | 28 °C | 0.7 m | 21 km/h | 2% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.7 m | 20 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.8 m | 19 km/h | 2% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.7 m | 19 km/h | 4% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.6 m | 18 km/h | 5% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.9 m | 18 km/h | 4% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 27 °C | 0.9 m | 18 km/h | 3% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 27 °C | 0.8 m | 17 km/h | 3% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 26 °C | 0.8 m | 17 km/h | 7% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 26 °C | 0.8 m | 16 km/h | 12% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 25 °C | 0.7 m | 17 km/h | 12% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 24 °C | 0.6 m | 16 km/h | 12% |
| Week 2 | Good | 24 °C | 0.7 m | 16 km/h | 14% |
| Week 3 | Good | 23 °C | 1.0 m | 16 km/h | 16% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 22 °C | 1.1 m | 16 km/h | 20% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 22 °C | 1.2 m | 15 km/h | 27% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 21 °C | 1.0 m | 15 km/h | 31% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 20 °C | 1.2 m | 16 km/h | 28% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 20 °C | 1.2 m | 17 km/h | 29% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: 5 mm + | February: 7 mm | March: 7 mm | April: 5 mm + | May: 5 mm + | June: 5 mm | July: 3 mm | August: skin | September: 3 mm | October: 3 mm | November: 5 mm | December: 5 mm + |
- Dec–Jan5 mm with hood and gloves
- Feb–Mar7 mm semi-dry
- Apr–May5 mm with hood and gloves
- Jun5 mm full suit
- Jul3 mm full suit
- Augskin or 3 mm shorty
- Sep–Oct3 mm full suit
- Nov5 mm full suit
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 1.5 m.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Zenobia marine life — what you'll see diving
Only 65 records have been logged within 60 km. A thin record is not an empty reef.
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green turtle | Jun–Aug | Near-guaranteed | 52 | ||
| Loggerhead turtle | Apr, Aug | Near-guaranteed | 12 |
Peak Present
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Zenobia — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Zenobia?
- Aim for June to October once the water has warmed to 26 °C from 19. Too few records to show a wildlife season, so the weather picks the month. The wider season runs May to November.
- When is the diving season in Zenobia?
- The diving season in Zenobia runs May to November, and it is at its best June to October.
- Is the diving in Zenobia good for beginners?
- It is better with some experience. It suits Advanced Open Water divers or equivalent, so newer divers should ask the local operator which sites fit their level.
- How warm is the water in Zenobia?
- Between 17 and 28 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in February and warmest in August. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Zenobia?
- A 7 mm semi-dry covers the coldest water of the year. In the warmest months a skin or 3 mm shorty is enough.
- What is the visibility like in Zenobia?
- Roughly 15 to 25 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving Zenobia?
- The most consistently recorded species are Green turtle (near-guaranteed) and Loggerhead turtle (near-guaranteed), from 65 records within 60 km.
- Does Zenobia get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Zenobia?
- The tide rises and falls 0.4 m around the full and new moon, against 0.2 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Zenobia?
- December–February are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Zenobia?
- Mostly from day boats. Trips run through the season, May–Nov.