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Pianosa Boa 5
Italy · wall · intermediate
4–42 mintermediateAOWboat entry
Pianosa Boa 5
Buoy SP5 in the Pianosa mooring field: a reef capped at four metres with a wall to thirty and gorgonian pyramids beyond it.
Max depth4–42 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Pianosa Boa 5 is buoy SP5 in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park's mooring field off Pianosa, and the buoy is the dive. The park publishes the position as 42 degrees 34.796 minutes north, 10 degrees 06.528 minutes east, on the island's eastern side; Diving in Elba, one of the accredited centres, describes it as lying just south of the rock off Pianosa. The anchor point and the dive site coincide, so you drop straight onto the cap of the reef at 4 m, which is a sub-horizontal rock table covered in photophilic algae, with an extensive Cystoseira stand and Sargassum.
Heading east you reach the edge of a cliff that drops vertically to sand and mud at 30 m. From about 11 or 12 m down the park's own survey records the precoralligenous community, and the deeper part of the wall carries a facies of Eunicella cavolinii gorgonians with unusually large specimens. Groupers, corvina, gilthead bream and forkbeard shelter in the fissures of the wall while white and two-banded seabream and dentex hold station a few metres off it. At the foot of the cliff, in good visibility, more rock rises to the east-south-east as pyramidal formations reaching about 42 m, their north and north-east faces covered by Paramuricea clavata.
Coming back up there are two ways home. Turning north brings you to the mouth of a cave in the wall at about 20 to 22 m; entry to submerged caves is regulated by the park and not automatic. Turning south, the reef is ringed by a wide Posidonia plateau, and a school of roughly a hundred barracuda, Sphyraena viridensis, sits a few metres under the surface here. The safety stop is made on the roof of the reef at 3.5 m.
Everything about diving here is gated. The sea within one nautical mile of Pianosa has been a marine area of national interest since 1997; diving is only allowed moored to a park buoy, only through an accredited diving centre, and only in the company of a park underwater guide.
- Reef cap at 4 m with Cystoseira and Sargassum
- Vertical wall from the cap to sand at 30 m
- Large Eunicella cavolinii and, deeper, Paramuricea clavata on the pyramids
- A resident school of around a hundred barracuda over the southern Posidonia plateau
- A cave mouth in the wall at 20-22 m
Please note before you go
- The deeper pyramids reach about 42 m, past recreational limits for many divers
- A cave mouth at 20-22 m is an overhead environment, and park rules restrict entry
- Constant north-to-south current at every Pianosa site
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, from an accredited diving centre, and only moored to buoy SP5. Boats must be under 15 m, run at no more than 6 knots from 1000 m off the coast, moor and shut down their engines for the two-hour slot, and report their movements to the Portoferraio port authority. Dives must start and finish at the assigned buoy. Note that the catalogue pin sits roughly 850 m south-west of the park's published SP5 position of 42 degrees 34.796 minutes north, 10 degrees 06.528 minutes east.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
The sea within one nautical mile of Pianosa was designated a marine area of national interest by decree on 19 December 1997 and diving inside it is authorised only by the national park. Dives are permitted solely with a Tuscan Archipelago National Park underwater guide (or a guide with at least 600 documented training hours), through a diving centre accredited by the park, moored at one of the six dive buoys, and booked in advance through the park's portal. No more than six groups may be in the water around the island at once, no group may exceed twelve divers excluding guides and crew, no more than six divers may follow one guide, and no more than two boats may moor to a single buoy. Each dive is capped at two hours. Divers holding only a first-level certification are not admitted, and entry to submerged caves is forbidden except at sites where the park specifically regulates it.
Rules and permits
Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago Toscano, 2026 Pianosa buoy regulation. Accredited centres pay a 500 euro annual subscription plus a 35 euro ticket per boat per dive in zone 1. Fishing, professional or sporting, is banned in Pianosa's waters. The park's code of conduct forbids chasing, touching or feeding marine life, requires a safety distance from the substrate, and limits the use of lights and sound devices; breaches suspend a centre's authorisation for two months and repeat breaches for six or twelve months.
Season
The park's buoy field, not the weather, sets the season. For 2026 it opens on 1 April and closes on 29 November; low season is Wednesday to Sunday, high season from 22 June to 7 September runs Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Outside those dates the buoys are removed and the site cannot be dived at all.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range4–42 m
Environmentwall
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsquiet
A moored two-hour slot on an offshore reef with a constant north-south current and, by the park's account, good visibility at the base of the wall often enough to see the outer pyramids from it. The buoy field runs from April to late November and the buoys are lifted for maintenance over winter.
On current: The park's dive sheet says SP5 presents no particular difficulty, but adds that, as at every Pianosa site, there is a constant current running north to south. Depth is what makes the dive: the wall bottoms out at 30 m and the pyramidal rocks beyond it reach about 42 m, so the profile you actually swim depends on what the guide plans. Entry-level certifications are not admitted here at all.
Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
How deep is Pianosa Boa 5?
The reef cap is at 4 m and the wall on its eastern edge falls vertically to sand and mud at 30 m. Beyond the foot of the wall, pyramidal rock formations rise from about 42 m, which is the deepest ground the park's own dive sheet describes. Most of the interesting growth sits between 12 and 30 m.
Do you need a permit to dive Pianosa Boa 5?
Yes, and you cannot arrange it yourself. The sea within one nautical mile of Pianosa is a marine area of national interest, and diving is authorised only through a diving centre accredited by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, moored at a park buoy, with a park underwater guide, on a slot booked through the park's own portal. Centres pay an annual subscription plus a per-dive ticket.
Can beginners dive Pianosa Boa 5?
No. The park's 2026 regulation excludes divers holding only a first-level certification from Pianosa altogether. The dive itself is described as presenting no particular difficulty, but the wall base is at 30 m and there is a constant current, so an Advanced-level card and some depth experience are the practical minimum.
When can you dive Pianosa Boa 5?
The buoy field defines the season. In 2026 it runs from 1 April to 29 November, on Wednesday to Sunday in low season and Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 22 June and 7 September. Four two-hour slots are available each day, at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00. Outside those dates the buoys are lifted for maintenance and the site is closed.
Can you snorkel at Pianosa Boa 5?
Only as a non-diving companion of an accredited centre. SP5 is one of just three buoys, with SP2 and SP3, where authorised centres may run snorkelling, at a ratio of one park guide to six snorkellers. The reef cap at 4 m and the Posidonia plateau around it make it a real snorkel rather than a consolation prize.
What will you see at Pianosa Boa 5?
The wall carries large Eunicella cavolinii gorgonians and the deeper pyramids are covered in Paramuricea clavata. Dusky grouper, corvina, gilthead bream and forkbeard shelter in the fissures, with white and two-banded seabream and dentex holding off the rock, and a school of about a hundred barracuda sits a few metres under the surface on the southern side.
Is there a cave at Pianosa Boa 5?
There is a cave mouth in the wall at about 20 to 22 m, reached on the northward return, and the accredited operator that publishes the site calls a large cave cutting through the shoal its defining feature. Entry to submerged caves inside the park is forbidden except where the park specifically regulates it, so this is the guide's call, not yours.
Is there current at Pianosa Boa 5?
Yes, consistently. The park's dive sheet notes that a constant current running north to south is present at every Pianosa dive site, including this one, and factors it into the recommended route. It is not usually strong enough to make the dive difficult, but you plan the profile with it rather than against it.
Life recorded at Pianosa Boa 5
11 species within 1.5 km · OBISThalassoma pavorare · 3 records
Chromis chromisrare · 3 records
Ophidiaster ophidianusrare · 2 records
Coris julisrare · 2 records
Pinna nobilisrare · 2 records
Eriphia verrucosarare · 1 records
All 11 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Thalassoma pavo | rare | 3 |
| Chromis chromis | rare | 3 |
| Ophidiaster ophidianus | rare | 2 |
| Coris julis | rare | 2 |
| Pinna nobilis | rare | 2 |
| Eriphia verrucosa | rare | 1 |
| Serranus scriba | rare | 1 |
| Diplodus sargus | rare | 1 |
| Diplodus vulgaris | rare | 1 |
| Sarpa salpa | rare | 1 |
| Phorcus turbinatus | rare | 1 |
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