Tenerife
Island The waters around Tenerife are home to pilot whales, angelfish, stingrays, barracudas, eels, wrasses, scorpionfish, tuna, sardines, dogfish and octopuses. Under water, there are various volcanic landforms – mountains, lava plateaus, caves, tunnels, as well as sunken ships. Underwater visibility ranges from 15 to 30 m. The best dive sites on the island of Tenerife are located on the western, southern and eastern coasts. On the west coast you can dive in the vicinity of Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje, Playa de San Juan and Los Gigantes.
A little south of Los Cristianos, up to the southern tip of the island, various dive sites stretch: El Meridian (here, at a depth of 30 m, a ship from the Second World War, 17 m long, which was sunk in 2005), rests; Condesito (cargo ship lying at a depth of 20 m); Chuchos (a sunken fishing boat, where dozens of stingrays can be seen in conditions of excellent underwater visibility (40 m); Cueva de Palm Mar (underwater cave, the entrance to which is at a depth of 30 m, many moray eels live in the cave); Roncadores del Faro (here you can see a variety of volcanic formations underwater); Cueva del Ali Baba cave (the walls of the cave are covered with black corals); cave Neptunes Cave (Neptunes Cave).
In the vicinity of Costa Adeje there is a dive site Playa Paraiso (Playa Paraiso), which is two underwater canyons separated by a rock. The main attraction of this place is the abundance of stingrays. From Playa de San Juan go to the Punta Blanca dive site, where a wide variety of fish live at a depth of 28 m at the foot of the underwater wall. Under water in Los Gigantes, as well as on land, you can see rocks and caves. In addition, stingrays, octopuses and dolphins live here.
According to PHOTIONARY.COM, the dive sites of the south coast of Tenerife are concentrated near the town of Los Galletas (Los Galletas). The underwater wall of Montana Amarilla with its eel arch, the wreck of the Estorne yacht, and the underwater arches of Los Archos are a great place for underwater photography. In the center of the east coast of the island of Tenerife is the dive site Las Eras (Las Eras), known for its diverse underwater world (barracudas, triggerfish, flute fish, moray eels and angelfish live here), and in the vicinity of the capital of the island – Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz are dive sites suitable for divers of all skill levels. In the coastal waters of Santa Cruz interesting coral reefs Devils Reef (Devil’s reef), Garden (Garden), Ox (Wall), underwater caves Groupers Cave (Grouper’s Cave) and La Cueva del Roquete (La Cueva Del Roquete) and a sunken 70-meter ship Carbonero (Carbonero), chosen by sharks, rays and barracudas.
Gran Canaria
The best place for diving is on the east coast of Gran Canaria. Here, in the vicinity of Playa del Carbon, is the Arinaga Marine Reserve (Arinaga marine reserve), where under water you can see a variety of volcanic landforms – arches, caves, tunnels and canyons, colorful fish and larger marine life – barracudas, angelfish, rays and octopuses. In total, there are about a dozen dive sites in the reserve. The diving depth reaches 16 m, and underwater visibility does not fall below 20 m. There are several dive centers in Playa del Carbon.
There are dive sites to the west of Maspalomas on the stretch of coast between Pasito Blanco and Puerto de Mogan. In Pasito Blanco offers dives to the coastal reef. The reef is located 2 km from the shore at a maximum depth of 19 m and has the shape of a circle. Around the reef you can find barracudas, flutefish, black-tailed combers, rays, moray eels, wrasses and sardines. An interesting volcanic reef Arguineguin (Arguineguin Reef), which is located behind the port of Arguineguin at a depth of 14-16 meters. The underwater world here is very diverse – in the middle of the stone “gardens” there are octopuses, cuttlefish, moray eels, flute fish, scorpionfish, starfish. In smaller bays located to the north (Amadores, Playa del Cura, Tauro, Taurito), it is possible to dive directly from the shore. Only most of the beaches here are rocky, and there are areas in the sea where the water is very polluted.
In the bay of Puerto de Mogan two small wrecks lie at the bottom. They were flooded specifically to create a dive site. Vessels lie at a depth of about 20 m not far from each other. Also in this part of the coast is the wreck of the 30-meter Russian cargo ship El Pajar, which sank in 2003. The ship lies at a depth of 17 m. The main feature of this dive site is that the ship was significantly destroyed during storms, so divers can easily get inside the ship.
At the northwestern tip of Gran Canaria, away from the tourist centers, are the dive sites of Sardina del Norte and Puerto de la Nieves (Puerto de la Nieves). The immersion depth here reaches 25 m. Under water, there are marine life typical for these places: wrasses, cuttlefish, octopuses and small rays, however, due to the remoteness from large resort centers, these places are not popular with divers.
Near the capital of the island – Las Palmas (Las Palmas) – there are also several dive sites: the underwater cave La Catedral (La Catedral) with a length of 45 m; reef protecting Las Canteras beach (located at a depth of 8 m); and wrecks patrolled by flocks of barracudas: Kalais (Kalais), Frigorifica (Frigorifica), Arona (Arona) and Tres Barcos (Tres Barcos), which can be explored from the inside.
Lanzarote island
There are about a dozen dive sites on Lanzarote. The underwater world of Lanzarote is very diverse, here you can see lava caves, tunnels, walls, sunken ships, about 350 species of fish (barracudas, groupers, sardines, wrasses, moray eels, angelfish, seahorses) and more than 1000 species of invertebrates (cuttlefish, octopuses). Visibility reaches 30 m throughout the year.
The most popular dive sites are located near the main resort of the island – Puerto del Carmen (Puerto del Carmen). These are the underwater caves of The Cathedral and Blue Hole, chosen by groupers, barracudas, moray eels, stingrays and angelfish; the Harbor Wall, along which cuttlefish and octopuses ply; reefs House Reef, Red Coral where there are some red corals, Richie’s Reef, Pinnacle; and the sunken boats and ships of Punta Tinosa (three specially sunk fishing boats) and Los Erizos (8 trawlers, maximum depth – 40 m).
You can also dive near the village of Charco del Palo on the east coast. Here, vast lava plateaus, walls and caves stretch underwater.
At the port of Arrecife at a depth of 30 m rests the sunken ship Rabat, in which hundreds of fish swim, and off the east coast of Costa Teguise (Costa Teguise) the dive site of Punta Jabillo (Punta Jabillo) is interesting (an underwater barrier created by people to protect the bay of Casta Teguise).
Fuerteventura Island
The main dive sites of Fuerteventura Island are located off the northern coast in the strait that separates it from Lobos Island, and near Lobos Island itself. Here you can see a variety of volcanic formations, underwater walls, tunnels, bridges, large fish such as tuna, grouper, barracuda, triggerfish and angelfish, as well as rays and octopuses under water. Also interesting are the dive sites near the village of Akhuy (Ajuy), located on the west coast of the island, where caves formed under water as a result of eruptions; and dive sites near the town of Morro Jable on the south coast of the island, whose underwater wall, located in the middle of a vast sandy field, is the only shelter for marine life living off the local coast.
Palma Island
On Palma Island, dive centers can be found on the west coast at Puerto de Naos and on the east coast at Los Concajos (Los Cancajos). Most dive sites are located on the east coast. The bottom relief here is no less impressive than the surface relief of the island itself: the same lava fields, walls, canyons and caves. During the dives, you can see colorful fish, barracudas, groupers, moray eels, octopuses, rays, manta rays and even turtles. The west coast of the island of Palma is notable for the fact that whales are most often found here than on other islands of the Canary archipelago.
Gomera
Island There are three dive centers on Gomera Island: in Valle Gran Rey on the west coast and in San Sebastian de la Gomera and Playa Santiago (Playa Santiago) on the south coast. There are not many dive sites here, the main ones are located off the south coast, where the waters are the calmest. Basically, these are underwater volcanic formations, such as the Roque de Herrero rock near Playa Santiago, which are home to bizarre flute fish, moray eels and rays.
Hierro Island
On the south coast of Hierro Island near the village of La Restinga (La Restinga) is the marine reserve of Mar Las Calmas. In Spanish, the name of the reserve sounds like “calm waters”. And in fact, the sea here is calm, without excitement, underwater visibility is excellent, which attracts diving enthusiasts here. Dozens of dive centers are located in La Restinga. The main dive sites are in close proximity to the shore or within a 10-15 minute boat ride. The underwater world of this part of the coast of the island of Hierro is replete with volcanic landforms. There are black corals, sea urchins, flute fish, sea carps, moray eels and larger marine life – tuna, barracuda, triggerfish, rays, manta rays, sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles.
