Our dive sites at a glance.
Within this small stetch of coastline we have a great variety of diving. Our shore diving allows us to explore the many reefs and rocky walls, both shallow and deep, and from the boat we can enjoy deeper wall dives, or when conditions are right, an exhilarating drift dive across the front of the Punta de la Mona headland.
It is possible to dive all-year round, with the best months from April to December. The water temperature does vary across the year, with a high of 26 degrees in the summer, to a low of 14 degrees in the winter. Thermoclines are possible on the deeper dives, with a low of 12 degrees in winter.
Visibility is primarily affected by the strength and direction of the wind, so we can expect an average of 10 to 15 metres, sometimes much more, and occasionally less!
On the dive it may be possible to see conger eels, moray eels, wrasse, bream, blennies, nudibranch’s, groupers and much more. Octopus are always a diver’s favourite, and the holy grail is of course the Sunfish
We like to think we have a dive for all levels of experience.
La Herradura - Shore Diving 12/24 mtrs
Spanish for ‘Horseshoe’, which refers to the shape of the bay, La Herradura is a beautiful pebble beach that offers an easy shore dive at its’ eastern end, known as El Chambao.
The dive starts shallow and follows the rock wall, finning around many of the large boulders that have fallen onto the seabed, as we steadily descend to around 8/10 metres. Many large rocks stand proud of the seabed, providing the habitat for the many different creatures, and it’s these that provide the focal point of the dive. This dive also makes for a great night dive.
Just a short drive on from El Chambao takes us to a parking area above a rocky outcrop, from which a path leads us down to the entry point for the dives Tres Picos & Cala del Perro. Upon entering the water we descend a few metres into this shallow cove where we can head left for Cala del Perro, or continue out for Tres Picos.
Tres Picos literally means three peaks, and it is this that we find on the dive; three distinct rock pinnacles that rise up from 16 metres to almost break the surface. We follow a circular route around the base of the peaks, exploring the small ravines between the peaks, before heading back into the cove.
Cala del Perro follows the left wall out of the cove, where we quickly drop to the seabed at 22/24 metres. We follow the wall until we make our way into the bay, where we have an opportunity to explore among the many rock faces.
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Marina del Este - Shore Diving upto 40 mtrs
The Eastern Marina is the location of one the most popular shore diving sites on mainland Spain. On a busy summer weekend it’s not unusual to see dive centres from as far away as Madrid setting up their equipment in the car park, ready to explore the several reefs and walls that offers such a diverse range of diving.
We have five dive sites available from the shore, but it takes many dives to fully appreciate what each one has to offer!
Pared del Puerto (Harbour Wall) - 18 mtrs
A must-do shore dive, this is an easy, scenic, and thoroughly enjoyable dive that follows the rock outcrop and manmade breakwater that forms part of the harbour wall.
The dive starts along the natural outcrop, which provides us with opportunities to seek out the shy octopus and conger eels, and to find the many different species of nudibranchs feasting away on vegetation. The breakwater is also home to groupers and barracuda.
A gently sloping dive that gradually reaches a depth of 17 mtrs, then ascends up to the harbour wall. The return is made at 10 mtrs, allowing time to explore the shallower parts of this manmade breakwater.
A perfect dive for night diving.
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Ensenada de los Berengueles (Berengueles Cove Reef) - 14 mtrs
We start with a shallow entry from the shore and continue over many small and large boulders, with a gentle descent to about 12 metres, where we meet the main part of the reef.
Sitting atop a seabed of fine golden sand, and rising 6 to 8 metres, the reef extends out into the bay, and has many large cracks, swim throughs, and overhangs that provide us with much to look at during our dive. In particular we should see different species of nudibranch, larger octopus, and if we look close enough, colonies of brittle star fish hiding under the rocks.
It often takes two or three dives to fully explore this reef, and makes a great night dive as well.
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Arrecife Exterior (Outer Reef) - 22/25 mtrs
This reef sits along a contour line that separates the shallower Harbour Wall, with the deeper waters of Punta de la Mona.
Starting with a surface swim of 150 mtrs, we descend to the Berengueles Reef. From here we fin south to meet the inland facing ridge of the reef. The rock ridge runs parallel with the shore, 14 metres on one side, dropping to 22 metres on the other.
Our dive takes a circular route around this reef, quickly dropping to the deeper side first, and then slowly ascending back to our arrival point. On this dive we have been blessed to see Sunfish, who make a few inquisitive passes around us then quickly departing into the deep.
We spend time on this the reef, looking for the big black eye of a conger eel hiding between the rocks, or the misshapen face of the moray eel, and hopefully an octopus or two!
Just off to the western end are three cars that were sunk as an artificial reef (approx. 25 mtrs), and gas/no stop permitting it is possible to fin to these as well.
This dive is perfect for using Enriched Air Nitrox.
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Virgen Maria (Virgin Mary) - 18 mtrs
At the far western end of Berengueles Cove, at around 12 metres of depth, is a small statue of the Virgin Mary (Virgen Maria).
Entering from the far end of the beach this dive starts with a surface swim of 200 mtrs, to the inner edge of the Punta Headland, and descending against the rockface we come to a small rock alcove, where the statue stands.
We continue on heading out to deeper water, staying above 18 mtrs, keeping on our right the vertical rock wall. As we get deeper the rock wall rises above us to the surface and drops to the seabed beneath us, and as we float in mid water we admire the colourful sea life on the wall, festooned with soft corals, sea squirts, and delicate sea fans.
Here we have a chance to see large grouper, sunfish, conger eels, and the occasional big fat nudibranch!
We keep enough gas in reserve so that we can return to the shore underwater, and on our way back we pass across the cove of ‘Punta Shallow’ and across the start of the Berengueles Cove Reef. All going well we should surface in front of the Chiringuito and a short walk back to the van!
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Las Hondonadas (The Gullies) - 30/40 mtrs
As the cliffs at the southern end of Berengueles Cove drop away under the surface of the water, they continue out of sight down to almost 50 metres, but before reaching this depth there are several gullies that fan out behind the rock ridge that provides an impressive dive.
We descend at the Virgen Maria (see above) and follow the underwater ridge to a depth of 18 mtrs, where we then cross over the top and descend into Las Hondonadas (The Gullies).
The gullies extend down to over 40 mtrs, but we will keep above 30 mtrs allowing us a longer ‘no stop limit’, which enables us to cross into another gully for our ascent.
These gullies provide protection from the strong currents that can wash along the face of Punta de la Mona and gives us our first chance to see the rare soft corals. Do not be surprised if you catch a glimpse of sunfish, big groupers, conger & moray eels and rocks carpeted in lightbulb sea squirts.
Alternatively, and instead of crossing over into the gullies, we can continue descending, keeping just above the seabed, where the ridge finally meets the sea floor, at Punta de la Mona (The Tip). We will stop at round 40 metres, where we level off and explore where this prominent headland meets the seafloor.
This dive is perfect for using Enriched Air Nitrox.
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Calahonda - Shore Diving 12/20 mtrs
Easy entry from the shore, shallow, long dive times, and rock walls covered in life, what is not to like about Calahonda!
Diving at the far end of the beach, where the cliff drops into the sea, we can enjoy two dives in one day.
The Punto de Cerro Gordo (Fat Hill Point!) dive follows a gently descending route where the base of the cliff meets the sand seabed. We reach the corner of the cliff at around 18 metres, where we can continue on deeper (22 metres) into another cove, or return slightly shallower. We have many large rocks and boulders here to explore, along with the vertical face of the cliff that drops in from above. We usually find many juvenile fish, the occasional electric ray, along with anemones and soft corals on the cliff face.
Arrecife de Paso (Step Reef) dives on the reef that stays within the corner of the beach. We follow the seabed out to 12 metres, where we will turn back into the reef, traversing a series of steps that keep close into the foot of the cliff. This reef is teeming with juvenile fish, and being close to the cliff face, means that bringing a torch helps search out much of the hidden life on this dive. One of our favourites!
A perfect dive for night diving.
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Punta de la Mona - Boat diving up to 40 mtrs
Partnering with one of the longest established dive centres along the coast, we can offer some exhilarating dives that can only be done from a boat. Based around the outer edges of the Punta de la Mona headland, the boat provides us with easy access to these dive sites, including the deep drift and wall dives. Diving is subject to the prevailing conditions on the day.
We have three dive sites available from the boat, but it takes many dives to fully appreciate what each one has to offer!
Tres Picos (Three Peaks) - 20 mtrs
Tres Picos (max depth 20 mtrs) is on the inside edge of the western end of the headland.
Only a ten-minute boat ride from the port, the boat ties-off close to the dive, where a shallow descent to 5 metres brings us the edge of the ‘Three Peaks’.
These three rock peaks rise from the seabed, at 16 metres, and have near vertical walls and gullies that are the focus of the dive. Lots of small cracks, overhanging rocks, and a swim through, add to the fun of exploring on this dive.
Nitrox is an advantage on this dive if chosen as a second dive of the day.
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La Calita (The Cove) - 25 mtrs
La Calita (max depth 25 mtrs) is the last bay on the western edge of the headland, just before the outer wall.
A ten-minute boat ride takes us into the bay, where the boat ties off in just a few metres of water.
Descending here we quickly reach the start of the dive at 18 metres, and follow the rocks out to deeper water. We will be looking underneath the rocks for electric rays, conger eels, groupers, and if we are lucky maybe a visit from a sunfish. We ascend the vertical wall and return at a shallower depth back the boat.
Nitrox is advised for this dive.
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Punta de la Mona (Mona's Point) - 40 mtrs
The outer cliffs of Punta de la Mona (max depth 40 mtrs) are a spectacular backdrop for this dive.
A near continuous drop from the surface, the rockface meets the seabed at 30 to 35 mtrs, where we will explore the vertical rockfaces, investigate the overhangs, and enjoy a swim through or two! On this dive we are lucky to find the Precious Coral, which can only be found at these depths, as well as shoals of sardines, with the occasional tuna chasing after them.
Depending on the conditions this can be done as a drift dive.
This dive is perfect for using Enriched Air Nitrox.
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Fun Fact!
The Mediterranean Sea, as we know it today, was formed over 5 million years ago when the land bridge that linked Europe to Africa was finally breached, and the Atlantic Ocean poured in to fill the basin. Before, the Mediterranean basin was an almost entirely dry expanse of low lying land, between 1.5km and 2.7km beneath today's sea level.
It took approximately 2 years for the deluge of water to completely fill 90% of the Mediterranean basin, and at its peak the column of water flowing in from the Atlantic would have been several hundred metres deep, travelling up to a 100 Kilometres per hour, and causing the sea levels to rise by up to 10 metres a day!
Today, due to the high levels of evaporation within the Mediterranean Sea, almost 40 billion litres of salt water floods in from the Atlantic Ocean every hour! But it’s not just water that comes in from the Atlantic; the Straits of Gibraltar is the crossing point for many species of, to name but a few, Whales, Dolphins, Sharks, Turtles and the annual migration of Tuna fish.
Due to our close proximity to the Straits of Gibraltar we can see this influence under the water. With a strong westerly wind the Atlantic waters push further east, easily reaching the areas where we dive, and these colder, clearer waters, bring a higher density of plankton, supporting a profusion of sea fans, nudibranchs and a varied aquatic life.