Scuba diving in Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago of volcanic origins located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100km west of the border between Morocco and Western Sahara. The Canary Islands consist of seven major islands (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, as well as six small ones. These islands are easy to reach, and the busiest airports are on Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The tourist industry in the Canaries grew rapidly after 1950, and the most popular tourist destination is the island of Tenerife. The landscape of each of the major islands is different from the others, though each of them is unique and offers splendid beaches, volcanic areas, nature and marine reserves, some archeological and cultural attractions, and a vibrant lifestyle, as well as a variety of fine hotels and entertainment, including sports activities. The waters around the islands have amazingly clear water, varied marine life, spectacular sea floors, and amazingly beautiful underwater worlds, with spectacular rock formations of volcanic origin, caves, overhangs, tunnels, walls, and wrecks. There are lots of dive sites that can accommodate all divers, regardless of their level and experience. The visibility is excellent here and currents are mostly mild. There are so many dive sites worth visiting around the clear waters of the Canary Islands.

Most popular dive sites 

There are numerous interesting dive sites, that include El Bajón del Río, El Veril Grande in Fuerteventura, El Cabrón, also the Mogán wrecks-Cermona II, Bluebird wreck in Gran Canaria area, Los Erizos wrecks, La Cathedral, Temple Hall wreck, Tiñosa Wrecks in Lanzarote, El Condesito, Los Chuchos, El Puertito, Marazul, Yellow Mountain, Palm Mar Wall, and the Meridian wreck in Tenerife.

The islands have a subtropical climate with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. There are tropical rains from time to time, and the rainiest period is generally from November till March. The best time for diving is from June to September. The average air temperature in the summer is around 24C/75F and in the winter 17C/64F. The water temperature in February is about 17C/62F and in August 23C/73F. Visibility is good: from 10m to 30m/32-98ft.

What to see

Marine creatures found in the islands' waters include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpion fish, triggerfish, grouper, goby and blenny. In addition, there are many invertebrate species including sponges, jellyfish, anemones, crabs, mollusks, sea urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers and several tyes of corals. There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtles that are sighted periodically near the islands. The most common of them being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle.