Diving in Tenerife
With year-round warm, transparent waters, plenty of marine life, and an underwater landscape that is diverse and fascinating, Tenerife is a great place to dive.
Diving in Tenerife is an unforgettable experience all year round. To begin with, why is that? What makes Tenerife the best island in the Canaries to dive?
Even if you’ve been to mainland Spain, you might not have seen everything. The Canary Islands, part of Spain but with a slightly different culture and life approach, can definitely surprise you.
Diving is possible all year round, with visibility ranging from 10 to 30 meters in every season. The water’s temperature varies between 19° and 26° C all year round.
A dive in Tenerife can include encounters with barracudas, manta rays, sea horses, turtles, dolphins, and whales. The underwater landscape is diverse and fascinating, with volcanic caves, canyons, cliffs, and tunnels.
If this is not your first dive, you will see a lot of stuff that you are not used to. Tenerife does not have coral reefs, but the impressive rock formations and abundance of pelagic are what make diving sites here so special.
You can rent diving equipment from a variety of dive shops around Tenerife, or you can rent diving equipment from specialized dive centers.
Temperature
The Gulf Stream warms the water around the Canaries from the north. The water temperature ranges from 19°C to 24°C.
Visibility
In the Canary Islands, the water is relatively clear, with visibility often exceeding 30 meters thanks to the very low levels of plankton (which reduces underwater visibility). As the vegetable plankton (phytoplankton) flourishes in spring, the visibility diminishes a little at that time.
Currents and Tides
When diving close to headlands, drop-offs, or seamounts, currents may be encountered, but they are usually weak and absent during slack tides. Every day, there are two high tides and two low tides. There may be a tidal range of up to three meters between the spring tide and the neap tide in February.
Tenerife´s Marine Life
Tenerife is home to a variety of marine life. You won’t want to miss diving in Tenerife once you see the video.
Dolphins & Whales
Tenerife’s ocean life includes dolphins and pilot whales. The pilot whale belongs to the dolphin family. It isn’t rare to see the creatures in the waters surrounding the island. Throughout the year, you can see different kinds of whales and dolphins. Spotted dolphins and Eden’s whales are among them.
Turtles
Turtles are frequently found around Tenerife dive sites. There are five species of turtles in total, but the Green turtle is the most common. The green turtle is capable of growing to over 1 meter and weighing more than 200 kilograms.
Angel sharks
When diving, angel sharks are the most commonly seen sharks. Angel sharks are ambush predators that wait for the opportunity to strike, lying motionless in the sand and feeding on nearby prey.
Bull rays
Divers may also come across Bull Rays. Despite its size and tiger-like markings, this stingraylooks like an Eagle ray at first glance. Its body can grow up to 150 cm across. Typically, it can be seen swimming a few meters above the sand.
Canarian Parrot Fish
Almost certainly, you will encounter a colorful fish called the Parrot Fish. This little friend is not very shy and has parrot-like teeth with which he can nibble on corals.
Dusky grouper
The Dusky grouper is another fish you can see underwater. A creature is born female and then turns male after some time.
Cuttlefish
Similar to their cousin – the octopus – cuttlefish can adjust their color or texture immediately to suit their set. Cuttlefish are colorblind, but they are highly sophisticated in evading predators.The waters of Tenerife are also home to Barracudas, Tunas, and Blue Marlins, among other fish species.
NOTE: Animals are not dangerous as long as they are calm. If they are frightened, you might start worrying. So, don’t try to scare them.
The Best Dive Sites
Tenerife offers many stunning dive sites. We chose the best dive sites (according to our opinion, there are, however, many other places that one can discover) around the island so you can plan your dive more easily.
Before choosing the best diving spot for you, we want to ask you to help us protect the water animals. Whether you are at the virgin spot or surrounded by other divers, please make sure not to feed the animals and of course not to leave trash after yourself. Apart from being illegal, feeding animals can also damage their health and eating habits.
Here are four of the best dive sites in the Southern Coast of Tenerife.
Palmar Wall
As you descend to a depth of 25 m from the beach, you are immediately surrounded by rays, including round stingrays, bull rays, and common eagle rays. You can find the biggest Moray Eels here at great depths.
Montaña Amarilla
Montaña Amarilla offers spectacular rock formations as well as underwater exploration! The Yellow Mountain dive site offers its visitors crystal clear waters with lava caves and a wide range of fish species.
El Puertito
The sea turtles are the main attraction here. A great training site for beginners! This dive site is ideal for calm dives since it has shallow waters, no currents, and a sandy bottom. A field of rocks and mooring blocks extends from the mouth of the bay into flat sand. You will also find butterfly rays, bull rays, octopuses, cuttlefish, and other underwater creatures.
El Condesit
The wreck of El Condestito lies eight to twenty meters below the surface. Originally, it was a concrete freighter that crashed about 50 years ago. The underwater volcanic seascape gradually drops deeper, offering a perfect habitat for octopuses, glass eye fish, trumpetfish, barracudas, groupers, rays, and little moray eels.
