One of the best kept secrets of the Costa Brava lies under its transparent turquoise waters. Would you like to take the plunge?
The depths of the Costa Brava provide some of the most wonderful and spectacular seascapes on this planet. The maritime natural heritage here is preserved thanks to the nature reserves of the Medes Islands and Cap de Creus, making it is a paradise for snorkellers and scuba divers.
Rocky sea bottoms, caves, sunken ships, Posidonia meadows, soft coral walls of all kinds, are just some of the places teeming with a wide variety of species of fish, nudibranchs, starfish, octopuses, and many others. It is not surprising that every year divers the world over flock to the waters of the Costa Brava to go scuba diving, one of the few options available to observe the marine biodiversity of this area.
You will find dives for all levels and if you’ve never done it, don’t worry, you’ll find the Costa Brava is the ideal place for your first scuba dive, which is offered from any of the nearby diving centres.
If scuba diving seems out of your league, you can try snorkelling, another way to observe the seabed from the surface of the water, without the need for as much technical knowledge as diving.
Do you want to witness the marine spectacle that awaits you in the depths of the waters of the Costa Brava? We present the 10 top diving spots, which include some of the most legendary, such as La Vaca, Carall Bernat or Punta dels Farallons.
Let’s find out!
Blanes marks the beginning of the Costa Brava and therefore the beginning of a one-of-a-kind coastline famed for the transparent waters of its beaches and coves. Here you can do an easy dive, just 17 metres down, but a thrilling one for the remains of various shipwrecks that can still be seen, such as the four sixteenth-century cannons.
The dive usually starts on the beach of Punta de Santa Anna, and continues until you reach “La Seca”, an imposing rock 14 meters high, teeming with life around it.
LEVEL: Beginner
Following the Girona coast, heading north, we find Lloret de Mar, one of the most frequented spots in the county of La Selva, which hides dreamy nooks and crannies known only to those who venture out to discover the surroundings.
La Roca Muladera is one of the most attractive dives in the area, from 8 metres deep and medium difficulty; it is a fantastic space to enjoy the company of the area’s many native species, which come to greet the divers who visit them.
LEVEL: Experienced
We travel to Palamós to perform the spectacular dive inside the Boreas, a tall tug of the German navy dating back to World War II, which was intentionally sunken in 1989 to create a marine biotype in the waters off Palamós.
This is a dive down to 22 meters deep designed for skilled divers who know how to move easily around any space.
LEVEL: Advanced
We continue along the Costa Brava until we reach Tamariu, to find the curious dive of the Canyons of Tamariu. At this point, divers traverse narrow corridors that are located in hand-shaped rock formations, shaped by the sea currents.
It’s a fantastic dive to observe yellow gorgonian coral and coral-lined ravines in a colourful seascape. Some of the usual inhabitants of these depths are groupers, sea bream, lobsters, pomfrets, red caelifera, moray eels and many others.
This is a dive that adapts to all levels, with the possibility of reaching 12 metres deep for beginner divers, and down to 45 for the more advanced.
LEVEL: From beginner to advanced
This dive site, located in the Medes Islands Marine Reserve, is one of the most famous dives due to its prominence and lights of a tunnel, which produce spectacular contrasts that play with the bluish tones of the sea and the sun’s rays.
In the depths of this spot you can admire the fauna and flora characteristic of the area. Soft coral, red coral, sea sponges, porcelain crabs, moray eels and groupers, which gather in great numbers during breeding season due to the protection offered by the tunnel.
LEVEL: Beginner
Very close to La Vaca, still in the Medes Islands, is another of the most famous diving spots.
Carall Bernat is the name of an islet 72 metres high, whose depths is formed by ravines and fissures that make perfect hiding places for the fauna inhabiting these waters.
Here you will find one of the spots with the highest biodiversity of fauna and flora of the Medes Islands, highlighted by several walls lined with red soft coral, moray eels, swallowtail sea perch, scorpion fish, and much, much more. Another peculiarity of this place is the variety of pelagic fauna: barracudas, the common dentex, sea eagles, tunas, among others.
LEVEL: Advanced
On the coast of L’Escala, we find another exciting dive to contemplate a sunken ship. This is the Marmoler, which as its name suggests, was carrying marble at the time of its wreck. This ship sank when it hit the coast in 1971 and has remained there ever since, becoming a perfect refuge for several marine species.
It’s a dive suitable only for the most advanced, as along this excursion, divers descend to a depth of between 34 and 42 metres.
LEVEL: Advanced
El Gat is a diving spot located at Punta del Cap Norfeu, in the town of Roses. It is a very popular dive site in the area, due to its location inside the Marine Reserve of the Cap de Creus Natural Park.
This spot has different options for reaching its depths, making it ideal for divers of all levels. The shallowest point is around 15 metres deep, while the deepest drops to 60 metres.
All these dives offer an infinitely coloured marine universe, an unworldly seascape teeming with life, including the impressive moon fish.
LEVEL: From beginner to advanced
We continue in the waters of the Cap de Creus Natural Park, specifically in the town of Cadaqués. Here is the Punta dels Farallons, a diving spot up to 40 metres deep only suitable for the most experienced divers.
At the bottom you will find one set of islets, full of red gorgonians, coral and wide variety of species such as: sargos, sciaenids and schools of fish. Sometimes, when the sea is a bit choppy, it is possible to spot the tuna and moon fish that shelter in this area.
LEVEL: Advanced
We finish this route through the 10 most outstanding diving spots on the Costa Brava in the waters of Llançà.
The Punta dels Tres Frares is an ideal dive for all levels, as the dive begins at a shallow point and continues along an irregular descent along a wall of coral and sea fans.
LEVEL: From Beginner to Advanced
Now that you know the most interesting places to go diving on the Costa Brava, we are sure that you can’t wait to discover the marine universe found here.
That is why it is important that you look for a certified diving centre in the locality so you can enjoy a safe, trouble-free dive.
On the Costa Brava you will find campsites very close to the best diving routes. Some of them have their own diving centres, or ones nearby, which will make it easier for you to discover the spectacular seabed in the area.
