Did you know that the Canary Islands are one of the best places to dive in Europe?
Because they are just a few hours flying time from any European country, and they also have amazing weather all year round.
Their location in the Atlantic Ocean and their volcanic origin make them an ideal place for scuba diving thanks to their underwater landscapes and the great variety of marine species that make their home here.
Diving in any of the islands is a sure success, and you will enjoy it to the fullest.
Today, in this post, I'm going to tell you about the "best" dive you can find in each of the islands so that you know what you shouldn't miss.
8 dives. One on each island.
1. The 8 best dives sites in the Canary Islands.
1/ Island of Gran Canaria. "El Cabrón" marine reserve.
Gran Canaria, is one of the main islands of the archipelago.
An island that has a little bit of everything.
The city of Las Palmas is the ninth-largest city in Spain and the capital of the island and the province of Las Palmas.
On the island of Gran Canaria, you will find places of great beauty. From high peaks to fishing villages and white sandy beaches.
In the village of Arinaga, very close to the airport, you will find the marine reserve of El Cabrón.
El Cabrón: A diving spot with great interest in Gran Canaria.
A rocky cliff that descends to 9 or 10 meters in which we find many tunnels, caves, nooks, and crannies, and a large sandy area that extends to 23 meters.
The variety and richness of the marine life here are surprising.
Shoals of grunts and barracuda along with amber jacks, jacks, and striped tuna.
It is also easy to find the beautiful Canarian lobsters, stingrays, and eagle rays.
2/ Island of Tenerife: "La Catedral" (The Cathedral).
The other most important island of the Canary Islands. Here is Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the island and of the province of Tenerife.
Like all the Canary Islands, it has volcanic origins and is characterized by its peaks full of vegetation. It is an island where you can find, at the same time, the warm climate characteristic of the Canary Islands and a high mountain climate.
As you know, here is mount Teide, which is the highest mountain (volcano) in Spain, with a height of 3.715 metres.
On this island, we have a very nice dive: La Catedral.
Only 5 minutes by boat from Puerto de la Cruz, we have a volcanic rock cliff full of tunnels and caves. One of these caves, which is more than 20 metres high, is La Catedral.
An imposing cavern that gets its name from its similarity to a cathedral, but this one is a natural one, is underwater, and has fish instead of choirboys.
A real show.
It is a dive that can be adapted to all levels, as the top of the cliff is at about 20 meters and can reach up to 45 meters.
We find spectacular terraces full of red and yellow gorgonians and if you look a little further you can find catalufas, canary lobsters, and moray eels inside the holes in the wall.
A truly stunning dive.
3/ El Hierro: "El Bajón".
El Hierro is the youngest and southernmost of the Canary Islands which belongs to the province of Tenerife.
It is an island of great beauty with exuberant volcanic landscapes.
Pine forests, cliffs, and natural pools are some of the attractions you can find.
Here we have La Restinga, a small coastal village, famous in the diving world, where you can find the sea of calms, one of the best diving spots in the Canary Islands.
El bajón: Is the best dive here. It is a drop-off that can reach up to 100 metres and offers us an impressive vertical wall full of marine life.
It is a high-level dive where strong currents abound, but this is what makes it the perfect place to find an infinity of animals.
It is a place where you can see everything from large Groupers and Moray Eels to the spectacular Manta or the beautiful Whale Shark.
4/ La Palma. "Las Cruces de Malpique"(Malpique Crosses).
After the eruption of the volcano Cumbre Vieja, who hasn't heard about this beautiful island?
They call it "La Isla Bonita" (the beautiful island), which suits it very well. An island where the vegetation makes it a unique place. Its volcanic landscape, combined with its Canarian Pine trees and Laurisilva, make it unique to each Canary Islands.
Las Cruces de Malpique or Cementerio de Los Mártires de Tazacorte.(Cemetery of the Martyrs of Tazacorte):
In the south of the island, in front of the lighthouse of Fuencaliente. 40 submerged crosses at a depth of about 15 meters that serve as home to a multitude of marine species.
The crosses commemorate the attack by Jacques De Sores, a French Protestant corsair, on a ship carrying Father Ignacio Azevedo and 39 other Jesuits on their way to Brazil, which stopped in La Palma.
A dive that surprises beginners and expert divers alike because it does not go below 25 meters. With excellent visibility and occasionally strong currents, it is ideal for lovers of underwater photography.
5/ La Gomera. La Cuevita.
Another island of great beauty full of forests, cliffs, and spectacular volcanic landscapes bathed by the crystalline waters of the Atlantic.
Another magical place like each of the Canary Islands and where we can also find spectacular dives.
La Cuevita (Little Cave): A very easy dive that can be done from the shore in San Sebastián de la Gomera.
A place with a spectacular biodiversity. Stingrays, Turtles, octopuses, Cuttle Fish and Eagle Rays, and Grunts and Tuna are some of the inhabitants of this dive site.
An ideal dive for beginners as it has a maximum depth of 22 meters and its waters are calm. An ideal place for night dives.
6/ Fuerteventura: "Las Setas" in Isla de Lobos.
It is said to be the oldest island of the Canary Islands, and it is the second largest in extension.
Together with Lanzarote, it is the easternmost and also the driest.
Here in Fuerteventura, you can find the best beaches in Europe. Corralejo with its large dunes and Jandía with its kilometers of white sandy beaches.
In Fuerteventura there are many dive sites from the north to the south, but without a question the most spectacular dive site is Isla de Lobos.
Las Setas: A worthwhile dive. The volcanic rock formations on a white sandy bottom have been eroded by the strong current of the river between Fuerteventura and Lobos.
Here we usually find large schools of fish, Breams, Jacks, that shelter under the rock and give us a great show. It is also very usual to find Barracudas, Angel sharks, Stingrays, Moray Eels, and Canary Lobsters.
A dive for experienced divers because, although the maximum depth is 15 meters, it is normal to find strong currents, and it is almost always necessary to descend directly so that the current does not displace you, and you miss the dive.
7/ La Graciosa: El Bajo de Las Gerardias.
La Graciosa was declared the eighth island of the Canarian Archipelago in 1918. A very small island that is part of the Chinijo Archipelago, situated in the north of Lanzarote and home to the largest marine reserve in Europe.
In "Archipielago Chinijo" Marine Reserve, it is precisely here that we find a spectacular dive: El Bajo de Las Gerardias.
El Bajo de Las Gerardias: A submarine mountain that gets its name from the large concentration of Gerardias (Encrusting Anemone) that can be found on this dive.
We also find an abundance of Orange Coral, Yellow and Scarlett Sea Fan, large Dusky Grouper, and Island Grouper.
A dive for experienced divers that reaches a depth of 40 meters.
8/Lanzarote: La Catedral.
I am not going to tell you much about Lanzarote in this post because our whole page at the end talks about diving here.
But I will tell you about what for me is the best dive: La Catedral (The Cathedral).