Where to dive in Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria has a fantastic selection of scuba diving and snorkelling sites which will delight divers of all levels and abilities. There are sheltered bays and coves where you can take an experience or training dive, or deeper wrecks where more experienced divers can explore. As you travel around the islands, there are a number of main dive sites which visitors explore on a regular basis.

The best diving area on the island is unquestionably the Arinaga Marine Reserve on the east coast, known better as 'El Cabrón', where divers from most of the major dive schools can be found every day of the week. Working towards the south there are several possible entries but these are onto unremarkable shores with variable visibility and little life.

Once past the sandy beaches of Maspalomas and the southern tip of the island, the west coast offers numerous coves and bays between Pasito Blanco and Mogan, and a few off-shore dive sites such as Pasito Blanco, which provide a variety of relatively easy dives at depths of 15 to 25 metres, and several small wrecks to dive on.

The north-west coast is largely unaccessible, but also subject to strong swells and the northerly trades and so rarely dived, with only Sardina del Norte being used on a regular basis.

Finally at Las Palmas, in the North East. the best wreck diving can be found, with La Catedral and Barra de Las Canteras being the other most significant dives. Working clockwise around the coast, it is possible to dive from several bays, inlets and small beaches (though mostly unremarkable). The Gando Shoal has some interesting wrecks, but at present there is no dive school or boat which goes there on a regular basis.

In July 2005 Gran Canaria was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by the UN, and several areas both inland and around the coast have been listed by the EU as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, but to date only the 'El Cabrón' area has formally been proposed to the Ministerio for the status of Marine Reserve.

Playa Del Ingles - 20 mins
Puerto Rico - 40 mins
Mogan 1hr

Reef Diving
Cavern Diving
Night Diving
Shore Diving

The 'El Cabrón' Marine Reserve, Arinaga

This area on the east coast has developed such a reputation for the variety and quantity of marine life that it has not only been proposed as a marine reserve, but an underwater guidebook has already been produced by the local council. It is currently in the final stages of approval as a Micro Area Protected Marina

• "Best Diving in Gran Canaria" - Dive Magazine March 2004
• "Best place to dive is at El Cabrón" - AA Pocket Guide
• "One of the most spectacular dive sites in the Canary Islands"
  - Diving in Canaries (Sergio Hanquest)
• "Topspot - De unieke duikplaatsen in het natuurpark voor Arinaga"
  Duiken Magazine November 2003
• "La variada y confiada fauna, junto a un fácil accesso, han hecho de esta zona la más visitada de Gran Canaria"Guía de Buceo España
• Listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by the European Union 28/12/2001

The underwater marine life is prolific, with huge shoals of roncadores, damselfish, sardines, bream, and baracuda, other species such as wrasse and parrotfish are common throughout the reserve. Every dive can throw up surprises, from rays, to sea-horse, from glass-eye to gorgonias. You can see several of the species only found in the canaries including many Bart Umbrines (Cernia Rossa).

But it is not just the marine life which makes this area special, as the underwater scenery is stunning, with natural arches, caves, tunnels, swim-throughs and cliffs. From the main entry point there are at least four different dive routes, and altogether between eight and ten seperate dives in the reserve.

If you are only going to do a couple of dives on the island, then this is the place to head for. However despite the beauty and colour under the water the reserve itself is at the end of a dusty 'off-road' track with no visitor facilities at all (no toilets, no water, no cafes nothing). The best dives bottom out at around 22m, and are 'multi-level' which means that if you are careful with your air you can safely complete non-stop dives of 40+ minutes.

For more information on the individual dive sites in the Arinaga Marine Reserve see the special write-up on the website of the only major diving centre in Arinaga: Dive Sites in the El Cabrón Marine Reserve

For more information from the local environmental group, Patinegro, see a translation of their leaflet Playa del Cabrón - Una costa de Vida

Playa Del Ingles - 20 mins
Puerto Rico - 5 mins
Mogan 20 mins

Reef Diving
Boat Diving

Pasito Blanco natural reef

This is a boat dive to a reef about 2km from the shore just off the southern point of the island. This is probably the best scenic dive on the South and West coast of the island. The reef is at a maximum depth of 19m and rises between one and three meters from the sand, and is roughly circular, so can be circumnavigated on one tank of air. There is a large shoal of roncadores (bastard grunts), and stingrays are fairly common. You are also likely to see trumpetfish, baracuda, filefish, black-tailed combers, morays, marmor bream and smaller reef species such as damselfish and wrasse.

Pasito Blanco artificial reef

This is a boat dive to an artificial reef about 5km from the shore. The reef has been created on a sandy sea bed by dropping several artificial structures including blocks, tubes and concrete 'skeletons'. The area is the home to a large shoal of roncadors, barracudas, and is a good place to find angleshark and ray.

Playa Del Ingles - 15 mins
Puerto Rico - 10 mins
Mogan 10 mins

Reef Diving
Boat Diving

Arguineguín Reef

Just outside the harbour at Arguineguín, this reef lies in 14-16m and has a large permanent shoal of roncadores. Stingray, trumpetfish, morays and other common reef dwellers can also be found. Following the edge of this volcanic reef you come can hunt among the nooks and crannies for smaller species, until you arrive at the fish-ball, which will part to let you pass and then reform behind you.

Playa Del Ingles - 25 mins
Puerto Rico - 5 mins
Mogan 10 mins

Reef Diving
Cavern Diving
Night Diving
Shore Diving

Smaller Bays (Amadores, Medio Almudh, Playa del Cura, Tauro, Taurito)

There are several smaller bays along the west coast where shore diving is possible, and you can enter the water from the beach if there is no swell. Most of these beaches are quite steep and stony, and have a breakwater zone where visibility can be quite poor. Once outside this zone rock-strewn shores are common with a variety of the more common species such as damselfish, parrotfish, wrasse and bream. The beach at Amadores is of imported coral-sand behind the breakwater, and this can get very cloudy if there is an onshore wind or strong groundswell. The undeveloped beach at Medio Almudh is suitable for shore diving and snorkelling, however it is also the local nudist beach! Some of the beaches such as Taurito have jet-skis or other water sports, so make sure you enter in the designated areas.

Playa Del Ingles - 30 mins
Puerto Rico - 10 mins


Reef Diving
Cavern Diving
Night Diving
Boat Diving
Wreck Diving

Puerto de Mogan

Puerto de Mogan is the last and most important of the small harbours along the South West Coast. From here is is possible to dive with several operators, and here the wreck of the 'Cermona II' is one of the most important dive spots. The wreck lies in about 18m of water and was originally a small coastal trader and fishing boat. It was sunk as an attraction for the 'Yellow Submarine' which comes out of Mogan Harbour roughly every hour, and makes a circuit of this and the other now broken up wreck in the area. This provides a double bonus for divers as it is rare to be able to say that you have dived alongside a submarine, and if the family don't dive they can always watch you from inside the submarine.