Tenerife is the largest of the islands in the archipelago. Here you will meet amazing forms of landscape that will make you think about the power of nature. The island's infrastructure is excellent and offers opportunities for many sports. Diving, big game fishing, surfing, wind surfing, bicycles, paragliding and climbing are some of them. You can go on many interesting trips here as well as participate in completely unusual activities such as watching the stars in the astronomical observatory located in one of the most beautiful places in the world - El Teide National Park. From the top of the El Teide volcano, you can see the west coast of Africa and all the neighboring islands. If you decide to climb, you have to remember, that the air at an altitude of 3,718m is less frequent and causes a weakening of the organism. Very strong winds are also blowing there.
The situation is just as varied under water. Tenerife offers dive sites for divers of all training levels. Here you can find wonderful sandy coves surrounded by interesting rock formations bustling with life. They are perfect for trying diving for the first time. They are also demanding, deep diving sites that require a lot of experience and serious planning due to the currents or difficult access.
In the north of the island, two diving sites are definitely worth recommending. The Cathedral znajduje się obok Puerto de la Cruz. It is an underwater canyon in the shape of a huge cathedral, the entrance to which is located at 18m. The maximum depth is 40m. Many species of moray eels can be found here, writers, large trumpetfish, barracuda and sponges.
Another interesting dive site is Garachico, located approx. 20 km west of Puerto de la Cruz. Access to the dive site is very good and after a while of swimming we encounter a huge rock formation with lots of fish under the water and then a wonderful underwater rock arch. Among the rock formations we can find octopuses, cuttlefish and many other interesting species.
The east coast of Tenerife offers interesting dives from the Port of Los Gigantes by huge cliffs reaching 600m. In the place called "Sting Ray City" at 18m we will meet several species of stingrays, the largest of them exceeding 3m. The local dive club usually takes fish heads as groundbait, which immediately attract large numbers of rays (sometimes six species can be found while diving!). When the divers finish the dive and enter the boat, large octopuses appear in search of remains, so if you still have some air, it is worth hiding behind the rock and taking a look at them from hiding..
To the west, in Tabaiba, we can visit a small tug wreck located from 20 do 30m. A dive site easily accessible from the shore or on the discharge line by a large buoy. Next to the wreckage we will meet pelagic fish, trumpetfish, barakudy, moray eels and sardines. The wreck is great for exploration and wreck courses.
A short distance to the south there is a diving site called Coral Negro del Faro. At depth 30 m there is a spectacular rock wall falling down to 70m . Lots of pelagic fish around, groupers, black beads. The dive is intended only for experienced divers due to frequent strong currents. From the shore, this spot is only available midway between the full moon and the new moon due to the weakest currents.
In the south, near Los Cristianos, at a depth of 30 meters, there is the wreck of the old yacht El Meridian (20m).
It was sunk deliberately in 2005, it lies on a sandy bottom near a rocky reef. Several species of rays and other fish in large numbers can be found in the area.
Nearby there is the Cueva de Palm Mar dive site. It is a place for advanced divers with a depth of 40m with very good transparency. At 16m, we swim over the cliff, from which we swim 30m where the entrance to the cave is located. We can meet Mediterranean moray eels along the way, brown and tiger. The cave itself is a great mystery of Tenerife, During exploration attempts, several divers died there, commemorated by a commemorative cross at the bottom. It is still unknown how long the cave is or where it leads.
In a small bay in the south, in El Puertito, we can actually admire turtles every day . The shallow bay is also rich in several species of stingrays, octopus, cuttlefish and many other species willingly pose for photos. A great example, that you do not need to dive deeply to experience interesting and enjoyable diving.
La Gomera
The fascinating underwater scenery of La Gomera contains unusual rock formations, cliffs, friendly sandbanks and of course a rich and varied fauna. Diving is especially popular in the south of the island where the Atlantic is much milder than in the north. Due to the unavailability of the island, fish are still very numerous there. The most common species are tuna, barracudas and stingrays. Parrotfish are found in many places, skorpieny i trumpet fish. Eagle Ray and electric rays often add variety to underwater landscapes. In the rocks we will also find brown and black moray eels and from time to time we will meet a tiger moray. Large rocks covered with sponges and unique rock formations diversify the underwater landscape, which offers excellent living conditions for even the smallest forms of life. We often see snails between rocks and sponges, crabs and prawns.
The iron
El Hierro or "La Isla Chiquita" is the smallest and least developed island in the Canaries which has had an extremely good impact on marine life. "The Calm Sea" lub "Mar de Las Calmas" (under UNESCO protection from 2000 year) to the south, it offers the opportunity to dive along spectacular rock walls in a calm ocean, which provides ideal conditions for the development of corals and the observation of pelagic fish. Reefs, underwater mountain peaks, boulders, caves and volcanic arches are a constant diversion in diving here. It is advisable to have diving experience as many dive sites are deep, often also with strong currents. Here you can find many species of small coral-feeding fish and larger predators hunting along the rock walls.
The most common species are, among others, Najeka, Trumpet fish, Puffer fish, golden, Seriola, Tuna, gray and yellow Trigerfish and Gruper. Manta rays can sometimes be found near the rock walls, Hammer sharks and whale sharks. Many competitions in underwater photography take place here and the island is classified as one of the most interesting diving sites in the world. W 2012 year there was a volcanic activity in the south of the island in the ocean, but recently the tourism board officially encouraged tourists to dive around El Hierro. The most interesting dive sites are: The Bajon, Lower Rosarjo, The jump, tacoron, rock of tacoron, Devil's Cave, Punta del Lajial, Punta las Canas and La Herradura.
The Palm
Most of the dives take place around Los Cancajos and Puerto Naos, around which the largest number of leisure and entertainment centers is also concentrated. Near the resorts there are black volcanic beaches ideal for lovers of sun and bathing. There are many amazing cliffs under the water, volcanic arches, steep rock walls, caves and canyons. Visibility often exceeds 30m. It is an island much less crowded than other Canary Islands, but undoubtedly just as charming and beautiful. The island is still poorly explored underwater and new dive sites are discovered almost every day! There are well-functioning ferry connections between all the islands. There is a well-developed accommodation base on the islands. It is possible to organize a diving safari by bus starting in Tenerife and visit La Gomera one by one, El Hierro and La Palmy.
