Diving Trips, Snorkelling Trips

Diving in La Manga.

La Manga offers some of the best diving in Spain. Boat diving brings dive sites such as La Laja, Isla Grosa, El Farallon and the Islas Hormigas marine reserve within range. Shore diving you will encounter abundant marine life and beautiful underwater scenery just a short swim from the beach. Sites vary in maximum depth from 9-10 metres upwards - so there's something for all skill and experience levels. Some of the dive sites also make for good snorkelling. Please also read through the regulations for diving in Murcia, Spain and how they effect you - minimum age, medical certification and insurance requirements.

Shore Diving

For divers qualified to PADI Scuba Diver level or above. Guided by PADI scuba instructor. Dive trips to sites in the La Manga area. Maximum depth 18m. Fun diving - plenty to see - suitable for all levels.

We will need to see your certification card and log book before you dive with us. Please also read our Diving in Spain page for local legal requirements.

La Manga Dive School offer a full equipment hire service. Our diving equipment is regularly serviced. We use Scubapro regulators, Cressi & Subacqua BCD's. We offer a choice of 15 / 12 litre tanks.

Shore Dive Sites include:

Cala Fria. Just south of the lighthouse (Faro) in Cabo de Palos. Cala Fria is a gravel beach at the foot of low cliffs. The south side of the bay slopes steadily right from the shore - making this a particularly good dive for beginners or experienced divers who haven't dived for a while. The bottom is rocky for the first 50 metres or so giving way to a mixture of sand, rocky reef and boulder field further out. The mouth of the bay has several 'fields' of posidonia (sea grass) - which offers food and shelter to small fish and crustaceans. Fish commonly sighted during dives off Cala Fria: damsel fish, longsnouted wrasse, rainbow wrasse, painted comber, red mullet (goatfish), cow bream, two banded bream, white bream. Maximum depth 8 / 9 metres.
Cala Correo. Next cove heading south west of Cala Fria. Cala Correo is a small gravel beach at the foot of a staircase cut into a low cliff. The bay itself is large and is sheltered to the South-East by a line of large rocks which stand well clear of the water. Close to shore, the bottom is rocks and reef with occasional patches of sand. There is a good covering of posidonia - particularly in the south-west quarter of the bay. The bottom drops away from 2-3 to 5-8 metres (depending on route) around 50m from the shore and the composition changes to sand / gravel. This is a good area to look for octopus, but you are also likely to see cardinal fish, damsel fish, green wrasse, tube worms, sea cucumber, brill in addition to the fish listed for Cala Fria. You will also see a variety of sedentary creatures - sponges, sea urchins etc. Beyond the rocks at the mouth of the bay, you will find a large sea grass prairie dotted with large boulders and rocks. The bottom slopes off to 18m here and if you're lucky you might spot barracuda, moray eel, or larger fish such as dentex here.
Cala Reona. Situated just to the west of Cabo de Palos. Cala Reona is a sandy beach fringed by mountains to the west and rocky shoreline stretching towards Cabo de Palos to the east. Underwater, the bay alternates between sandy patches and rocky reef covered with sea grass. The conventional underwater route in and out follows a gently sloping 'canyon' out to a sandy plain at the mouth of the bay with plenty of marine life to enjoy on the way. Fish commonly seen on Cala Reona - white bream, two banded bream, cow bream, red mullet, rainbow wrasse, longsnouted wrasse, damsel fish. White bream and bait fish occasionally congregate in large shoals here, making the dive an unforgettable experience. Like Cala Fria, this is a good dive for beginners or experienced divers who want to check equipment or weighting. Maximum depth around 10 metres.

Boat Diving

A range of quality dive sites are available in the La Manga area. Dive sites are subject to availability (Islas Hormigas marine reserve), certification level and diving experience. Diving trips to Isla Grosa, El Farallon, La Laja are suitable for all levels of certified diver. But some of the dives further afield, in particular the wrecks, require extra training and experience. If you book a boat dive, you will need to show us proof of certification and experience (logged dives) before we take you out. In addition, please read our Diving in Spain page for local legal requirements.

Boat Dive Sites include:

Isla Grosa - large island in the mediterranean to the east of Puerto Tomás Maestre. Protected area for bird life today (third largest population of Audouin's Gull in Spain), refuge for pirates in the 17th century and volcano in ancient times, Isla Grosa has an interesting history. Marine life includes the usual smaller wrasse and bream plus a variety of sponge, tube worm and plant life. Underwater topography is interesting - lots of large boulders / rocks strewn around, several pretty gullies in the cliff face and best of all a couple of caverns. Maximum depth around 12 to 14 metres. Great diving for all levels.
El Farallon - small island neighbouring Isla Grosa. Used to be used for target practice by the Spanish armed forces - which probably contributed to its interesting shape today. This practice was abandoned quite recently (c.2000) and now the area makes a fascinating dive site with its shelving floor, shoals of bream and salpe and occasional sightings of schooling barracuda. Also a good spot for smaller nudibranchs.
La Laja - submerged island to North-east of El Farallon. La Laja has a number of 'peaks' that come within 1-2 metres of the surface and stretches around 50 metres North to South. The reef is bounded by a canyon (max depth ~20m) to the north and a drop-off (max depth ~18m) to the east. Recently the subject of an underwater archeological survey (Phoenician / Roman trade routes crossed this area in ancient times), La Laja attracts an abundance of marine life ranging from smaller damsels and cardinal fish to larger predators like moray eels and dentex.
Islas Hormigas marine reserve - where fishing is off limits, diving is restricted and permission to dive must be obtained in advance. We can arrange all this - though obviously there is competition for places so early booking is recommended. The dives are around submerged islands / underwater mountains and have a reputation for breathtaking scenery, bio-diversity, large grouper, barracuda, brown meagre (corvina), schools of bait fish and the occasional pelagic visitor. Sites we visit most frequently in the reserve are Piles 1, Piles 2 and Bajo de Dentro. In addition to the general features just mentioned, Piles 1 is great for spotted Doris - a beautiful white and dark brown / black nudibranch. Piles 2 seems the best for large grouper. Bajo de Dentro has a fantastic cavern at about 22m and a vertigo inducing 'peak' at a depth of around 5m. Routes round the dive sites can be varied according to certification level and experience, but competent buoyancy control is important for any of the dives. If you are not confident regarding your buoyancy control, we recommend a check dive first (easy boat or shore dive - contact us to discuss).
Isla Gomera or El Naranjito - the best known wreck dive in the area. Situated just outside the Islas Hormigas marine reserve and not far from Cabo de Palos port, El Naranjito sank when her cargo of oranges shifted during a storm in 1946. The wreck is in very good condition and offers food and shelter to an abundance of marine life. There is a shot line anchored to the bow of the wreck at a depth of about 27 metres. The depth alone makes this a dive for PADI Advanced or above.
Turia - less well known, but impressive for its solitude and desolation. Turia is a wooden minesweeper which was sunk as an artificial reef, around 10 years ago. The hull is split along the keel and lies in two large pieces on the seabed, surrounded by smaller bits of wreckage. Again the remains are used for shelter and protection by local marine life, making for an enjoyable dive. PADI Advanced or above required for this dive.
Ulla - sister ship to the Turia. Ulla lies a few hundred metres away and is in much better condition. The wreck is split roughly in half just behind the wheelhouse. Fore and aft sections lie around 20 metres apart in approximately 35 metres of water (the top of the wreck is at a depth of about 28 metres). Like the Turia, Ulla is a wooden minesweeper which was sunk as an artificial reef, around 10 years ago. Ulla boasts plenty of marine life - including an occasional appearance of the beautiful blue and yellow striped doris snail. PADI Advanced or above required for this dive.

La Manga Dive School offer a full equipment hire service. Our diving equipment is regularly serviced. We use Scubapro regulators, Cressi & Subacqua BCD's. We offer a choice of 15 / 12 litre tanks. If you want to book a boat dive with us but are based on the mainland, we can pick you up from Santiago de la Ribera (near Murcia - San Javier Airport) in our RIB for a small surcharge.

Diving regulations, Murcia, Spain

Briefly there are 3 legal requirements for scuba diving in Murcia:

You must be over 16 - more info.
You must be medically fit to dive - more info.
You must have valid diving accident insurance - more info.

Minimum age

Spanish Law states you must be over 16 years of age to engage in scuba diving activities in Spain. Some autonomous regional governments have passed their own laws to relax this limit - but you must still be over 16 to dive in Murcia.

Medical

If you are already certified and just want to dive with us, we’ll ask you to complete the standard RSTC (PADI) medical statement before you dive. As per normal procedure, if you answer ‘no’ to all the questions - no problem. If the honest answer to any question is ‘yes’, please have a medical examination (for your own safety) and get your doctor to complete and sign his section of the form before you come to dive.

Insurance

The law in Murcia requires that you carry personal diving insurance which covers you for accidents while scuba diving. If you want to dive, but don't have insurance, we can arrange it for you. We work with Divemaster insurance through Segursub, who offer daily, weekly, monthly and annual insurance at a reasonable cost (5, 10, 15, 35€ respectively). If you have your own insurance, please check with your insurers regarding cover while diving in Spain. Spanish law (though no-one enforces it) states that divers must have a medical examination every two years. Segursub cover is valid in Spain for self-certification - eg if you have completed the RSTC (PADI) medical statement.

Snorkelling trips

Min age 9 years. All equipment provided. Introduction to equipment and techniques. Guided tour of site. Supervision by PADI diving instructor.

Like the dives, our snorkelling trips go from shore or boat. From shore (minimum of two people), we offer snorkelling in the Mar Menor, (near Puerto Tomás Maestre) or in the Mediterranean near Cabo de Palos – a small fishing village at the south-eastern corner of the Murcia region. By boat (maximum of eight people), we offer trips to the islands near Puerto Tomás Maestre - you can choose between Mar Menor and Mediterranean (depending on sea conditions).