Scuba Diving in Lanzarote

Why Lanzarote Shore Diving Outperforms the UK on Cost & Logistics

For UK and northern European divers, Lanzarote is the undisputed king of affordable, high-quality diving.

In the UK, a weekend of diving often means a 3-hour motorway drive, £90–£120 per day for a hard-boat charter that gets cancelled 50% of the time due to rough swell, £1,000+ invested in a drysuit and undersuits, and fighting through 2–4 metres of murky visibility.

In Lanzarote, you can catch a £50–£120 direct flight from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, or Edinburgh on budget carriers (Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2). Within four hours, you touch down in 22°C sunshine, check into an affordable self-catering apartment in Puerto del Carmen, and walk directly into 25-metre volcanic visibility in a 5mm or 7mm wetsuit.

The Big Advantages:

• No Boat Surcharges: Almost all top dive sites in Puerto del Carmen start from the shore. You kit up on the sandy beach or stone jetty steps at Playa Chica and walk right into the water.
• No Drysuit Needed: Winter water temps rarely dip below 18°C, while late summer and autumn reach 23–24°C. A quality 5mm or 7mm semi-dry wetsuit with a hood is all you will ever need.
• Sheltered Bay: Playa Chica is naturally protected by volcanic headlands. Even when open Atlantic swells hit the north or west of the island, Playa Chica is almost always diveable.

---

The Playa Chica Hub (Puerto del Carmen)

Playa Chica is a small volcanic cove located on the edge of Puerto del Carmen’s Old Town harbour. Despite measuring less than 100 metres across, it is the launching pad for over 10 distinct, world-class dive routes.

As soon as you descend into the bay, you swim over a clean sand bowl (6–10m depth) surrounded by volcanic rock ledges. Proceeding seaward, the bottom shelves off down a sandy slope to 18 metres, where a dramatic cliff line drops away into the Atlantic abyss (dropping past 45m).

Top Dives from the Same Beach:

1. Playa Chica Bay & El Muellito (6–12m): The perfect nursery slope. No current, crystal clear, and full of cuttlefish, octopuses, and seahorses along the harbour wall.
2. The Blue Hole / Agujero Azul (18–30m+): The iconic volcanic lava tube. The top entry hole starts around 18–20m, cuts downward through the basalt reef, and spits you out onto an open blue wall at 30m depth.
3. The Cathedral / La Catedral (28–30m): A vaulted volcanic cave that feels like an underwater temple. Huge dusky groupers (“Felix” and companions) hover calmly inside the cavern.

---

Certification Limits & Depth Reality: The “Blue Hole” Rule

A critical safety principle that many commercial travel sites ignore is that divers have strict depth limits according to their certification level.

At sites like the Blue Hole (Agujero Azul):

• Open Water Divers (Max 18m): Can comfortably dive out across the shallow bay reef, inspect the sand eel colonies, and swim along the top of the volcanic ridge at 14–18m. However, Open Water divers must not descend into the chimney or drop down the wall. The entrance starts near the 18m line and the bottom of the tunnel is over 30m.
• Advanced Open Water Divers (Max 30m): Are trained and certified to make the descent through the lava tube and exit onto the outer wall at 30m.
• Deep Specialty / Technical Divers: Can explore the deep drop-offs beyond 30m, but recreational divers must maintain strict buoyancy because the seabed below the wall plunges beyond 45m.

Always dive within your certified limits and carry an active dive computer to track your no-decompression limits (NDL).

---

Marine Life Highlights

Lanzarote sits in a biological transition zone where Mediterranean, Atlantic, and subtropical species meet:

• Angel Sharks (Squatina squatina): Lanzarote is one of the last major global strongholds for the critically endangered European angel shark. From November through April, these flat, ray-like sharks rest camouflaged in the shallow sand at Playa Chica, often in just 8–15m of water.
• Giant Dusky Groupers (Epinephelus marginatus): Highly protected around Playa Chica, massive resident groupers approach divers with gentle curiosity.
• Atlantic Rays: Butterfly rays, common stingrays, and round stingrays frequent the sandy slopes.
• Pelagics: Large shoals of yellowfin barracuda, amberjacks, and Atlantic bonito patrol the drop-off wall.

---

Independent Local Dive Centres at Playa Chica

How2Scuba has no commercial affiliation with dive centres and does not take booking commissions. When diving in Lanzarote, you can deal directly with well-established local operators who have bases right on or adjacent to Playa Chica:

• Safari Diving: Located directly on the beach at Playa Chica. Tank racks and equipment storage sit right on the sand, meaning you can walk 15 metres from the door straight into the water.
• Manta Diving Lanzarote: Located a 3-minute stroll from Playa Chica, offering guided shore dives, kit hire, and full PADI/SSI training courses with low student-to-instructor ratios.
• Rubicon Diving & Calero Diving: Operating nearby and running both Playa Chica shore dives and boat trips to the underwater sculpture museum (Museo Atlántico).

Questions to Ask When Contacting a Centre:

1. Do you supply 12L or 15L steel cylinders (DIN or INT)?
2. Do you provide a 5mm/7mm wetsuit plus hooded vest if diving in winter or spring?
3. What is the maximum group size per guide on the Blue Hole and Cathedral routes?
4. Can I purchase multi-dive packages (e.g., 6 or 10 shore dives) with flexible dates?

---

Practical Trip Planning

• Where to Stay: Puerto del Carmen Old Town is within walking distance of Playa Chica. You can rent self-catering apartments for £40–£80/night.
• Car Hire: Extremely cheap on Lanzarote (Cicar or AutoReisen often charge €15–€25/day with zero deposit).
• Surface Interval Activities: Explore Timanfaya National Park volcanic fields, visit the César Manrique Foundation, or enjoy fresh seafood in the harbour.