DIVE SITES lanzarote

The best dive sites in Lanzarote are found in Playa Chica, in Puerto del Carmen. Our dive centre is only 100 metres from the beach. From here there are over 10 dives available from both boat and shore. Some of the most popular dive sites are: Waikiki, Harbour Wrecks, Ritchies Reef, Punta Tiñosa, Blue Hole, Cathedral and El Poril. 

For each dive we meet at the dive centre, where you will prepare the diving equipment inside the dive centre and then put it into the van. Afterwards you will have a briefing after the dive site you are about to visit from your diving instructor. Then we will stroll down to the beach, where your equipment will already be waiting for you! And from where we also board our own custom built trimaran hard boat.

When we finish the dive we will return to the dive centre to prepare the equipment for the second dive and also rest for the surface interval.

Lanzarote has an ecosystem with a lot of marine life: it is home to a wide variety of species.

During your dives you will be able to see large species such as angel sharks, different types of rays that include stingrays, eagle rays, torpedo rays or butterfly rays (if you are lucky you can also see the Manta ray here – although sightings are rare!), groupers, barracudas, amberjack and bonito; if you prefer the smaller life, it really is great for macro lovers here! Some of the things you may encounter include: colourful nudibranchs, seahorses, Canarian damselfish, garden eels, cuttlefish, octopus amongst other species.

Lanzarote offers dive sites both from shore and from boat, suitable for all levels.

From first time divers to advanced level deep dives, going through beginners courses such as the open water course or continuing your education with the Advanced Adventurer or specialty diver programs, we have a lot of options for you.

You can do up to 3 dives per day, we have 2 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. 

After diving it is recommended to wait before flying:

After doing 1 dive you must wait at least 12 hours before flying.

After repetitive dives and/or several days at least 18 hours before flying.

Any decompression dives you must wait at least 24 hours. 

Visibility can change based on tides, currents, and wind, but year-round visibility typically averages at least 15 to 20 metres.

The water temperature varies between the maximum of 24º in summer and the minimum of 18º in winter.

At depths below 25 metres we can occasionally find thermoclines.

Generally in the summer months we recommend diving with a 5mm full wetsuit and in the winter months a 7mm full wetsuit. We have a mixture of both types of wetsuits from Cressi and Aqualung available for rent in our dive centre. 

Air is what we normally use to breathe in recreational diving (21% oxygen – 79% nitrogen).

Nitrox or Enriched Air Nitrox is when the oxygen in the mix has been increased from 21% to reduce the amount of nitrogen. In recreational diving we use mixes ranging from 22-40%. Here at Manta Diving Lanzarote we use 30%, we find this is the best mix for diving in Lanzarote, as it allows you to dive to 35.9 metres and increases your no stop limits to give you plenty of time on the reef at 30 metres.

In Lanzarote, Nitrox is really useful especially on repetitive dives, so that on your second dive of the day, you have plenty of time at 30 metres to explore! 

To dive with us, we need to see: 

• your certification card
• diving insurance (if you don’t have any, we can arrange it for you) 
• medical form (we will email you a copy of the RSTC medical which you can complete online before you arrive in Lanzarote. If you have certain health conditions you will need a doctor’s certificate stating that you are fit to dive before we can take you diving (dated within the past 12 months). If you aren’t sure get in touch with us and we can advise you!)

You can come in your own car. We have two car parks very close to the dive centre, one right next to Playa Chica at the end of Calle Bajamar and the other just a 2-minute walk from the dive centre, in the harbour’s car park.

If you come by public transport, there are several buses that stop near our diving centre. The nearest one is the Biosfera shopping centre. 

No, the diving in Lanzarote is suitable for all levels!

If you’ve never dived before the best option is a Try Scuba in Playa Chica bay.

If you’ve got your open water licence some of the dive sites that you may enjoy are the Harbour Wall, El Poril, Punta Tiñosa, Waikiki and La Pared. 

If you are Advanced or above you can dive all the dive sites in Lanzarote! Some of the most popular are the Harbour Wrecks, Ritchies Reef, Blue Hole, Cathedral, Punta Tiñosa, Los Arcos and La Pared. 

The maximum depth will depend on your diving certification. For Open Water level, the maximum depth will be 18 meters, while you can go up to 30 meters if you have the Advanced course (0r 40m with the Deep Diving Specialty).

Try Dives will have a maximum depth of 5 meters (and 12 meters if you do a second dive).

Some of the dives that you can enjoy from shore are the Blue Hole, the Cathedral and the Orange Coral.

For boat dives we use a trimaran, our own hard boat that we had custom built for diving from Playa Chica. The ride to any of the dive locations is about 10 minutes and they are a mix of wall dives like Ritchie’s Place, Los Arcos and La Pared.

Boat dives are usually intended for advanced divers due to the depth, however, there are also some dives that are perfect for Open Water Divers (Punta Tiñosa, Waikiki or the Puerto del Carmen Wrecks). If you are Open Water certified and want to do more of the advanced dives, you can take your Advanced Adventurer or the Deep specialty and dive your dives on some of the deeper sites.

Yes! Lanzarote has an all year dive season. From November – April is Angel Shark season. Although it’s possible to see them all year round, this is the best time of year to see them. From May-November we tend to have more stingray sightings. The roughtail stingrays, butterfly rays and eagle rays are much more common then! 

Usually, we don’t have strong currents during our dives. However at certain times of the month they can be stronger because of the tides. During these times our dive guides may change the dive plan and make it a drift dive and the boat will pick us up or they may change the dive site. 

Yes of course! Our dives are split into certification levels. So if you are new to diving or just gaining experience we will put you in a small group suitable for your experience. 

Spanish law requires a few things for scuba divers. The most important are:

• Current medical – this can be the standard self certification from the RSTC. If you can answer yes to questions 3,5,10 or any of page 2 you must bring a doctor’s certificate stating that you are fit to dive dated within 12 months. 
• Insurance that covers you for scuba diving including personal accident and search and recovery costs.
• Each diver must dive with a dive computer or bottom timing device and tables. 

No, don’t worry! If you don’t have any equipment or you aren’t planning on travelling with yours we have everything you need here in the dive centre. 

However, many divers prefer to travel with their own equipment. In this case, you can wash and store your diving equipment in the dive centre during your stay.

We have quality equipment from Cressi and Aqualung available to hire with sizes from XXS to XXL.

Get to know our rental equipment: 

• Our regulators are Cressi MC9, Compact XS with DIN fitting.
• Our BCDS are Aqualung ProHD with integrated weights.
• Our wetsuits are a mixture of Cressi Endurance 7mm and Aqualang Wave 5 and 6,5mm.
• Our fins are open heel fins with boots.