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World | Canary Islands | Diving La Palma:
La Palma overview
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Scuba Diving in La Palma, the Canary Islands
Water temperature: |
17°C (63°F) in February to 24°C (75°F) in August |
Suit: |
A drysuit may be preferable in winter months, although a 7mm semidry should also be sufficient. A 5mm wet suit can be worn all year with hood and gloves in winter |
Visibility: |
20 - 30 metres (65 - 100 feet) |
Type of diving: |
Caves, tunnels, sheer walls, tower, aircraft wreck |
Marine life: |
Rays, moray eels, garden eels, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, jacks, barracuda, grouper, trumpetfish, scorpionfish, parrotfish, wrasse, triggerfish, black coral, scarlet sea fan, yellow sea fan |
When to go: |
All year, although June to October may be preferable if you prefer warmer water |
How to get there: |
From the UK - Numerous flights direct from all major airports and/or connecting flights from Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Flight times are about 4 hours |
La Palma is one of the smaller island of the Canary Islands and not as busy as its big brothers
Tenerife or Gran Canaria. The centers of tourism are Los Canjaos located on the east coast and
Puerto Naos/Tazacorte located on the west coast. There is somewhere to stay on the island for all
tastes. The capital of La Palma is Santa Cruz de La Palma. Close to Santa Cruz de La Palma is also the
international airport.
La Palma 'la Isla Bonita' is a green island. With a volcanic origin rises the mountains 2426 metres
above sea level. The peak, Roque de los Muchachos, can be visited by car and guarantees an
exceptional view. The whole area and the ancient caldera is a paradise for hikers. Even though the
island is small, La Palma offers huge variety of landscapes, constantly changing as you gain height
or direction.
The northern part of La Palma looks like sub-tropical forests and is greener than the south. Several
volcanic cones, lava outflows and dykes are a constant reminder of the volcanic origins of the
island, and lend a particulary charming character to the area. The coastline is impressive and varied, which continues underwater. Diving is conducted on the
east, south and west coast with the dive operators being concentrated in Los Cancajos and Puerto Naos. Most dive centres have English speaking guides. Nitrox is available
at some centres, but is advisable to check before you book. Diving on La Palma means diving
in volcanic landscapes on really untouched dive sites!
An impressive scenery under water indeed! The steepness of the island continues underwater;
bizarre cliffs, canyons, arches of lava, towers of rocks, sheer walls, caves and all sorts of volcanic
rock formations. All this infiltrated by areas of black sand, the playground of many species of ray.
Water temperatures are between 17°C in wintertime and up to 24°C in summertime and you can expect visibility up to 30m.
Embedded in the varied underwater landscapes is the underwater flora and fauna.
There is much to discover and diving around La Palma offers an enormous amount of possibilities.
The best of La Palma is however, that the whole family and therefore also non-divers can spend
wonderful vacations here, because there is a lot to discover on land as well as in water.
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