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World | Canary Islands | Diving Tenerife
Tenerife overview
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Scuba Diving in Tenerife, 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, wrecks |
Marine life: |
Angel sharks, rays, moray eels, garden eels, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, jacks, barracuda, grouper, trumpetfish, scorpionfish, parrotfish, wrasse |
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. Flight times are about 4 hours |
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and it
is also the most popular with tourists. There is somewhere to stay on the island
for all tastes. Playa de las Americas and Los Christianos are beach resorts filled
with hotels and timeshares that have a multitude of restaurants and bars and are
mainly visited for the clubs and nightlife. The capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz
de Tenerife is more up market, with an opera house and upper class restaurants.
It is also the home of the international airport. There is also the popular Los
Gigantes which is a port town and the quieter and more picturesque of the beach
resorts. The northern part of Tenerife is greener than the south.
Towards the Center of Tenerife lies Mount Teide, the peak of a dormant volcano
that rises 3718 metres above sea level. It formed five million years ago and is
built up of several hundred lava flows from successive eruptions. If the depth
below sea level is included in its height, it is the third largest volcano in
the world. The peak can be visited by cable car, and the whole area surrounding
it is a Natioanl Park. A prominent ridge encircles Mount Teide which is the remains
of an ancient caldera lying about two thousand metres above sea level. Away from
the caldera there are dramatic, steep sided valleys such as Guimar Valley that
continue beneath the ocean and are the result of huge blocks of rock falling away
into the water. These landslides have fuelled debates over whether ‘megatsunamis’
could be created as the debris hits the water, sending a tidal wave as far away
as New York. Depsite all these geological hazards, Tenerife is a safe country
to visit! The most recent eruption on Tenerife was in 1909.
Tenerife has an impressive and varied coastline, which continues underwater.
Diving is conducted around the island with many of the dive operators being concentrated
along the south and east cost. Most dive Centers have English speaking guides.
Nitrox is available at some Centers, but is advisable to check before you book.
A variety of dive sites offer spectacular volcanic terrain, caves and caverns
and a wide range of sealife. The rocky slopes above the water continue blow it,
shelving away to the depths of the sea floor. Diving is a mixture of shore and
boat diving. At some sites it is possible to hand feed rays or sit back and watch
them in the water as they feed naturally.
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