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Diving in the Costa Brava, Spain – A Garden of Eden Underwater and Above!
The Costa Brava is a top tourist area which lies in the northeast of mainland Spain. Part of the province of Girona, the Costa Brava attracts more yearly visitors than most areas of this country.
With only a few kilometres between the most charming beaches of the Mediterranean and the snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees, Costa Brava offers the perfect playground for all kinds of fun activities: skiing, hiking, mountain biking and, of course, diving!
The Spanish Costa Brava is known for its stunning scenery, crystal clear waters and rich history. It’s a really interesting place to dive with several different dive sites you can visit.
This coastal region of Catalonia (Spain) has everything from long stretches of golden sand to secret rocky coves that can only be reached on foot.
Where to Go Diving in Costa Brava
Being a region primarily driven by the sea and with a coastline of 200km (125 miles), Costa Brava has many watery things to do, including scuba diving in the summer months.
The area offers a wide variety of diving spots, suitable for all levels. There is a great diversity of underwater flora and fauna, including coral beds, multi-coloured sea fans and sea grasses, where giant groupers, barracudas, seahorses and many more sea creatures live.
But there’s a lot more. Beyond the beauty of its blue, Costa Brava also offers a stunning green that will make you want to spend your surface interval exploring it all. In fact, combining diving in its wonderful waters with visits to its charming villages is the perfect plan for a dream weekend in Catalonia.
The fact that almost a third of the place is a protected natural area should give you a good idea of what you will find: jaw-dropping & contrasting natural parks to discover between your dives!
Bear in mind that some of these sites may require special permits and/or the hiring of local guides to help ensure safe and responsible diving.
The Best Dive Sites in Costa Brava
The Costa Brava has so many wonderful towns and villages that it can be hard to pick one for your holiday stay. Here’s a selection of my favourites; they are well worth it!
Cadaqués, the Place that Inspired Dalí
Another popular dive site on the Costa Brava is the Cap de Creus Marine Reserve, located near the town of Cadaqués. This reserve has a abundant and varied marine life and unique underwater rock formations. You can also find some natural caves and arches.
Diving in Cadaqués is to immerse yourself in one of the most beautiful underwater worlds in the Mediterranean. The great diversity of fauna and flora of Cap de Creus and its incomparable richness in fish contributed to its being declared a maritime-terrestrial Natural Park in 1998.
Dalí was moved by the wildness of the Costa Brava, particularly its rock formations, which can be seen in many of his art works. After your dives, you can visit a number of Dalí attractions in the area – such as Dalí’s summer house in Portlligat (near Cadaqués) and the Dalí Theatre Museum in Figueres.
Palamós
Palamós is another spot on the Costa Brava which is very popular with divers. The bay of Palamós has an abundance of marine life with a seabed is considered to be one of the richest and most diverse on the Catalan coast.
Here you can find artificial reefs. You can also find underwater caves and caverns that offer an exciting challenge for the most experienced divers. Palamós has several dive centers that offer training courses and equipment rental for those who wish to get started in scuba diving. Offering a wide variety of options for divers of all levels, it is a place you shouldn’t miss if you are interested in diving on the Costa Brava.
Between Palamós and Calella de Palafrugell, there are some unique islands that are worth visiting underwater: Les Ílles Formigues (Hormigas Islands), a series of canyons full of gorgonians where it will not be difficult to find lobsters, octopuses, moray eels and a multitude of nudibranchs.
Easily accessible from the area, you can also find three fantastic seamounts with colourful gorgonians called Els Ullastres and the Boreas shipwreck, sunk in 1989, creating an artificial reef 32 meters deep that all divers enjoy.
And while you wait the necessary time between dives, you can take a relaxed walk along the ‘Camino de Ronda’. It is a long road that runs from cove to cove and beach to beach the entire coast of Palamós.
Calella de Palafrugell
An old fishing village with a magical atmosphere. Calella de Palafrugell is a small town full of white houses on the seashore with wooden boats anchored on the beach where walking you will feel like in a fairy tale. In addition, the literal part of this area has a lot of beautiful coves with crystal clear waters around it.
The main Cove of Port Pelegrí is the perfect place to take a PADI Open Water course or for a relaxed dive. You can usually see scratches, octopuses, nudibranchs, some moray eels, and occasionally stingrays.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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