TRAVELSPECIAL
Common stingrays at Punta Tiñosa
BEST FOR Value and surprising variety
Canary Islands:
Lanzarote
What to expect: The Canary Islands are a unique proposition for UK-based divers, offering a year-round sub-tropical diving experience at a competitive price. During the winter months, water temperatures vary from 18 to 21 ° C; while it’ s not exactly warm it is certainly in our comfort zone. Thick, 7mm wetsuits or drysuits are the goto options here, though hardy souls can get away with thinner suits.
Lanzarote has all the amenities of a popular winter sun destination – affordable flights and accommodation, plus plenty of experienced dive centres. UK divers head to Playa Chica, a horseshoe-shaped bay in the Old Town district of Puerto del Carmen. From a single entry point, several excellent shore dives are possible. You can visit artificial reef structures that are home to short-snouted seahorses, or visit an overhang where rare red coral coral grows in a little grotto, or explore a cavernous fissure in the reef. As soon as you hit the water, you will see wide-eyed flounder and greater weeverfish on the seabed, while a closer inspection at moorings will yield a planehead filefish or two. Out in mid-water, there’ s a parade of silver fish: bream and chub, salemas and European seabass that part before the snorkellers at the surface.
Boat diving is also available, with the Old Town Harbour wrecks a highlight. There are seven here, though they tend to be on the deep side for single cylinder holiday dives. At least the Masso is relatively shallow at 18m, though its stern section has been covered up by the construction of the harbour wall. The stars of the show are of course the angel sharks, but you’ re also likely to find stingrays and octopus on the sand flats; you may even find a butterfly ray. Don’ t leave without... Visiting the Museo Atlántico, an underwater set of haunting sculptures by the marine artist Jason de-Caires Taylor. It’ s an easy dive located between 12 and 14 metres, and you have more than 300 life-size figures to peruse. It’ s a though-provoking counterpoint to Lanzarote’ s tourist trail.
Smugness rating: It’ s a cool season in a sub-tropical climate, but there’ s a lot to see and you score extra smugness for value.
Short-snouted seahorse
Red coral tree at Playa Chica
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