Old town harbour wreck , Puerto del Carmen
TRAVELSPECIAL
Why winter ?
The Caribbean has a tropical climate year-round , with a relatively cool season from December to March and a hot , wet season from June to November . Travel during the months of a British winter and you will be rewarded with moderately hot weather , as well as dodging the hurricane season , which tails off in November . While air temperatures are a bit cooler during winter , the water temperature remains a steady 27 ° C .
Costs
The weak Pound and the strong Dollar have put prices up in Grenada , so the average price of a hotel plus flight for a week in February is around £ 2,000 per person ( and can be quite a bit more ). Add diving and meals , and you could be closer to £ 3,000 . Specialist dive tour operators can root out bargains . Dive Worldwide ( diveworldwide . com ) has wreck weeks from £ 2,095 , including breakfast , 18 boat dives and nitrox . Where to stay ? We recommend True Blue Bay , a boutique resort with spacious rooms , a lovely restaurant and an on-site dive centre , the excellent Aquanauts Grenada , aquanautsgrenada . com
Lanzarote , Canary Islands
Lanzarote ’ s underwater scene is dominated by sandy slopes interspersed with some dramatic volcanic scenery . Most of the reef predators seem to be flat – stingrays , angel sharks and butterfly rays abound . The water column is often full of silver fish – mullet , bream and the ubiquitous grunts known as roncadores .
There ’ s good diving all over the island , but the most popular area is Puerto Del Carmen . The area offers several shore dives , all with an easy beach entry or a giant stride off a jetty . There ’ s also boat diving , with access to a set of purposely scuttled wrecks and some more obscure sites characterised by volcanic rock formations .
Not too far away at Playa Blanca is the Museo Atlántico , another underwater sculpture park created by Jason de Caires Taylor , although it ’ s currently the only one in European waters . Located in a sheltered spot with maximum depths of 15m , it ’ s ideal for newly qualified Ocean Divers , as is much of the local diving .
Why winter ?
Located off the north west coast of Africa , Lanzarote and its Canarian neighbours enjoy a mild desert climate year-round , though they are exposed to the northeasterly trade winds . During the winter months , you can expect air temperatures of up to 25 ° C . The water is kept cool by the Canary Current – but it ’ s still as warm as the UK at the height of summer , with temperatures around 18 ° C , making it an ideal 7mm or light drysuit destination .
Costs
While Sterling is relatively weak against the Euro , it ’ s always possible to pick up some out-of-season deals in Lanzarote , especially if you ’ re travelling during school time .
A butterfly ray glides over the sands
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