TRAVELSPECIAL
Estartit, Spain
Flights: £ 150 Diving highlights: Estartit is the base for diving the Natural Park of Montrí, the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter. The star of the show is the Medes archipelago, known for its healthy habitat and abundance of Mediterranean marine life. There are clouds of bream, atmospheric caves and walls hung with red and yellow gorgonian fans. Check out the tunnel of La Vaca, the corals of Carall Bernat and the twin islets of Tascó Gros. Arguably the best diving in the Western Med. Eat and stay: The days of Spain as a bargain bucket destination are long gone, but there are options where a group booking could save a few Euros. Look for
establishments such as Camping Castell Montgri, offering bunkhouses under canvas. For dining, check out Arroz a la Cazuela and the sweet sausage known as butifarra dulce. Value: There’ s certainly scope for savings, but the Medes Islands are a superior dive destination and there’ s a daily 2km boat commute to ramp up your dive centre’ s charges. Average daily cost is about £ 160.
Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Flights: £ 160 Diving: The advantage of Canarian( ie Atlantic) diving over most Mediterranean destinations is the profuse fish life. Lanzarote has picturesque wrecks near the harbour at Puerto del Carmen, plus the Museo Atlantico, an underwater art installation with sculptures by Jason deCaires-Taylor. All this plus stingrays, angel sharks on tap and orange coral at a diveable depth.
Eat and stay: Lanzarote is highly flexible when it comes to accommodation, with plenty of options for groups. Food is typical European tavern-type prices. Value: There’ s enough good diving to keep regulars returning, and plenty of bargains if you book flight and hotel packages. A possible tournament winner, with average daily costs of around £ 170.
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PHOTO: SIMON ROGERSON