TRAVELSPECIAL
Tenerife
Flights: £ 150 Diving: With caverns, swim-throughs, schools of fish and octopus, Tenerife is a very persuasive proposition. You can enjoy drifting along a wall at La Falla, swim with barracudas at Las Eras or schools of grunts at Roncadores Del Faro. Wreck divers will enjoy the purpose-sunk tugboat El Peñon at Tabaiba, or the German minesweeper El Meridian. Eat and stay: Save big with an out-ofseason flight and hotel package. To save even more, look for places with a kitchenette in the rooms for DIY breakfast and making sandwiches. Otherwise, restaurants offer tasty Canarian fare, with average prices of £ 20- £ 30 a meal. Value: While prices vary greatly across the seasons, Tenerife offers tremendous value for divers piggybacking on mainstream package deals. Save your dosh for diving.
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Türkiye
Flights: £ 250 Diving: Türkiye has numerous dive enclaves: at Kaş there is a 1968 cotton wreck and an outside chance of seeing super-rare Mediterranean monk seals. Fethitye offers unique rock formations and caverns, while Gallipoli has historical wreckage from the First World War. Eat and stay: Turkish food is varied
Valencia, Spain
Flights: £ 150 Diving: The autonomous region of Valencia has good quality diving around the Columbretes Islands in the north and Alicante in the south. A marine reserve since 1990, summer is the best time for visibility. Big groupers, huge schools of barracudas and breams can be seen in this rugged landscape. Down in Alicante, head for the Marine Reserve of San Antonio and competitively priced, while accommodation is nestled in the midrange, but can get pricey. Consider using the small family-run guesthouses known as‘ pansiyons’. Value: Visitors report an uneven experience. You can get some excellent viz and interesting topography, but marine life can be sparse. The historic wrecks of Gallipoli are a‘ Marmite’ option, eliciting wildly different reviews from visitors. Average daily cost is £ 140.
Cape, near the village of Denia. Permits are necessary, get them at dive centres. Eat and stay: Those who visit Valencia should try the paella, a symbol of Spanish cuisine. Also typical from the region are the turron, a kind of soft nougat made mainly of almonds, and the horchata, a sweet drink made from tiger nuts. There’ s an array of options for mid-range accommodation. Value: Relatively low air fares are negated by average Spanish costs, which are reasonable but not inconsiderable. Average daily cost is £ 160. �