la Graciosa DIVING:
La Graciosa and the northern islets of Lanzarote are part of the largest marine reserve in Europe, with an area of 70,700 hectares, created in 1995. Herein we present our Diving Guide.
Protected areas of Lanzarote and the Chinijo archipelago ©www.cabildodelanzarote.com
Its waters are dominated by rocky and abrupt bottoms with abundant caves, crevices and tunnels, where we will find an area exceptionally rich of life in the Canary archipelago. Also sandy bottoms where large stingrays and electric rays hide. And, if we are lucky, we will be able to see the unique angelshark.
We will find all this submerged richness full of color and life on the beautiful island of La Graciosa, where time seems to stand still and life flows between volcanoes and lonely beaches.
Hermosa playa de las Conchas, durante nuestra vuelta norte a la isla
La Graciosa has different dive sites in three different areas:
- El Río area: Known as the piece of ocean between Lanzarote and La Graciosa. It has a slope in the form of a submerged rock bar perpendicular to the islands. It is the area that is most protected from the wind and where we did the most dives. Highlights: Anchors reef, White trevally cave, White trevally II, Grunts.
- South area: There are several dives in front of Montaña Amarilla, but it is difficult to dive here because of the currents and the wind (we did not dive in this area).
- North area: The travel time by zodiac from Caleta de Sebo means that there are not many times that you can go here, it requires good weather and no north wind. We were able to dive at: Gerardias Reef, Burrera y The Fingers.
Diving areas in La Graciosa, Canary Islands
During the dives in La Graciosa we will discover rich bottoms of volcanic rock and sand with a lot of life: large banks of striped grunt and Sand steenbras, bastard grunts, barracudas, groupers, mottled grouper, moray eels, ornate wrasse, stingrays,… endless life in each dive.
In addition to the rich underwater flora and fauna, other dives such as the Gerardias reef, a deep dive to see this beautiful coral colony, or the Anchors reef, a historical dive where we will dive in the middle of the pirates era, stand out.
Next, we detail the dive log of each dive we made for a week, in September 2020:
River area dive sites Dive logs:
La Graciosa Diving: White trevally II
La GRACIOSA diving: Grunts
La Graciosa diving: white trevally cave
La Graciosa Diving: Anchors reef
Notrth area dive sites Dive logs:
La Graciosa Diving: The Fingers
La Graciosa Diving: Gerardias Reef
La Graciosa Diving: Burrera
Logístics:
After completing the Great Hiking Route Lanzarote – La Graciosa, we reserved one more week to dive on La Graciosa Island.
For the diving bags we coordinated with the La Graciosa Diving Center (the only one on the island). The day we arrived in Lanzarote we rented a car and took the opportunity to take our bags to Órzola where we left them on the Lineas Romero ferry. Upon arrival in Caleta de Sebo, the Dive Center collected them and stored them until we arrived a week later.
La Graciosa Dive Center exterior
La Graciosa Diving Center Information:
- They manage your transportation from Lanzarote airport to La Graciosa (car + ferry)
- They also provide accommodation/apartment in Caleta del Sebo
- They have a place to wash the equipment
- There are showers, changing rooms and toilets.
- Their access is convenient, since dive center is well located just in front of the ferry
- They do not have a cart to take the diving gear and tanks to the zodiac so you have to do it (although it is very close and they offer help to carry it)
- There are 2 dives per day, at 9am and 1pm. Approximately 3h of surface time.
La Graciosa Dive Center website
La Graciosa Dive Center Boat
La Graciosa scuba diving information:
- The main diving areas are in the ‘Río‘ (river), piece of ocean between Lanzarote and La Graciosa, an area protected from the predominant winds.
- There are other very interesting dives in the north; Bajo de las Gerardias reef, Grunts,.. but you can only go if the sea conditions and the weather are favourable.
- November is the best month to spot angel sharks.
- Water temperature: 19-22 degrees.
Views of the southern area of La Graciosa, from Aguja Grande, during our Hiking Route Lanzarote – La Graciosa
La Graciosa island general information
- Protected island. It is a terrestrial natural area with special protection for birds, as well as being part of the largest marine reserve in Europe and a marine Natura 2000 Network.
- There is no paved roads, not even in Caleta de Sebo, they are all sandy roads.
- Wildlife exploration:
- Birdwatching: amigos de las pardelas association.
- Underwater: Scuba Diving but also Snorkeling on the island is highly recommended
- It has a free camping area with prior reservation at this link (when we went, September 2020, it was closed due to covid-19)
- Island to enjoy and explore on foot, by bike or in AWD service.
