Tjack
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Just back from diving Tarifa Spain, here are some notes. Tarifa is an ancient port town at the southern tip of Spain. This is the southernmost point of Europe, located on the straights of Gibraltar.
The point at Tarifa is where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet. You can see Africa from the fortifications of the walled city.
Tarifa is considered some of the best diving on the Costa del Sol, Southern Spain. Shops from Torremolinos and elsewhere do long range trips to dive here. We dove with ideal weather as there was no wind, this was unusual as Tarifa is primarily known as a windsurfing mecca. I was told they usually have substantial surge and current, we had light current on both the surface as well as at depth.
Our first dive was the San Andres wreck of 1856, a paddlewheel steamer, she sits on a hard bottom at 100. Mostly broken up the San Andres provides good structure for wildlife. The second dive was at La Piscina which has a nice boulder landscape full of critters and tight swim throughs.
The diving reminded me of California diving without the kelp. Water temps were from 60-63 degrees and visibility was less than 20 feet. We did sea an abundance of fish from schooling Sardines to colorful Wrasse, Scorpion fish, larger game fish etc. Beautiful yellow cup corals covered most vertical surfaces. Mediterranean eels were abundant. We saw four species of Nudibranch including a spectacular Giant Doris, great wildlife.
I dove with Yellowsub Tarifa. YellowSub Tarifa | Diving in Spain | PADI Courses in Spain. Their office is located at the harbor about 100 yards from the boat. They run regular daily two tank trips with full rentals for 75 Euro. Mandatory dive insurance was 6 Euro for the day. They rent two piece 5mm wetsuits with integrated hood. This was not sufficient for me to stay warm in 60 degree waters. I would bring a 7mm or a dry suit next time.
The dive staff were a little rowdy but good in the water with decent English. Two Swiss dive masters guided two groups based on their certification level. Captain Chiqui runs a small but adequate hard bottom boat to the nearby dive sites. The office is well run, with prompt reply to Email, Yellowsub struck me as a reliable outfit.
Overall Tarifa is a very interesting town with some fine cold water diving. I could see spending 2 or 3 days diving here if I had proper thermal protection, I would dive with Yellowsub again. As part of a driving tour of southern Spain this was a great diving diversion. Visiting the old town of Tarifa was a highlight of the trip.
The point at Tarifa is where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet. You can see Africa from the fortifications of the walled city.
Tarifa is considered some of the best diving on the Costa del Sol, Southern Spain. Shops from Torremolinos and elsewhere do long range trips to dive here. We dove with ideal weather as there was no wind, this was unusual as Tarifa is primarily known as a windsurfing mecca. I was told they usually have substantial surge and current, we had light current on both the surface as well as at depth.
Our first dive was the San Andres wreck of 1856, a paddlewheel steamer, she sits on a hard bottom at 100. Mostly broken up the San Andres provides good structure for wildlife. The second dive was at La Piscina which has a nice boulder landscape full of critters and tight swim throughs.
The diving reminded me of California diving without the kelp. Water temps were from 60-63 degrees and visibility was less than 20 feet. We did sea an abundance of fish from schooling Sardines to colorful Wrasse, Scorpion fish, larger game fish etc. Beautiful yellow cup corals covered most vertical surfaces. Mediterranean eels were abundant. We saw four species of Nudibranch including a spectacular Giant Doris, great wildlife.
I dove with Yellowsub Tarifa. YellowSub Tarifa | Diving in Spain | PADI Courses in Spain. Their office is located at the harbor about 100 yards from the boat. They run regular daily two tank trips with full rentals for 75 Euro. Mandatory dive insurance was 6 Euro for the day. They rent two piece 5mm wetsuits with integrated hood. This was not sufficient for me to stay warm in 60 degree waters. I would bring a 7mm or a dry suit next time.
The dive staff were a little rowdy but good in the water with decent English. Two Swiss dive masters guided two groups based on their certification level. Captain Chiqui runs a small but adequate hard bottom boat to the nearby dive sites. The office is well run, with prompt reply to Email, Yellowsub struck me as a reliable outfit.
Overall Tarifa is a very interesting town with some fine cold water diving. I could see spending 2 or 3 days diving here if I had proper thermal protection, I would dive with Yellowsub again. As part of a driving tour of southern Spain this was a great diving diversion. Visiting the old town of Tarifa was a highlight of the trip.