Question Everyday diving in Southern Spain?

[Ana]

Well it happened. I never imagined I'd leave South Florida but the insurance companies and the hurricanes won. I'm moving out to Spain, however going home to the Basque Country with their forever rain and cold may kill me, I'll start in the south by the Mediterranean Sea.

Will start in Valencia for a short time and decide from there. Does anyone here knows about a particular location that has practical year round diving? I first thought the Canary Islands but the Atlantic in that area is way too cold year round. Any info?

 

[BoltSnap]

Valencia is meh, at least to me. Marbella is ok if you want to be on the mainland. Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca are some of the best diving the Med can offer if you can ignore/join all the partying tourists in the summer season. The marine reserves are pretty much my wet dream, incredible how quickly the sea there recovered from literal thousands of years of exploitation.

Where do you think is the best diving in the Mediterranean from an UW photographer point of view?

 

[Ana]

Valencia is meh, at least to me. Marbella is ok if you want to be on the mainland. Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca are some of the best diving the Med can offer if you can ignore/join all the partying tourists in the summer season. The marine reserves are pretty much my wet dream, incredible how quickly the sea there recovered from literal thousands of years of exploitation.

You don't mention water temps on this wet dream of yours, on mine I wear a think lycra suit, steel tank, no weight belt, full foot fins with toes exposed and no head cover, like last week's dive.

Honestly, it doesn't have to be a reserve worthy of Cousteau's documental, my current daily diving is average at best, reef is obviously struggling and marine life is such a small fraction of what it was when I moved here in the 80's. So the dives aren't worthy of a report, I see the disappointment the few times a visitor join us, because my local area isn't like the brochures, but is 45 minutes from my living room and we enjoy it greatly.

So now it is on my best interest to move to Spain, starting in Valencia is just convenient because I have cousins there for the last 50 years that I like. They will welcome me, including husband and an almost 30Kg floof. From there I think I have the complete Schengen area to get a place to live. I'm just hoping I find a reasonable place to end my days where I can dive when the seas are good, without much complication. Not sure if the target towns of every drunk guiri of europe would be that place.

With that said I appreciate every opinion, I get that my wish is quite specific and I may not find what I want, but I'll continue looking for it.

 

[Vicko]

Where do you think is the best diving in the Mediterranean from an UW photographer point of view?

Considering my undying affection for everyone wielding a camera, as far away from me as possible

You don't mention water temps on this wet dream of yours, on mine I wear a think lycra suit, steel tank, no weight belt, full foot fins with toes exposed and no head cover, like last week's dive.

The med is the med, can't really expect tropical temperatures this far north. During this summer we had 28-29C temperatures in the middle of the Adriatic and those were record breaking, most of the year 15 is the best you can hope for.

 

[andrespp]

You don't mention water temps on this wet dream of yours, on mine I wear a think lycra suit, steel tank, no weight belt, full foot fins with toes exposed and no head cover, like last week's dive.

You won´t find that in Spain, period. Even in the Canary Islands.

even in summertime when the seawater surface temp is 28C in some Mediterranean spots, it will dramatically decrease when you go deeper.

For what you are looking for, the Red sea is the closest spot I can think of.

 

[Ana]

even in summertime when the seawater surface temp is 28C in some Mediterranean spots, it will dramatically decrease when you go deeper.

what you are looking for, the Red sea is the closest spot I can think of.

Thank you for that serving of reality.

My cousins keep telling me is bath water until de winter, I mentioned Google disagrees, but they dismissed the data. I knew non-divers don't understand, but was hoping that maybe climate change and all that would be on my side.
I guess I'll have to be a frequent traveler to the Red Sea. Maybe eventually I get used to the chil waters of the med, maybe visit @BoltSnap and see if his "hot" all the time matches my definition of hot.

For sure I have to digest the the fact that my days of diving any day and everyday are over.