Frequently Asked Questions

La Palma? Can you dive there?
Black sand is dirty!
And with all that black sand, the water will always be cloudy, right?
Diving from the shore? Then you do not see much and you have to swim a lot.
What is deep?
Which differences in altitude on La Palma, should we take this into account?
What do you actually see under water?
What is Tailored diving?
What do I need to dive?
Where is the closest decompression chamber?
Where can I find diving doctors?

La Palma? Can you dive there?

Hell yes! La Palma, the most beautiful Canary Island (La Isla Bonita) is located in the Altantic Ocean and has a very rich marine life. And an even better underwater landscape. Lava, rocks, canyons, black sand, steep walls, black coral. On La Palma it can be dived all year round. Because the conditions on the West side or on the East side or in the South can differ greatly, there is always a place to dive. La Palma has a very mild climate, it is almost the whole year spring with temperatures around 25 degrees. The water is pleasant all year round with a minimum of 19 degrees to a maximum of 25 degrees. Here you can read more about diving on La Palma.

Black sand is dirty!

The beaches on La Palma are probably the cleanest beaches in Europe. Black sand is black because it was lava and of course that does not matter, however nice it is. It is a myth that black sand would be so dirty. At the bottom of the ocean is of course also a lot of black sand and creates beautiful contrasts: pitch black and deep blue!

And with all that black sand, the water will always be cloudy, right?

So no. The water here is almost always clear to very clear with sometimes a visibility of 30 meters! Black sand is heavy and of course does not matter. Because it is heavy, it is at the bottom of the ocean and remains there. Bad visibility is when the waves are very high or when it has rained a lot! Then all the rainwater flows into the ocean and takes a lot of sand and dust with it, causing the water to become cloudy. You can see that especially in Puerto de Tazacorte, which lies next to the mouth of the Caldera. Groundwater and rainwater flows there all year round in the bay, making it almost always cloudy. The beach of Puerto de Tazacorte is wonderful, with perhaps the most hours of sunshine in Europe, unfortunately the water is almost always cloudy.

Diving from the shore? Then you do not see much and you have to swim a lot.

All dives we make are from the shore. We therefore always take the car to dive somewhere. The travel time can vary from a quarter to an hour. The dive sites where we dive are always beautiful and we certainly do not need a boat to make beautiful dives. La Palma is the steepest island in the world and you can also find it under water. However, all dive sites are suitable for each level so that we can show everyone all the dive sites.

What is deep?

Deep is something different for everyone. For some, it is 15 meters deep, for the other a deep dive will be a dive to 60 meters or more. We take you on a dive and as a diving school we are responsible for you (Spanish legislation). That is why we always stick to the limits of recreational diving and dive to depths that apply to every level:

Open Water Diver: 18 meters
Advanced Open Water Diver: 30 meters
Deep Diver: 40 meters
Furthermore, we simply do not go. In addition, nobody is obliged to go to the maximum depth. Do not you want deeper than 15 meters? Fine! We do not like diving deeper than 25 meters, and especially enjoy it for a long time!

Which differences in altitude on La Palma, should we take this into account?

Hell yes! You have to take that into account and we take it very seriously. We asked Menno Gaastra of the dive magazine “Diving” to publish his article. That was no problem. You can be here and read our point of view.

What do you actually see under water?

A lot of! Of course we say that What makes diving on La Palma so beautiful is the special underwater landscape that is slightly different on every dive site. Lots of lava and basalt, beautiful sand plains with lots and lots of rocks. Canyons and tunnels, sometimes a cave and beautiful steep walls.
And you almost always see a lot of fish, a lot of small fish. Common seahorses, sepia, trumpet fish, barracudas, parrotfish and rays, in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes a manta is spotted or a turtle, but that is his exceptions. Just like spotting dolphins during your dive. You can encounter one but that is special. The nice thing is that you hear them often!

What is customization?

That, too, is something else for everyone. So many people, so many wishes. What we want to achieve with customization is that we do not deliver a standard program, but we want to meet your wishes as much as possible. We will always have to take into account more people and the number of dives that we can make in one day.

Although we are very flexible, the weather is not always that. Sometimes we have to change a plan because the circumstances do not want to work. A dive in the south is not always possible because of the direction of the waves or at full and new moon.

What do I need to dive?

The Spanish and Canarian legislation regarding diving is very strict. Much stricter than for example in the Netherlands. To dive here you must have a diving insurance. A medical statement is not necessary. For example, if you want to take a course here, then it is advisable to have the dive medical examination performed in the Netherlands. Here it costs you more time and more money. You can also take out diving insurance easily and quickly with us: per day, week, month and year. The prices are in our price list.

Where is the closest decompression chamber?

There is no hyperbaric room on La Palma. For the nearest decompression room you will travel to Tenerife. That looks very far but as the crow flies it is not yet 80km away from La Palma. According to Canarian law, we as a diving center have a contract with a decompression chamber and we have a contract with those in Tenerife. In case of a diving accident the medical staff always decide which hyperbaric chamber is flown and that is usually the one in Tenerife.
There is a question of installing a decompression chamber here on La Palma, but that is future music and perhaps lasts for many years.

Where can I find diving doctors?

On this site http://www.duikgeneeskunde.nl (at the link Certified doctors) you will find the Dutch diving doctors where you can go for a diving medical examination. If you are doing a course here, it is advisable to have a diving medical examination first in the Netherlands. Then you know for sure if everything is in order physically. This inspection is reimbursed by some health insurers.