BOAT DIVE · PALM-MAR

Palmar Cave, South Tenerife

Palmar Cave is a boat dive around 500 metres off the coast between Los Cristianos and Palm-Mar, facing the cliffs of Montaña Guaza, known for rich ray and moray populations along a wall dropping to 40 metres.

DIVE SITE OVERVIEW

REGION

South Tenerife (Palm-Mar)

ACCESS

Boat dive · ~10 min from Los Cristianos

RECOMMENDED LEVEL

Advanced Open Water

TYPICAL DEPTH

16-27 m

MAXIMUM DEPTH

40 m

WATER TEMPERATURE

18-24°C

Why We Love Palmar Cave

Few sites in Tenerife pack in this much ray diversity in a single dive. Combined with the dramatic canyon terrain and a wall that keeps dropping past 30 metres, it's a site that rewards divers who enjoy exploring big-picture terrain as much as small marine life.

It's also a site we treat with real respect: the cave for which it's named has never been fully mapped, and we dive the wall and canyons around it, not the cave itself.

Palmar Cave takes its name from a cave entrance at around 27 metres, but the dive itself centres on the wall and canyons around it, reached by a short boat ride from Los Cristianos to a site facing the cliffs of Montaña Guaza.

The anchor sits at around 16 metres, giving access to a wall alive with marine life: virtually every ray species found in the Canary Islands has been recorded here, alongside moray eels tucked throughout the rock.

UNDERWATER LANDSCAPE

The site is built around a wall and a series of canyons cut into the rock, dropping from the anchor point at 16 metres down past 30 metres. It's dramatic terrain, well suited to divers who enjoy depth and structure.

A cave entrance is visible at around 27 metres. Its full extent has never been mapped, and it has claimed the lives of divers who ventured in without knowing where it leads. We do not enter the cave, and we brief every diver on this before the dive.

MARINE LIFE

Marine life you might see

Rays (multiple species)

YEAR-ROUND

Effectively every ray species recorded in the Canary Islands has been seen at this site.

Moray Eels

YEAR-ROUND

Found throughout the wall and canyon terrain.

Garden Eels

YEAR-ROUND

Seen in sandy patches around the base of the wall.

CONDITIONS & SUITABILITY

Visibility

Typically 10-30 metres.

Current

Can vary; your guide checks conditions before the dive.

Temperature

Approx. 18°C in winter to 24°C in summer.

Best season

Year-round.

Exposure protection

5 mm for most divers; 7 mm for those who feel the cold more, given the depth.

PERFECT FOR

Advanced Open Water divers comfortable with depth, wall diving and boat access.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR

The cave entrance itself is not part of this dive under any circumstances: its extent has never been fully mapped and it has claimed divers' lives. We dive the wall and canyons only.

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BARBARIAN INSTRUCTOR TIP

Keep your eyes on the wall rather than the cave mouth: the ray activity along the canyon walls is the real highlight here, and it's easy to overlook while curious about the cave entrance.