Playa Chica
The local seahorse colony, Dead Man’s Tombstone and La Catedral are nice perks, along with good access and marine life.
Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Spain
Where we dived
Dive Site
Playa Chica is one of the smallest coves in the municipality of Tías and the smallest of those found in the town of Puerto del Carmen. The site is accessible by the stairs to the left of the local coffee shop and restaurant, or from the sandy beach on the left side. There are good facilities at the beach and some limited parking nearby. I have not experienced any current during my dives. The place gets very busy during the morning, so coming early might get you and your car a good spot. Some dive shops do their final certification dives here, so by midday the place is buzzing with activity.
If you dive to the right side of the coffee shop, you’ll be able to explore the rocky wall and, further from the pier, check out the local seahorse colony, still at a relatively shallow depth. The other side—the beach entry—offers a sandy bottom gradually sloping into deeper water. As you go deeper, you’ll pass an old fishing barge and can make your way to explore La Catedral, a sort of cave where big groupers can be seen. The “cave” opening is wide and the cave is just a few metres long, but given the depth, it is dark inside, so take your torch. Another feature of the site is a tombstone embedded in the rocks and a colony of brightly coloured orange corals.
What to expect
Dive Type
Fun, Reef, Deep, Cave, Snorkel
ACCESS
Shore/Beach
EXPERIENCE
Beginner, Advanced, Pro
CURRENT
Limited
MAX. DEPTH
40+m
VISIBILITY
15-20m
WATER
Salt
When to visit
Best Time To Dive
The best time to dive is during the warmer period of the year, from May to October. Remember, this is the Atlantic, which is colder by nature, and the water reaches about 22°C at the peak of summer. I dived Playa Chica in May in a 7 mm wetsuit and never felt cold, but you might be OK with a 5 mm wetsuit as well.
Meet the Locals
Wildlife
Playa Chica is a rich dive site teeming with marine life. You’ll encounter schools of damselfish, bream, and wrasse darting around volcanic rock formations. Moray eels and octopuses hide in crevices, while stingrays and eagle rays glide over sandy patches. Diving from the beach entry, you come across a sandy bottom with a colony of garden eels greeting you on your way down. Occasionally, you may spot an angel shark resting on the sand. Night dives reveal crabs, lobsters, and cuttlefish, with bioluminescent plankton lighting up the water. Playa Chica’s diverse marine life makes for an unforgettable dive. Thresher sharks have been spotted in the area, but this is a very rare sight, so you may consider yourself extremely lucky to see one.
Where to Go
Dive Site Location
Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Spain
How good is the dive site
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La Catedral
There are plenty of options here. During the first deep dive, we passed the wreck of a fishing boat, explored La Catedral cave, and checked out a tombstone embedded in the reef. The area is teeming with wildlife, including various fish, groupers, starfish, anemonies, orange corals and garden eels. The second, shallower dive along the coast took us to a seahorse location. It’s usually a quite busy dive site, and there’s a café right on the beach.
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Who to dive with
We dived with
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Local Projects
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