Diving in Menorca

With its warm, crystal clear waters, the island of Menorca is a diving paradise. Its underwater world has much to explore, from incredible reefs and underwater caves, to the remains of historic ships. In addition, wherever you dive, you will be able to delight yourself with the regional underwater fauna, especially in the area of the Marine Reserve.

There is a lot to see and do in Menorca, if you don't know where to start, don't worry, in this article I will tell you everything you need to know to live a unique experience diving in Menorca. Are you ready? Let's dive!

The baptism of diving, as its name indicates, is the first approach to this activity by people who have never done it before.

It is important to clarify that any person from 8 or 10 years of age can do this baptism, since you will always dive guided by a professional instructor, so there is no risk.

In this type of activity you first receive a small theoretical class, where the instructor will explain the basic and main fundamentals of diving.

Then there is usually a small practice in an area without depth or in a pool, and then move on to the experience itself, where you dive, reaching a depth of between 5 and 10 meters maximum. The total duration is two hours.

You can opt for an individual baptism, although in general the instructors take few students, because the safety of the activity is guaranteed.

Another option is to take a family diving baptism. An unforgettable experience where everyone can have an incredible time together.

There are institutions specialized in responsible tourism that take you diving in the Marine Reserve in a respectful way with the environment, without disturbing the fauna of the area and intervening as little as possible with the environment, in order to preserve it as much as possible.

One of these options is Diving Menorca. They offer alternatives for beginners, as well as diving courses or dives for the more advanced divers.

Located in the north of the island, this area was declared a "reserve" in 1999, for the conservation of the species that inhabit it.

You will see that, in the Marine Reserve of Menorca fishing is forbidden, and thanks to this the marine fauna has grown a lot with the passing of time, giving rise to one of the most beautiful underwater landscapes you can imagine.

Its waters comprise the area from Cap Gros and Illa des Porros to Punta des Morter.

Diving and snorkeling lovers can enjoy an authentic underwater safari, contemplating in their natural habitat marine species as diverse as octopus, moray eels, groupers, red lobsters, red mullet and other typical of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

If you are interested in diving but you have never done it, Menorca is the ideal place to live an initiation experience. There are several options within the island, but undoubtedly the underwater training center S'Algar Diving is one of the most chosen by young people who come to Menorca. For this reason, in its surroundings you will notice a youthful atmosphere, even very close you will find a beach club, where young people usually meet to enjoy.

S'Algar Diving offers numerous maritime experiences, among which scuba diving is one of the most outstanding.

The center has a huge practice pool, as well as the corresponding boats and equipment to provide a complete experience in the open sea.

They have the option of taking the theoretical part of the diving classes online, in their e-learning platform. This alternative is ideal for those who want to optimize the time of their stay, being able to study even before their vacations, to enjoy the experience once in Menorca instead of taking classes in a classroom.

The S'Algar Diving center also offers excursions to the Marine Reserve, boat trips and snorkeling in Menorca.

Although if you already have some previous experience and what you are looking for is to go deeper, there are many options to polish your underwater skills in Menorca. In sites like Diving Menorca or Scuba Plus, for example, you can enroll in an advanced diving course.

As with the baptism, you will have a theoretical and a practical part. In the theory classes you will learn how to use diving equipment correctly, ways to communicate underwater, as well as about the effects of underwater pressure on the body and methods to compensate for it, and much more.

The practices are always supervised by professional instructors who are at your disposal to solve any problem that may arise, clarify your doubts and take care of your safety.

After taking a final exam you will obtain your certificate, which (according to the course you have taken), will enable you to practice scuba diving anywhere in the world.

Do one of the most popular dives on the north coast of Menorca, La Catedral.

Entering from Cala Morell, and after crossing a sandy area, if you dive in a westerly direction you will find the mythical Cova des Coloms, better known as La Catedral, the largest cave in the region.

This is an ideal place for diving, since you can come across marine species such as langoustines, groupers, lobsters, lobsters, moray eels and scorpion fish.

You can choose to rent the equipment and do the experience on your own, if you already have some experience, otherwise you can hire a guided excursion at Binibeca Diving.

There is a curious history behind this cave. Millions of years ago, Menorca had a subway route of rivers that flowed through it forming tunnels. The waters of the river that flowed through these paths, flowed into the sea through a large cave, and that cave could be the one we all know today as the Cathedral of Menorca.

The cave itself is about 24 meters high, another 15 meters wide and about 110 meters in total length. The Cathedral ends in what is known as the altar. In addition, this cave has an air chamber, from where you can see the entrance of the cave.

I recommend you to end your day at Binigaus Beach as a finishing touch to this adventure. A great place to rest after passing through the Cathedral. It is a beautiful and peaceful beach paradise.

One of the most amazing spots to dive in Menorca is the Sant Lluís area, in the southern portion of the island. This region has a large number of beaches and coves with unreal turquoise warm waters.

Among the most outstanding you can find those of Binibèquer (Binibeca), Binidali, Punta Prima or Binisafua, all of them with crystal clear waters and soft fine white sand.

In Sant Lluís you can visit the Isla del Aire which, besides being popular for having the highest lighthouse in Menorca, is an ideal area for diving, as it is suitable for all levels. Beyond being able to dive on your own there are different guided options that start at approximately 38 €.

The region known as Cagaires offers a majestic scenery of coral reefs with the most amazing colors. Diving in its galleries you can come across fish such as grouper, moray eel, oblada, and conger eel, among others.

And to culminate your magnificent underwater experience, you can enjoy a tour of Binibeca Vell, a cozy and picturesque village of white houses. Get your camera ready, because here you will not be able to stop taking pictures. The place is truly beautiful, with a Greek island halo.

You can consult the diving school S'Algar diving Menorca, which offers many options in this part of the island.

Cala Torret is a small but at the same time great cove in the south of Menorca. It belongs to Sant Lluís and is easily accessible by land. Its pier is always dotted with boats, some of them from companies in charge of guided tours.

This area has crystal clear waters and majestic views, making it a privileged place for water activities such as kayaking and, of course, diving.

The star of this site is the dive known as El Caracol. Here you will find a natural reef full of tunnels, arches and caves where a huge number of marine species coexist.

El Caracol is a dive suitable for the whole family and for divers of all levels, its maximum depth is only 21 meters. This reef is located one kilometer from the coast, so you can reach it in a matter of minutes.

Throughout history, Menorca has been the scene of numerous battles and confrontations between different civilizations, many of them disputing its possession. Of these events we can still find witnesses at the underwater level.

There are many remains of sunken ships that lie scattered in the depths of the southern part of the island.

In this case, the experience is for more experienced divers, since the remains of these ships are found at great depths. The advantage of the region is that the clear waters of Menorca offer great visibility to enjoy these underwater treasures.

Some of the wrecks that can be seen are the Ocean Diver, submerged at 27 meters deep near the beach of San Bou, the Santa Clara, at 47 meters below the surface and in front of the tip of S'Algar, the Francisquita, at 50 meters deep in Punta Nati, the Junker-88 aircraft of the Second World War, and the Malakoff, at 34 meters deep in Cala Galdana, of which almost nothing remains of what was once a large French cargo ship.

In addition to the cave, the Cathedral of Cap d'en Font, Menorca has other attractive underwater caves for the delight of diving enthusiasts. One of them is the Pou de sa Lluna. This consists of a large cavern that continues in a rocky corridor. It ends in a circular wall like a tunnel that goes upwards and crosses a halocline. The route ends in an air chamber.

Another peculiar cave in the waters of the island of Menorca is the Campanar. This cave, also located in Cap d'en Font, stands out for its great beauty. This is an exclusive experience for experienced divers.

The main entrance is 18 meters deep and inside you can see large columns and an air chamber with amazing stalactites in it.

This is one of the many beaches of Menorca that has a great variety of services for the tourist, and diving is one of them. At the same time, Cala Galdana is one of the best beaches in Menorca to go with the family, thanks to the fact that it has all the necessary services to spend the day, guaranteeing a comfortable stay.

Another great advantage of this beach is that it is very accessible to go by land, whether you have your own car or if you want to go by public transport.

Cala Galdana, or Santa Galdana as it is officially called, is located in Ferreries and is a popular tourist coastal urbanization. It is a circular bay of fine sand and crystal clear water, like most of the beaches of the island, thanks to which it offers perfect conditions to enjoy scuba diving or highly recommended boat trips.

The underwater dives in this cove involve a very low difficulty, so the activity is suitable for all levels of divers of all ages. There are not many currents in the area and the maximum depth that can be reached while diving in Cala Galdana is 15 meters.

Among the main attractions that you can see here is the famous Barbada Cala Galdana which consists of an underwater wall of about 15 meters, which runs from north to south. Its surface is covered with holes, which makes it even more striking.

Another interesting attraction in Cala Galdana is the Malakoff, which I mentioned above. This old cargo ship of about 7000 tons, after its sinking in 1959 generated a reef that today is home to hundreds of underwater species. You can dive in this cove with dive centers like Blue island diving.

An interesting dive site, but only suitable for professional or experienced divers, is the dive known as the Chimney.

This important cenote is located at Codolada Point, at the northern end of Punta Grossa. The tour to get to know this natural attraction, begins by advancing along the wall, about 25 meters, which then plunges in a steep slope from 32 meters.

This generates a sensation of falling into the void, and can be reached at that point about 40 meters deep.

Then, after about 200 meters of anchoring, you reach the entrance of a narrow tunnel that leads to the famous chimney. This tunnel is so narrow that it allows the passage of only one diver at a time.

In this part of the tour, you will come across underwater species such as crabs, crayfish, shrimps and porcelain shrimps. The chimney itself has the shape of a circular tunnel of approximately 3 meters in diameter and rises vertically until it reaches the surface of the cliff.

On the way to the surface you can see the beautiful light of the sun's rays. On days when the sea is rough, the chimney expels water as if it were a geyser.