Cabo de Gata-Níjar · Spain · Wall
Cara Externa de la Isla San Andrés
Eagle rays and hunting barracuda on the island's outer wall
Area photo: Konrad Hädener from Thun, Switzerland · CC BY 2.0
Cara Externa de la Isla San Andrés is the outermost dive on Isla de San Andrés off Carboneras, where a wall drops to the site's 22 m maximum. It is the island dive for fish action: dentex, barracuda and false pollock hunt along the face, and sightings of eagle rays and stingrays are rated very likely.
Where it is and how deep
36.9915° N, 1.8839° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is the outermost dive of Isla de San Andrés, reached by boat from Carboneras. The site's name — the island's outer face — describes it exactly: a wall dropping to the 22 m maximum, and that extra depth over the island's inner sites puts it a step beyond the pure beginner dives, a comfortable profile for divers certified past entry level.
The draw is fish in open water. Dentex, barracuda and false pollock hunt along the outer face, and the site's listing rates sightings of eagle rays and stingrays as very likely — rays are a headline here in a way they are nowhere else around the island. Work the drop with one eye on the blue, then come back up the wall as the dive shallows towards the boat.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Eagle rays
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Cabo de Gata-Níjar: Visitor season peaks spring through summer; surface water swings from 10-15 °C in winter to 21-30 °C in summer, with 22 °C still logged in October.
Sources
- Cara Externa de la Isla San Andrés dive site — Scubago
- Cara Externa de la Isla San Andrés dive site (SSI MyDiveGuide) — SSI MyDiveGuide
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Cave & cavern
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Wall
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