Cabo de Gata-Níjar · Spain · Reef
El Acuario
Small octopus on the anchorage rock at 5 m
Area photo: Konrad Hädener from Thun, Switzerland · CC BY 2.0
El Acuario lives up to its name as an explosion of life and light off Isla de San Andrés, with a maximum depth of 14 m. From the anchorage rock at 5 m — home to small octopus — the dive works passages and cracks holding corvina, groupers and a multitude of fish, at their best from June to December.
Also known as Acuario.
Where it is and how deep
36.9938° N, 1.8845° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive begins at the anchorage point at 5 m, a rock where small octopus hold station — worth a slow look before dropping deeper. From there the site opens out on a maximum depth of 14 m, a layout the Carboneras operator's own site list describes as passageways and crevices holding corvina and a multitude of fish.
Midwater is where El Acuario earns its aquarium name: corvina and groupers hang between two waters among other species, and the listing calls the show best from June to December. The depth and the easy profile keep it within reach of any certified diver, with time to linger at each crack rather than a route to push through.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Groupers
| 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
- El Acuario dive site — Scubago
- Buceo Carboneras — inmersiones (site list) — Buceo Carboneras
More dive sites in Cabo de Gata-Níjar
Seamount
Dropping through a volcano-shaped crater to an arch full of eels
Gorgonian fans lining a wall from 22 to 29 m
Wreck
A WWII bomber engine standing alone in the sand at 27 m
Eagle rays and hunting barracuda on the island's outer wall
Wall
Sardine schools hunted by small tuna at the end of summer
Cave & cavern
Volcanic cave diving without an advanced card
Cave & cavern
A natural rock tunnel to swim through at 15-20 m
Reef
Try-dive shallows at 3-5 m, groupers on the way to 16 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Reef
Escull Roig
Tabarca & Santa Pola · Spain
Sheltered 8 m dive among rocks full of small, photogenic life
Orange sponges, groupers and octopuses in a bay dived by day and night
.jpg){kind=link}
Stone columns and statues at 9 m in a shallow training bay
Reef
Escull Negre
Tabarca & Santa Pola · Spain
Big groupers in the corridor between two rocks, all within 14 m