El Hierro, the area around Punta Restinga

El Hierro · Spain · Wall · Cave & cavern

Punta Restinga

A 20 m lava platform ending at a wall that falls past 40 m

Area photo: javiersanp · CC BY-SA 3.0

Punta Restinga is the point dive immediately outside La Restinga, at the southern tip of El Hierro. The route crosses a fairly flat volcanic platform at around 20 meters to the edge of a drop-off that falls below 40 meters in places, with caves and crevices cut into the wall face. The way back climbs the wall and threads several canyons to the mooring.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Punta Restinga: typical dive 20–40 m (66–130 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit20 m40 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

27.6380° N, 17.9770° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

You drop onto a fairly flat platform at around 20 meters. The ground here is young volcanic rock rather than coral reef, so read it as lava tongues and cracks rather than as a reef slope, and expect the terrain to be low and broken instead of built up. Swim out from the mooring and the platform stays level under you until its outer edge announces itself.

At that edge the ground gives way into a drop-off that falls below 40 meters in some areas. Work along the face rather than straight down it: caves and crevices are cut into the wall, and following the line of the drop-off gives you the length of the feature without spending the whole dive deep. This is the deepest part of the profile, and everything after it is shallower.

The return ascends along the wall back onto the plateau and passes through several canyons on the way to the mooring point, so the scenic half of the dive is also the shallow half. Come up the same way you went out, finish over the platform, and hang your safety stop above the lava with the buoy line in reach.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Punta Restinga
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGood

Season follows El Hierro: Diveable year-round with mild swings in temperature; Jun–Oct brings the calmest seas and warmest water.

Questions divers ask

How deep is Punta Restinga?+

The dive works a platform at around 20 meters out to the edge of a drop-off that falls below 40 meters in some areas, so the profile is deepest at the turn and shallower on the way back.

Sources

  1. Punta Restinga dive site — Scubago/SSI

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