Reefwander
Sheltered sandy cove behind volcanic-rock breakwaters at Playa Flamingo — Blue Hole, Lanzarote

Lanzarote & Museo Atlántico · Spain · Cave & cavern

Blue Hole

A short swim-through entered at 26 m, exiting at 18 m

Photo: BrotherDarksoul · CC BY-SA 3.0

Blue Hole is a short swim-through on the shore-diving ground off Playa Flamingo, west of the Playa Blanca ferry port. The route out crosses sand to a drop-off, and the swim-through itself is entered at 26 metres and exits at 18 metres, so the deepest part of the dive comes early and the profile steps up from there.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Blue Hole: typical dive 18–26 m (60–85 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit18 m26 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

28.8580° N, 13.8403° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive starts from the beach at Playa Flamingo, which sits behind breakwaters and stays calm enough that the entry is never the hard part. You head out over the sand, the flat section of the dive, until the bottom gives way at the drop-off. That crossing is the whole approach, and the site is popular for shore-based diving precisely because it is reached on foot rather than by boat.

The swim-through is the reason to come. It is entered at 26 metres, the deepest point of the dive, and it is short: you pop out at 18 metres, so the profile rises through the feature instead of holding depth. From the exit onwards the dive is shallower than it began, and the way back is the same crossing of sand to the beach you swam out over.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for Blue Hole
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGood

Season follows Lanzarote & Museo Atlántico: Divable all year in 18–24°C water; Jun–Oct is warmest and calmest, and angel sharks are most reliably seen Nov–Mar.

Know before you go

  • The entrance sits at 26 metres and the passage is overhead, so gas reserve and no-decompression time are both tightest at the moment you commit to it.

Dive videos

Scuba Diving The Blue Hole in Puerto Del Carmen (Lanzarote) 2018 · Robert Sarginson on YouTube

Puerto del Carmen (Lanzarote) - Blue Hole - (21-04-2021) - CID Lanzarote · Producciones Maldisub on YouTube

Sources

  1. Playa Blanca — Wikivoyage
  2. Best dive sites in Lanzarote guide — Dawn Dives Lanzarote
  3. Puntos de inmersión en Lanzarote — Rubicón Diving

Photo credits

In The Logbook

More dive sites in Lanzarote & Museo Atlántico

Artificial reef

A dive that starts at a submerged boat and runs to 40 m

25–40 madvanced

Shore-entry reef at 7-8 m, the local beginner and refresher dive

to 8 mbeginner

Reef

Black coral forest and gorgonia between 40 and 85 m

40–85 madvanced

Lava formations stepping from 12 m to a 45 m bottom

12–30 m · max 45 madvanced

Cave & cavern

A cave full of narwhal shrimp on a wall with a 40 m foot

to 40 madvanced

Artificial reef

Europe's first underwater museum, opened in January 2017

12–14 mbeginner

A branch of orange coral inside a cave at the end of the wall

5–40 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Cave & cavern

Buracona

Cabo Verde · Cabo Verde

Sunbeams drop through a collapsed roof into the cave

to 28 madvanced

Cave & cavern

Cueva de Radazul

Tenerife · Spain

A cavern entrance at 49 m below a barracuda-covered cliff

to 32 m · max 49 madvanced

Cave & cavern

El Bufadero

Gran Canaria · Spain

A descent through an L-shaped lava tube into open water

to 27 madvanced

Cave & cavern

El Fafo

Fuerteventura · Spain

A narrow gorge from 23 m to a portal in the reef at 32 m

23–32 madvanced