Medes Islands

Diving here is entirely boat-based and short-range. The islands sit just off the beach at L'Estartit, so a boat leaves the harbour, ties to a mooring within minutes and can be back in port between dives rather than waiting out the surface interval at sea. Centres typically run two-dive mornings through the season, and because the buoy and permit system caps diver numbers, places are booked ahead — in August that can mean days in advance rather than hours.

The islands are the seaward end of the Montgrí limestone massif, and it shows underwater. The rock is drilled through with tunnels, chimneys and blind caves, and the shaded walls carry red gorgonian fans over coralligenous crust. The sheltered inner sides shelve gently across seagrass and boulders, while the outer faces drop away properly; that is where the depth sits, and where what little current there is tends to be felt.

What makes the reserve unusual is how unbothered the fish are. Decades of protection — the reserve dates to 1983 — have left large fish holding station while divers pass, close enough to photograph without stalking, and the shallow tunnels are often thick with them. Visibility is the trade-off: this stretch of coast takes river run-off, and after heavy rain or a hard tramuntana blow the water can drop well below its summer best for several days.

It suits divers who come to watch animals rather than terrain, and photographers above all: tame fish, tunnels lit at both ends and forgiving depths make an unusual combination. Open Water divers are well served on the sheltered sides and the shallower tunnels. The walls, the deeper gorgonian slopes and the darker cave sections want Advanced-level comfort with depth and buoyancy.