Medes Islands · Spain · Cave & cavern · Wall
Dofí Nord
A 5 m cave passage that comes out at Dofí Sud
Photo: Jouni Kuisma, DiveCodex · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dofí Nord sits off the north side of Meda Petita and is dived two ways. One route takes the cave passage whose entrance is at 5 m and comes out at neighbouring Dofí Sud; the other descends to 18 m and follows the wall in the direction of La Hermina. Groupers, scorpionfish and eels hold on the rock, with nudibranchs and lobster in the cracks.
Also known as Dofi Nord, Dolfi Nord.
Where it is and how deep
42.0451° N, 3.2251° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site lies off the north side of Meda Petita, the smaller of the two main islands, and it is a boat dive out of L'Estartit. From the top of the rock the dive splits in two. The first option is the cave: the entrance is at 5 m, and the passage runs through to come out at Dofí Sud, the neighbouring site, so the shallow half of the dive is a traverse rather than an out-and-back.
The second option leaves the shallows behind. You descend to 18 m and follow the wall in the direction of La Hermina, which is as deep as this dive goes. Groupers, scorpionfish and eels are the fish you come for, and nudibranchs and lobster are the reward for looking into the cracks and holes rather than covering ground.
Because the two routes run at such different depths, it is worth settling which one you are doing before you get in the water: the cave traverse finishes at a different part of the island from the wall dive, and the group has to stay together for either. Both profiles stay shallow enough to leave plenty of gas and no-stop time in hand.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Medes Islands: Jun–Sep brings the warmest water, calmest seas, and peak grouper and fish activity; most dive centers scale back Dec–Feb.
Photos from Dofí Nord
Jouni Kuisma, DiveCodex · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Dofi Nord et Sud, L'ESTARTIT, les îles Médes, Espagne · Jonathan Dutilleul on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Dofí Nord?+
The cave entrance is at 5 m and the passage is dived shallow; the other route descends to 18 m and follows the wall in the direction of La Hermina. Both options stay well inside recreational no-stop limits.
What do you see at Dofí Nord?+
Groupers, scorpionfish and eels on the rock, with nudibranchs and lobster in the cracks and holes. It is a site for close looking rather than for open water and big animals.
Sources
- Dofí Nord — Unisub Estartit
- Dofí Nord dive site — Costa Brava Divers
- Meda Petita (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap
- Medes Islands — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- Mediterranean moray with mouth open, head out of a rock crevice by Jouni Kuisma, DiveCodex, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mediterranean slipper lobster tucked into a rock crevice by Jouni Kuisma, DiveCodex, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Medes Islands
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Cave & cavern
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Tunnels cutting clean through the island at 14–24 m
Reef
Coral beds, posidonia meadow and sand in a single dive
Wall
Vertical gorgonian walls dropping to 42 m off Meda Gran
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A gorgonian wall above drop-offs past 40 m
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