Medes Islands · Spain · Cave & cavern · Wall
El Dofí Sud
Backlit galleries under Meda Petita, red coral on the wall
Area photo: Alexandre Albore · CC BY-SA 4.0
The southern companion to Dofí Nord, moored off the south of Meda Petita. Galleries run under the island and throw strong backlighting where they open, and red coral grows on the island wall at very shallow depths. Outside the tunnels the ground runs between 10 and 40 metres.
Also known as Dofí Sud.
Where it is and how deep
42.0438° N, 3.2265° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The anchor buoy sits on the south side of Meda Petita, the smaller of the two main islands, and the dive drops onto the wall beneath it. Outside the tunnels the depths run between 10 and 40 metres, which makes this a site with two different halves: shallow rock that can be worked for most of a tank, and deeper ground below it that has to be planned for.
The galleries under the island are the reason the site is dived. They open at both ends, so the light comes through from behind, the roof of a passage is picked out against the blue and divers coming the other way read as silhouettes. It is a photographer's dive first and a terrain dive second, and the galleries go better swum slowly with the group spread out rather than nose to fin.
The other detail worth slowing for is on the outside of the site. Red coral grows on the island wall here at very shallow depths — shallow enough that it sits in easy, well-lit water rather than at the bottom of the profile, so it is worth keeping gas and no-stop time back for the wall rather than spending the dive out on the 40 metre ground.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is El Dofí Sud?+
Outside the tunnels the depths run between 10 and 40 metres. The galleries and the shallow wall sit at the top of that range, so most of the dive can be spent shallow even though the site's deeper ground reaches recreational limits.
Where can I see red coral at the Medes Islands?+
On the island wall at El Dofí Sud, where red coral grows at very shallow depths. It is on the outside of the site rather than in the galleries, which puts it in the shallow, well-lit part of the dive.
Sources
- El Dofí Sud — Scubago
- Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park — Wikivoyage
More dive sites in Medes Islands
Pinnacle
The archipelago's busiest dive: a rock from 4 m to 45 m
A 5 m cave passage that comes out at Dofí Sud
Cave & cavern
Limestone platform rising almost to the surface off Meda Gran
Cave & cavern
A daylit tunnel system inside Meda Gran
Cave & cavern
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
Wall
A gorgonian wall above drop-offs past 40 m
Similar dives elsewhere
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A cave-cathedral above a wall that drops to 40 m
Wall to 20 metres, then into the most famous cave on Alonissos
A 70 m tunnel straight through the islet, lit at both ends