Saavedra Marine Sanctuary

The dive opens on a coral-covered slope, which is the shallow half of the site and the part that shows how much protection has done here. Follow it out and down, letting the coral cover set the pace, until the ground reaches the drop at 18 m. Everything above that line is easy diving and worth keeping some gas back for on the way home.

From 18 m the wall goes to 55 m. Big gorgonian sea fans are the feature on the face, standing clear of the face, and the coral species around them are varied enough that a slow swim along one depth band gives a full dive. Pick that band, hold it, and resist following a fan down; the bottom of this wall is not a recreational depth.

Turn on gas rather than on any landmark, come back along the face a little shallower than you went out, then regain the slope and finish there. This is a protected sanctuary, so the fans in particular need room: they are fragile, and they sit right where a careless fin swings, so give them a wide berth on every pass.