Costa Brava · Spain · Cave & cavern
Cueva Gisbert
A 120 m grotto from a 12 m entrance to bats at the far end
Area photo: Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0
A grotto 120 m long, reached after about 20 minutes' navigation up the coast. The entrance is at 12 m and the passage runs back to a chamber where the water is only 1.5 m deep and bats sit on the walls above the surface. A light is absolutely necessary, and the overhead is the character of the dive.
Also known as Grotto Gisbert.
Where it is and how deep
41.9277° N, 3.2180° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The boat runs about 20 minutes up the coast to the cave. The entrance is at 12 m, and from there the grotto runs back 120 m into the rock — a long passage by any standard, and one with no light of its own. A torch is not optional here: the description says a light is absolutely necessary, and that applies to every diver in the team rather than only the one in front.
The far end is the surprise. The passage shallows as it goes until the water is only 1.5 m deep, and above that surface bats hang on the walls of the chamber. The profile is therefore a slow climb from 12 m to nothing, inside an overhead, which asks for care with buoyancy and with silt on the way back — the way in is the way out, and it will look different if the passage has been stirred.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Surface water sits near 13 °C from January to March and peaks around 25 °C in August; local guidance is 5 mm in July and August, 7 mm April to June and September to October, drysuit the rest.
Know before you go
- The grotto is an overhead environment 120 m long with no natural light, so carry a torch each and agree a turn point before you go in.
Sources
- Grotto / Cueva Gisbert — Scubago
- Diving in Tamariu — Submarinisme Costa Brava
More dive sites in Costa Brava
A shore dive 30 m from the base, inside a buoy line
A pool ladder into a cove of nudibranchs and shrimp
Twin gorges between three walls, 10 m down to 40 m
Drift
Three rocky bars round the cape, dived as a drift
Wreck
A confiscated navy tug from 18 m to a 32 m seabed
Reef
Large congers on a rock seven minutes from Tamariu
Sand slope
A pool-like training bay from 1 to 8 m
A swim-through cave at 12 m beside the mooring
Similar dives elsewhere
A wide 4-9 m entrance into a chamber with an air pocket
Gliding through light-filled rock canyons inside 12 m
Small caves and walls at 9 m off the Salou headland
Vertical chimneys with sunbeams in a 12 m shore-entry cavern