Atlantic · Spain
Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
Granite shoals, kelp and wrecks in and around the Ría de Arousa
Sálvora and Ons, two of the four archipelagos of Galicia's Atlantic Islands National Park, together with the granite shoals and wrecks of the Ría de Arousa. Boats from Vilagarcía de Arousa, Ribeira and the Pontevedra side dive kelp forests and boulder islets between 5 and 25 m, the 47 m freighter Aries upright on sand at 21 m, and the remains of the Santa Isabel off Sálvora. The water around Galicia runs between 13 and 17 °C.
About diving in Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
The sites are reached by boat, from centres around the Ría de Arousa, the largest of the Galician rías. Centro de Buceo Medusa sails from Vilagarcía de Arousa to shoals, lighthouses and wrecks in the middle of the ría and out to Sálvora at its mouth. Hydronauta runs Sálvora either as a half day with a single dive or as a full day with two dives and lunch on the island. Portosub, from the Pontevedra side, takes boats to Ons and Sálvora as well as the Cíes. Private boats visiting Ons need the park's navigation and anchoring permits.
The bottom is mostly granite. Off Isla de Rúa, large blocks form caves and passages in dives of 5 to 17 m; Bajo Fernancejo raises three spires from sand at 25 m to 6 m. Kelp forests, fish schools and nudibranchs fill the Sálvora dives. A sandy kelp shoal off Faro Punta Cabalo shelters seahorses, cuttlefish, velvet swimming crabs and scallops, and the boulder islets hold spider crabs, lobsters, conger eels, white seabream and pouting. The Aries, a 47 m freighter sunk in 1977, sits upright on sand at 21 m; under a mussel raft the depth tops out at 15 m and there is never any current.
Most sites are rated for Open Water divers, and Hydronauta asks for fully autonomous Open Water or two-star divers. Water between 13 and 17 °C means a good wetsuit, or better a semi-dry, in winter. Ons and Sálvora are quieter than the Cíes, and Portosub is authorised to run try-dives on Ons. Divers after deep wrecks have the Alejandro at 35–42 m. Those set on the Cíes themselves belong in Illas Cíes & Ría de Vigo, to the south.
Best time to dive Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
The centres dive all year and no month is reported as best; the public ferries to Ons run in the high season, at Easter and from 15 May to 15 September.
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Dive types & marine life
Temperate Atlantic life: velvet swimming crabs, spider crabs, lobsters, conger eels, white seabream, pouting and cuttlefish around the granite, seahorses and scallops on a sandy kelp shoal, and nudibranchs and fish schools around Sálvora. No sighting season is recorded for any of them.
- Reef
- Wreck
- Kelp forest
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
Best dive sites in Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
- 1
Isla de Sálvora
Island at the mouth of the Ría de Arousa, in the national park; maximum dive depths run from 12 to 25 m.
- 2
Aries
A 47 m freighter sunk in 1977, in good condition and upright on sand at a maximum of 21 m.
- 3
Isla de Rúa
Large granite blocks that form caves and passages full of life underwater.
- 4
Bajo Fernancejo
Shoal with three spires rising from sand at 25 m to 6 m below the surface.
- 5
Santa Isabel
Wreck of a ship lost in 1921 after striking the shoals south of Sálvora.
- 6
Alejandro
A collier of almost 50 m that sank in the middle of the Ría de Arousa in 1958 on its way to the shipyard; 35–42 m.
Site guides
Wreck
A 47 m freighter upright on her keel at 21 m
National-park island at the mouth of the Ría de Arousa
Reef
Granite blocks stacked into caves and passages
Reef
Boulder islet near the Isla de Arousa, 5 to 16 m
Wreck
Remains of Galicia's worst shipwreck, lost off Sálvora in 1921
How to get to Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
Santiago de Compostela airport has budget flights from several European cities plus domestic routes. Vilagarcía de Arousa, home of Centro de Buceo Medusa, lies 45 km south of Santiago; Hydronauta is in the heart of the Ría de Arousa, and Portosub sails from the Pontevedra side.
Photos from Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga Commons)(Lmbuga Galipedia) Publicada por/Publish by: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
Sálvora, mayo 2011 · Diego Fernández on YouTube
Inmersión de Buceo en la Isla de Sálvora (Islas Atlánticas) · Centro de Buceo y Actividades de Ocio Portosub on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Does diving at Ons and Sálvora need a permit?+
Private boats visiting Ons need the park's navigation and anchoring permits. Dive centres run Sálvora as a half day with a single dive or as a full day with two dives and lunch on the island.
What certification do the Ría de Arousa dives need?+
Most sites are rated for Open Water divers, while the Alejandro at 35–42 m needs Advanced plus a deep specialty. The Aries sits upright on sand at 21 m.
What exposure protection is needed at Sálvora and Ons?+
The centres dive all year, and water between 13 and 17 °C means a good wetsuit, or better a semi-dry, in winter.
How do divers reach Sálvora and Ons?+
Boats leave from Vilagarcía de Arousa, Ribeira and the Pontevedra side, and Sálvora lies at the mouth of the ría. Santiago de Compostela airport has budget flights, and Vilagarcía is 45 km south of Santiago.
Sources
- Salidas de buceo (Centro de Buceo Medusa) — Náutica Medusa
- Centro de Buceo Medusa — Náutica Medusa
- Isla de Sálvora (Hydronauta) — Centro de Buceo Hydronauta
- Buceo en Galicia (Hydronauta) — Centro de Buceo Hydronauta
- Salidas de Buceo (Buceo Pontevedra, archived) — Portosub
- Visita Ons — Parque Nacional das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia
- Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park — Wikipedia
- Galicia — Wikivoyage
- Vilagarcía de Arousa — Wikipedia
- Vilagarcía de Arousa sea temperature — seatemperature.org
Photo credits
- Sálvora island and its scattered granite islets in a blue sea, seen over the village of Aguiño and its fields by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Granite boulders on a rocky islet in flat water, with a low island and floating rafts in the distance by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga Commons)(Lmbuga Galipedia) Publicada por/Publish by: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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