Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa · Spain · Reef · Cave & cavern
Isla de Rúa
Granite blocks stacked into caves and passages
Area photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Isla de Rúa is built of huge granite blocks that form caves and passages underwater. Several dive points around the island suit different levels of experience, with crustaceans inside the caves and more fish on the surrounding shoals, all between 5 and 17 m.
Also known as Illa de Rúa.
Where it is and how deep
42.5502° N, 8.9398° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Rúa is made of great blocks of granite, and below the surface those blocks stack into caves and passages full of life. The island has several dive points rather than a single fixed route, and the one chosen on the day depends on the experience of the divers in the group and on the species they want to see. Every one of them stays between 5 and 17 m, and the island is rated for Open Water divers.
Inside the caves the life is mostly crustaceans: velvet swimming crabs, spider crabs, lobsters and slipper lobsters among the granite blocks. Out on the rest of the shoals the fish take over and are more numerous, with white seabream, sea bass, pollack, pouting, John Dory and conger eels around the rocks.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa: 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.
Dive videos
Isla de Rúa, Ría de Arosa · Náutica Medusa www.nauticamedusa.com on YouTube
Inmersión nocturna en Isla de Rúa, Ría de Arosa · Náutica Medusa www.nauticamedusa.com on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the diving at Isla de Rúa?+
The dives at Isla de Rúa run from 5 to 17 m, around granite blocks that form caves and passages.
What certification is needed for Isla de Rúa?+
Open Water. Several dive points around the island are chosen to match the experience of the divers.
Sources
- Salidas de buceo (Centro de Buceo Medusa) — Náutica Medusa
- Vilagarcía de Arousa sea temperature — seatemperature.org
- Salidas de Buceo (Buceo Pontevedra, archived) — Portosub
- Illa de Rúa (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap contributors
More dive sites in Sálvora, Ons & Ría de Arousa
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A 47 m freighter upright on her keel at 21 m
National-park island at the mouth of the Ría de Arousa
Reef
Boulder islet near the Isla de Arousa, 5 to 16 m
Wreck
Remains of Galicia's worst shipwreck, lost off Sálvora in 1921
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