Costa Brava · Spain · Cave & cavern · Wall · Reef
Coves de Port Salvi
A cave below the Eden Roc hotel, wide enough to swim through
Area photo: Enric · CC BY-SA 3.0
A cave system below the Eden Roc hotel at Punta de Port Salvi, catalogued under both names. The interior is wide rather than tight, so the traverse is swum at a pace that leaves time to look at what lives in it. Moray eels are the animal logged most often here, scorpionfish sit at the entrance, and lobsters appear when the water is cold.
Also known as Coves Eden Roc.
Where it is and how deep
41.7711° N, 3.0304° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts over a canyon at 20 m, which runs in towards the point below the Eden Roc hotel and delivers you at the cave mouth. The entrance used is the northern one, at 25 m, and from there the system runs through to a southern exit at 20 m, so the cave is swum through rather than entered and reversed. The interior is wide, which is what makes that traverse a calm piece of diving rather than a squeeze.
Inside and around the entrance the life is the reason divers come back. Moray eels are logged here more than any other animal, and there are always scorpionfish at the mouth. The same caves under their Eden Roc name add crustaceans, conger eels, seahorses, sponges, rays and nudibranchs, and lobsters appear when the water is cold. No current is recorded on the site, and visibility is given as 10 to 30 m.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Centres in Sant Feliu and Platja d'Aro dive all year; logged sightings peak July to September and the water sits at 13 °C from January to March.
Know before you go
- An overhead dive with separate entry and exit: in at 25 m on the north side, out at 20 m to the south, which is why it is rated CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Port Salvi cave dive?+
The canyon leading in sits at 20 m, the northern entrance is at 25 m and the southern exit at 20 m. Wannadive gives the site an average depth of 20 m and a maximum of 30 m.
Do you need a boat for Coves de Port Salvi?+
No. It can be entered from the beach, but the catalogue calls shore access difficult and recommends taking the boat instead.
Sources
- Coves de Port Salvi — Scubago
- Coves Eden Roc — Scubago
- Port Salvi — Wannadive
More dive sites in Costa Brava
Deep rock at 26–35 m rising to a garden at 8 m
A rock off the town's port, 5 m down to 24 m
Wall
A holed and cracked wall from 15 m to 30 m
Reef
Twin islets that stand 2 m proud and drop to 22 m
Pelagic & blue water
Sunfish and tuna on a pelagic passage at 20–34 m
Reef
Five rocky spurs and the corridors between them
Reef
A protected cove at 5–20 m with passages to swim
Similar dives elsewhere
A tunnel through the island with three-metre nurse sharks inside
Swim-through chimneys lit by skylights in the coral
Three caves, the deepest at 30–35 m ringed with red coral
,_amb_l%27ermita_de_Sant_Elm_al_fons.JPG){kind=link}
Limestone tunnels, the first passed one diver at a time