Tarragona · Spain · Cave & cavern · Reef
Caves of Cap Salou
Small caves and walls at 9 m off the Salou headland
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Machin~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5
The dive for anyone based in Salou: rocky bottoms, walls and small caves off the Cap Salou headland, with a maximum depth of just 9 m and varied routes protected from the wind. Octopus, cuttlefish and moray eels are the regulars, with nudibranchs, starfish and occasionally large groups of barracuda.
Also known as Cabo de Salou, Cabo Salou.
Where it is and how deep
41.0553° N, 1.1726° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
With a maximum depth of 9 m, this is a long, shallow dive around the rocky headland of Cap Salou. After descending you head for the caves the site is named for, working a route over rocky bottoms and along walls broken by small caverns. The headland offers varied lines protected from the wind, so there is usually a sheltered way to run the dive whatever the day is doing.
The rock holds the classic Mediterranean cast: octopus, cuttlefish and moray eels in the holes and overhangs, schools of fish over the bottoms, and nudibranchs and starfish for divers who look closely. Occasionally large groups of barracuda turn up over the site — a lot of animal for nine metres of water — before you finish the circuit and surface near the boat.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Barracuda
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Tarragona: Sea temperature falls below 14 °C from December to March and passes 24 °C from June to September, the practical shoulder of the local season.
Photos from Caves of Cap Salou
Christophe L · CC BY 3.0
Sources
- Scubago — Cabo de Salou — Scubago
- Mar de Hielo — Tarragona dive booking site — Club de Buceo Mar de Hielo
Photo credits
- Elevated view along the rocky Cap Salou headland, cliffs dropping to the sea with the coastal town beyond by No machine-readable author provided. Machin~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cormorants perched on a limestone cliff face at Cap Salou, waves below by Christophe L, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Reef
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Pinnacle
A lone rock pinnacle on sand, circled by seabream and salema
Artificial reef
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