- Open Water course
- €580
- Best season
- Diving is possible year-round
- Water temperature
- 19–24°C
Updated July 2026
Good to know
Good to Know
- The wrecks and cavern dive directly off Las Palmas city are not casual shore dives — they require a chartered boat, calm weather/swell windows, and sometimes a minimum number of divers, so book with flexibility and expect some trips to be weather-cancelled.
- If you want the single best, most biodiverse diving on the island (El Cabrón), plan for a day trip of roughly 30-40 minutes each way from central Las Palmas rather than expecting shore access from the city itself.
- Las Canteras beach in the city is great for beginner shore dives, snorkelling, and PADI training dives, but it is not where the island's standout wreck or reef diving happens.
- Some previously-dived wrecks near Las Palmas (like the Kalais) have been lost to harbour extension works — confirm current site access with a local dive centre before building a trip around a specific wreck.
- If you want PADI Divemaster or Instructor-level training specifically inside Las Palmas city, confirm current course scheduling directly — only one city shop was found advertising IDC/instructor training locally, versus multiple options if you're willing to travel to the island's south.
- Most large, heavily-reviewed multi-language dive operations on Gran Canaria are actually based in the south (Puerto Rico, Mogán, Maspalomas) rather than in Las Palmas city — if a shop's course pricing looks unusually cheap or the reviews mention Maspalomas/Mogán, it's likely a 40-60 minute drive from central Las Palmas, not a city-based operator.
- Course pricing varies a lot by season and by whether Nitrox/equipment rental is bundled in — always ask for a written breakdown before booking.
Sites In Or Immediately Off Las Palmas City
La Catedral (The Cathedral)
- Type
- Cavern/cave dive
- Depth
- Descends to a seabed at 12-14m before entering a cavern that stretches down to around 45m
- Access
- Boat dive only, just outside Las Palmas port; weather and swell dependent
- Best Season
- Only diveable on calm days when the north-easterly trade winds and onshore swell are absent — no fixed 'season', it's a weather-window site
- Diver Level
- Experienced divers only, especially if there is any swell running
- Marine Life
- Prawns, crabs, and other low-light cavern species; noted for spectacular underwater geology with light streaming through openings in the cavern roof
Barra De Las Canteras (Las Canteras Reef)
- Type
- Shallow reef, shore-accessible
- Depth
- Max around 8m
- Access
- Shore entry from Playa de Las Canteras beach in the city itself
- Best Season
- Year-round, conditions/tide dependent
- Diver Level
- All levels, but multiple sources note it's better suited to snorkelling than serious diving due to access and tide conditions
- Marine Life
- Damselfish, wrasse, bream, and other small reef species
Arona Wreck
- Type
- Wreck (cargo vessel)
- Depth
- Sits on its side or upright on the seabed; king post to deck around 25-27m, with some accounts citing depths to 36m
- Access
- Boat dive, roughly six nautical miles from the port of La Luz / Las Palmas, about 20 minutes south of the city
- Best Season
- Year-round but weather-dependent; considered a serious dive best attempted when conditions are good
- Diver Level
- Advanced/Deep Diver certification recommended, Nitrox often advised; some wreck penetration possible for qualified wreck divers
- Marine Life
- Very big schools of barracudas, plus bastard grunts and damselfish around the king post
Angela Pando Wreck
- Type
- Wreck
- Depth
- Not specified in detail
- Access
- Boat dive near Las Palmas
- Best Season
- Year-round, boat/weather dependent
- Diver Level
- Experienced — described as one of the biggest wrecks in the Canaries at roughly 200m long
- Marine Life
- Not specified in detail
Frigorifica Wreck
- Type
- Wreck
- Depth
- Not specified
- Access
- Boat dive; diving here paused during Las Palmas harbour extension works but reportedly resumed once the new harbour wall was completed
- Best Season
- Year-round, subject to harbour works/weather
- Diver Level
- Experienced wreck divers
- Marine Life
- Not specified in detail
Kalais Wreck
- Type
- Wreck
- Depth
- N/A
- Access
- No longer diveable — harbour extension works around 2014 covered this site
- Best Season
- N/A
- Diver Level
- N/A — included for completeness/historical context only
- Marine Life
- N/A
Other Las Palmas Wrecks (Tres Barcos, 'Upside-Down' Wreck)
- Type
- Wreck
- Depth
- Not specified
- Access
- Boat dive; some of these smaller wrecks have reportedly been buried under infill from harbour construction in past years, so current accessibility should be confirmed with a local operator before planning around them
- Best Season
- Year-round, weather/harbour-works dependent
- Diver Level
- Experienced wreck divers
- Marine Life
- Not specified
Gando Shoal (Baja De Gando)
- Type
- Wreck field
- Depth
- Shallow relative to surrounding area
- Access
- Not regularly diveable — no dive school or boat currently runs trips here on a regular basis, despite reportedly containing several historic shipwrecks
- Best Season
- N/A
- Diver Level
- N/A
- Marine Life
- N/A
Day Trip Sites Elsewhere On Gran Canaria Commonly Run From Las Palmas
El Cabrón Marine Reserve (Arinaga)
- Type
- Volcanic reef, walls, caves and arches
- Depth
- Varies by route, over 10 distinct dive routes within the reserve
- Access
- Day trip by road/boat from Las Palmas, roughly 30-40 minutes each way; widely regarded as the best diving on the island
- Best Season
- Year-round; described as one of the top dive sites in Europe with over 400 marine species recorded
- Diver Level
- All levels across its various routes, though the more advanced routes suit experienced divers
- Marine Life
- Seahorses, angel sharks, butterfly rays, eagle rays, moray eels, and a very high biodiversity due to its protected/no-fishing status
Playa Tufia (Telde)
- Type
- Shore reef dive, small bay
- Depth
- Shallow, good for training and beginners
- Access
- Shore dive, day-trip distance from Las Palmas, north of the airport
- Best Season
- Year-round
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate; noted as requiring reasonable fitness to carry gear down to the water
- Marine Life
- General reef fish life and macro species typical of the east coast
Risco Verde (Near Arinaga)
- Type
- Shore reef dive/snorkel
- Depth
- Around 10m
- Access
- Easy shore entry near El Cabrón
- Best Season
- Year-round
- Diver Level
- All levels, including snorkel-only, low physical effort
- Marine Life
- Seaweed-covered seabed with varied marine life
Taliarte
- Type
- Shallow reef
- Depth
- Shallow, beginner-friendly; a nearby field of gorgonians has been reported at around 30m for more advanced divers
- Access
- Shore dive, day-trip distance from Las Palmas
- Best Season
- Year-round
- Diver Level
- Beginner-friendly, used for try-dives and courses
- Marine Life
- Small schools of fish, rays resting on sand
Sardina Del Norte (Gáldar)
- Type
- Reef
- Depth
- Not specified in detail
- Access
- Day trip by road from Las Palmas, north coast
- Best Season
- Autumn is noted as the best chance to see manta rays passing through this area
- Diver Level
- Varies by route
- Marine Life
- Manta rays (seasonal, autumn), general reef fish
Diving here is genuinely day-boat and shore based, not liveaboard territory — there is no liveaboard scene in Gran Canaria. However, the honest picture is nuanced: the shallow water directly off Las Palmas city (Las Canteras beach) is mainly used for training/snorkeling, the city's famous wreck dives require a chartered boat and cooperative weather, and the island's single best-regarded reserve (El Cabrón) is a 30-90 minute drive/boat transfer away on the east coast, done as a day trip by Las Palmas-based operators.
Access Summary
Not liveaboard-dependent. A mix of true shore diving (Las Canteras reef for training/snorkel depths, and shore sites further down the coast like Playa Tufia and Risco Verde), and boat/day-trip diving for the serious sites (Las Palmas wrecks and cavern, El Cabrón, Sardina del Norte).
General Conditions
- Visibility
- Often very good, with some sources citing up to 40m on the island's better sites in average conditions
- Water Temperature
- Stable year-round, roughly 19°C in winter (February) up to about 24°C at the end of summer (August), making Gran Canaria a genuine winter diving destination compared with colder European waters
- Best Season Overall
- Diving is possible year-round; angel shark sightings are most likely from November to March (their mating season), while manta rays are more likely in autumn near the north/Agaete area
- Exposure Protection
- Most dive centres rent 5mm full wetsuits with boots; some divers prefer a 7mm suit plus hood and gloves for winter comfort
Courses And Operators
Typical Cost
- Refresher Course
- €85
- Discover Scuba Try Dive
- €99
- Multi Day Course Example Lower
- €450
- Multi Day Course Example Higher
- €575
- Open Water Course Combined With Nitrox
- €580
- Entry Level Experiences From Aggregator
- €25
- Advanced Open Water Combined With Nitrox
- €450
- Note
- Confirmed published pricing was found for island-based PADI 5-star centers on Gran Canaria (mostly in the south of the island near Puerto Rico/Maspalomas); no itemized public price list was found for the Las Palmas city-center shops specifically, so treat these as island-typical reference prices rather than confirmed Las Palmas-city prices.
Operator Density
- In Las Palmas City Itself
- At least 7 named operators are based within Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city proper (mostly clustered near Las Canteras beach in the north of the island), per the official Gran Canaria tourism board's dive-center directory: Buceo Canarias, El Azul Dive Center, Canary Islands Diving Institute, Lavy sub, Mirafondos, Snorkeling Experience, and 7mares (PADI 5-star IDC center).
- Arinaga Note
- One operator based near the El Cabrón Marine Reserve at Arinaga (about 30+ minutes from Las Palmas) explicitly offers pickup/transport for divers staying in Las Palmas city, since El Cabrón is considered one of the island's best dive sites.
- Wider Island Context
- The greater density of PADI-affiliated dive centers on Gran Canaria (roughly a dozen-plus additional named shops, e.g. Blue Water Diving, Go Diving, Delphinus, Leagues Ahead, Gran Canaria Divers, Scuba Sur, Dive Academy) is concentrated in the south of the island around Puerto Rico, Mogán, Puerto de Mogán and Maspalomas/Playa del Inglés — roughly 40-60 minutes' drive from Las Palmas city and outside this guide's proximity radius for the city itself, but relevant context for anyone considering a day trip or relocating to the south for diving.
Freediving Crossover
- Caveat
- This crossover was confirmed for at least one Las Palmas city shop; it was not confirmed as a citywide norm across all 7 city-based operators listed above.
- Detail
- At least one Las Palmas city-center PADI dive shop (near Las Canteras beach) lists PADI Freediving as a course offering alongside its PADI Scuba Diving, Snorkelling, and First Aid (EFR) programs, indicating genuine freediving/scuba crossover at that operator rather than freediving being a separate niche.
- Confirmed
- Yes
Certifying Bodies And Levels
- Detail
- A PADI 5-star IDC dive center based near Las Canteras beach in Las Palmas advertises that it is the only center in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria offering PADI instructor-level courses, alongside more basic-to-advanced training.
- Summary
- PADI is the dominant certifying body on Gran Canaria, with SSI also offered by some centers. Within Las Palmas city itself, course levels run from beginner (Discover Scuba/try-dive) through Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and — at one center — all the way to Divemaster and Instructor (IDC) level.
- Aggregator Confirmation
- A course-booking aggregator lists Las Palmas de Gran Canaria diving options covering both PADI and SSI courses, including Open Water Diver and Discover Scuba.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.