When you hear the words scuba diving, it is fair to say that there is not a natural association with Ibiza in the minds of most people. There must be a reason why there is such an excellent diving school in Scuba Ibiza Diving Centre.
Even though it might not spring to mind for many, there is an astonishing world of underwater treasures for you to explore. As a resident of the island, being a lover of scuba diving and having done lots of deep diving around Ibiza, I can assure you that this island offers big 'wow' moments under water.
The sea life might not be as exotic as in the Indian Ocean or the Red Sea and the water temperature may be a little lower too, but there are other reasons why diving in the Mediterranean is fantastic.
In some of the spots that are considered to be the best in the world, the visibility or ‘vis' is often pretty limited, because of things like plankton and sediment. In the sea around Ibiza the waters are amazingly clear, thanks to the posidonia seagrass, which filters the water, making it crystal clear.
The marine landscape
As cool as you like - Stivi and Isaac getting ready to go out with Scuba Ibiza Diving Centre
As the Mediterranean sea is quite cold in winter, coral cannot grow. Instead though, there is an incredible marine landscape of breathtaking scenery. You will see submerged peaks, canyons and tunnels: the ones you can swim through are awesome. These elements combined with the excellent visibility make Ibiza an amazingly generous place to dive: it gives you so much more than you could have expected.
Having dived in all kinds of places on this planet, I know that a trip with Scuba Ibiza Diving Centre is a great experience. I have worked in dive shops and I know what is good and bad very quickly. Let's say, that when I was asked to review these guys, I didn't hesitate for a single second.
Scuba Ibiza Diving Centre is conveniently located in the now trendy port area of Marina Botafoch. This means that anyone staying in and around Ibiza Town, getting there is ridiculously easy. If you are based in other parts of the island, they offer a free pick-up service from Playa d'en Bosa, San Antonio and Santa Eulalia. Even if you are based in other parts of the island, it is worth seeking out these guys. They are smart and well-organised and they make the trip fun, because they know what they are doing.
If you have never been diving before, know that they are fully PADI-qualified, so you will be led gently by the hand to get you started.
Everything provided for you
Down to the seabed gets you cool surprises
I went along with a certified diver friend and although he is at a different level of certification than me, there is no issue with this. When you arrive they work out your diving experience and take that into account on the dive.
We had our own equipment, but anything we needed was provided. For instance, the team there suggested another layer of neoprene to help protect us against the still quite low water temperatures.
The company offers trips to lots of different dive spots and we went for two that were relatively pretty close by to Marina Botafoch. If you have ever stayed in Playa d'en Bossa, you might remember that there are various small islets right in front of you. You have probably taken photos of them. Well guess what? As well as stunning photo backdrops, they are also excellent dive spots.
Dive one took us to La Esponja, or ‘The Sponge', so called since the islet itself looks a little like a sea sponge. The second diving place we went to was a rock close to Los Molinos in Ibiza Town and is much loved. It is called El Dado Pequeño, or the small dice. It is very well-known around here and has lots of striking sea life.
Molluscs, morays and barracudas
You will even see lots of shipwrecks around Ibiza
The dive spot briefings were done in a perfect manner - detailed enough but without being lengthy. Just what we needed to prepare us. We really enjoyed the dives. I was actually surprised to see so much sea life so early in the year - we went mid May. We saw octopuses, moray eels, crabs, nudibranches, a coloured sea mollusc and also a few barracudas. It felt like the perfect start into the diving season - I hadn't been under water since late summer last year.
To sum up, I can wholeheartedly recommend Scuba Ibiza. I always find that with scuba diving, it is the small details that make a diving centre stand out. As diving is such an equipment-heavy activity, things like the simple fact you don't have to carry any of the heavy stuff from the shop to the boat is always very welcome. Or, to name just another small example, when you get back aboard after your dive, Scuba Ibiza Diving Centre staff are there to take your diving fins off. Now, that's a service.
Scuba Ibiza is a really well-run organisation and to the eye of an experienced diver it really shows. Two thumbs up!
WORDS | Stivi PHOTOGRAPHY | Scuba Ibiza Diving Center
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