Marina del Este - Shore diving up to 40 Mtrs
Marina del Este, located near La Herradura on the Costa Tropical, is one of the most popular shore diving locations in southern Spain. Divers travel from across Spain to explore the reefs, walls and underwater rock formations that make this area one of the most interesting dive sites along the Mediterranean coast.
Situated within the clear waters near the Cerro Gordo natural area, the site offers excellent marine biodiversity and varied underwater terrain. The combination of rocky reefs, sandy seabed and dramatic walls creates ideal habitats for Mediterranean marine life including octopus, nudibranchs, conger eels, moray eels, groupers and barracuda.
From the shore there are five different dive routes, each offering a different underwater landscape. It can take several dives to fully explore everything that scuba diving at Marina del Este has to offer.
1. Pared del Puerto (Harbour Wall) – 18 Mtrs
Pared del Puerto, or Harbour Wall, is a classic shore dive that combines natural reef with the harbour breakwater.
The dive begins along a rocky outcrop where divers can search among the rocks for octopus, conger eels and colourful nudibranchs. From here the dive continues toward the man-made breakwater that forms part of the marina wall, an area often visited by groupers and barracuda.
The seabed gently slopes to around 17 metres, before ascending again toward the harbour wall. The return dive is usually made at around 10 metres, allowing plenty of time to explore the shallower reef formations.
This is an easy and scenic dive and is also one of the best locations for night diving in Marina del Este.
2. Ensenada de los Berengueles (Berengueles Cove Reef) – 14 Mtrs
The dive at Berengueles Cove Reef begins with a shallow shore entry before descending gradually across a field of boulders toward the main reef.
The reef sits on a seabed of fine sand and rises 6–8 metres above the bottom, creating cracks, swim-throughs and overhangs that provide shelter for marine life. Divers frequently see nudibranchs, octopus and brittle starfish hiding beneath the rocks.
Because of the size and complexity of the reef, it often takes several dives to fully explore the area. Like the Harbour Wall, this site also offers a fantastic night dive opportunity.
3. Arrecife Exterior (Outer Reef) – 22 / 25 Mtrs
The Outer Reef lies along a natural contour line separating the shallower harbour reef from the deeper waters surrounding Punta de la Mona.
After a short surface swim of around 150 metres, the dive descends onto the Berengueles Reef before continuing toward the outer ridge. The reef forms a long rock ridge running parallel to the shore, with 14 metres on one side and around 22 metres on the other.
The dive follows a circular route along the deeper side of the reef before gradually ascending back toward the entry point. Divers exploring the reef may encounter conger eels, moray eels, octopus and occasionally sunfish (Mola Mola) cruising through the deeper water.
Just beyond the reef are three sunken cars that have become a small artificial reef at around 25 metres depth, which can also be visited if gas and dive time allow.
This dive is ideal for divers using Enriched Air Nitrox.
4. Virgen Maria – 18 Mtrs
At the western end of the Berengueles reef lies a small statue of the Virgen Maria, resting at around 12 metres depth inside a natural rock alcove.
After a surface swim from the far end of the beach, the dive descends along the rock face until the statue appears within the small recess. From here the dive continues into deeper water along a dramatic rock wall.
As the dive progresses, the wall rises above the diver while dropping vertically to the seabed below. The wall is covered with colourful marine life including soft corals, sea squirts and delicate sea fans.
Divers often encounter large groupers, conger eels, nudibranchs and occasionally sunfish while drifting alongside the wall.
We keep enough gas in reserve so that we can return to the shore underwater, and on our way back we pass across the cove of “Punta Shallow” and across the start of the Berengueles Cove Reef. All going well we should surface in front of the Chiringuito and a short walk back to the van!
5. Las Hondondas (The Gullies) – 30/40 Mtrs
As the cliffs at the southern end of Berengueles Cove Reef drop away under the surface of the water, they continue out of sight down to almost 50 metres, but before reaching this depth there are several gullies that fan out behind the rock ridge that provides an impressive dive.
We descend at the Virgen Maria (see above) and follow the underwater ridge to a depth of 18 mtrs, where we then cross over the top and descend into Las Hondonadas (The Gullies).
The gullies extend down to over 40 mtrs, but we will keep above 30 mtrs allowing us a longer ‘no stop limit’, which enables us to cross into another gully for our ascent.
These gullies provide protection from the strong currents that can wash along the face of Punta de la Mona and gives us our first chance to see the rare soft corals. Do not be surprised if you catch a glimpse of Sunfish, big Groupers, Conger eels & Moray eels and rocks carpeted in lightbulb Sea squirts.
Alternatively, and instead of crossing over into the gullies, we can continue descending, keeping just above the seabed, where the ridge finally meets the sea floor, at Punta de la Mona (The Tip). We will stop at round 40 metres, where we level off and explore where this prominent headland meets the seafloor.
This dive is perfect for using Enriched Air Nitrox.
Diving Marina del Este with Wahoo Divers Malaga. Marina del Este, located beside La Herradura on the Costa Tropical, offers some of the most varied and accessible dive sites in southern Spain. The reefs, underwater walls and gullies around the marina are home to a wide range of Mediterranean marine life including conger eels, moray eels, octopus and colourful nudibranchs.
With multiple dive routes and fascinating underwater terrain, Marina del Este is a favourite location for divers exploring the Costa Tropical. Wahoo Divers Malaga regularly organises dives here, allowing visitors to experience some of the most enjoyable shore diving in La Herradura.