Caleta de la Ballena
Dive site
Named for whale encounters historically recorded here, Caleta de la Ballena sits on Fuerteventura's northwest coast facing open Atlantic and benefits from offshore seamount upwellings that deliver nutrient-rich water and exceptional clarity. The reef begins at 6 m over rough volcanic terrain and drops via a series of stepped shelves to 32 m. Schools of salema porgy orbit the shallows in spiraling columns of thousands; sea turtles are almost guaranteed from May through November. Between November and March, resident pods of bottlenose dolphins use the bay as a resting and socialisation area and regularly approach divers. Jack fish schools reaching several thousand individuals sweep the mid-water column on incoming current cycles.
Conditions
Depth
6 to 32 m
Advanced depths
Current
Variable
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
20 to 30 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
17 to 25°C
3 mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
| Vis (m) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | calm | calm | calm | calm | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Salema porgy
Photo: Guido and Carrara family · CC BY
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Bottlenose dolphin
Photo: Frank Krasovec · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Green sea turtle
Photo: MARC MARTIN SOLA · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
No sightings recorded here yet.
Upload the first sightingDived here recently?
Your sighting helps us track reef health at this site in real time.
Submit a sightingPlanning to dive Caleta de la Ballena?
Your underwater photos help scientists track reef health here in real time.
What to photograph: fish and marine life, coral (especially anything pale or unusual), anything unexpected.
How to capture it: shoot JPEG, keep location on, note your depth and the date.
Dived Caleta de la Ballena recently?
Your photos help track reef health.
Up to 10 photos · JPEG or PNG · max 20 MB each
📷
Drag photos here, or tap to select
GPS in your photo will auto-detect the dive site
Gear