Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Medes Islands location page.
Overview
Strict marine reserve off the Costa Brava since 1983. Decades of protection produced fish stocks unmatched on the Mediterranean coast — clouds of damselfish, big groupers within arm's reach, and snapper schools that pile up around you on safety stops.
What you'll see
4 species curated- year-roundDusky grouper
- year-roundMediterranean moray
- year-roundCommon octopus
- year-roundDamselfish
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceDusky grouper
- Last confirmed
- Oct 2025
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12–14 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Feb | 12–13 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Mar | 12–14 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Apr | 13–15 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| May | 14–17 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jun | 17–20 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jul | 20–23 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Aug | 22–25 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Sep | 21–24 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Oct | 18–21 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Nov | 15–18 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Dec | 13–15 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- 5mm wetsuit — Mediterranean water cold most of the year.
- Hood — Spring and autumn diving needs thermal protection.
Next step
Book your trip to Medes Islands
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
Plan your trip →Some links earn us a commission. Learn more