The 8 best dive spots in Colombia

You come to visit Colombia and are you lovers of seabed? Discover our list of the eight most beautiful dive sites in Colombia, a country with precious engloutis treasures!

Located in North South America, Colombia is home to an exceptional biodiversity due to its contrasting regions, climates and landscapes. An exuberant wealth discovered through its snowy volcanoes, its tropical forests, its coffee plantations, or even its colonial or indigenous culture. As you may doubt, visiting Colombia is not just walking on a lush continent but it is also discovering the hidden wonders of its seabed.

Indeed, the country has an incredible coastline of more than three thousand two hundred kilometres spread over two distinct coasts: the Caribbean Sea in the north and the Pacific Ocean in the west. With its beaches and paradise islands, its limpid waters and its coral barrier, says the third largest in the world, it would be a pity to ignore such a magical aquatic world! Whether your choice is based on the Caribbean coast or the Pacific coast, you will have every reason to put your head under the water!

So if you don’t know what to do and see in Colombia and want to introduce yourself to snorkeling or diving, don’t wait! Take the time to select your destination to visit the eight most beautiful dive sites in Colombia we offer. Whether you're a beginner or confirmed, the country has the lowest prices to pass your PADI diplomas.

1. Corales del Rosario

If there is an ideal place to learn diving in Colombia, Los Corales del Rosario is at the top of the list. Easily accessible from Cartagena de Indias, its calm, warm, crystalline and shallow waters offer the right conditions to start a bottle immersion. With nearly thirty coral islands and one of the richest ecosystems in the Caribbean, the Rosary archipelago has become a must-see if you come to visit Colombia.

This protected marine park is home to a wide variety of corals and marine plants. These include giant sea turtles and multiple exotic fishes (fishing, fish-trompette, lionfish, fish-globe...). Immersion on wrecks is also proposed.

2. Island of San Andres

Looking to visit the most beautiful dive sites in Colombia? Then the island of San Andres is made for you! Ranked World Biosphere Reserve by Unesco in 2000, it is located a few miles from the third largest coral barrier in the world. Propice to snorkeling, it hosts beautiful corals, colorful fish, rays and giant lobsters. All in all, this destination will delight beginners and lovers of palm swimming!

When visiting the island of San Andres, don’t miss a bottle in the Blue Wall. It is a steep cliff filled with sponges of all kinds and abundant marine life. At night, phosphorescent planks and sponges will lead you to paradise!

3. Island of Providence

Because it is little visited, lovers of authenticity and ecotourism will find their happiness on the island of Providence. The visibility in the "sea with seven colors" is excellent. Old Providence and Mc Bean Lagoon sites are the most popular.

Just like his neighbour, Providence is just a few breezes from the third largest coral barrier in the world. Scuba diving near the tombs and reefs is exceptional and will make you live a moment of fairy. It is possible to discover beautiful wrecks at the bottom of the water. For example, the Planchon, a German ship dating from the Second World War. So if you don’t know what to do in Colombia, take a flight to the island of Providence whose coral reef is preserved from mass tourism. Certainly an immanquable when you are looking to visit the most beautiful dive sites in Colombia.

4. Capurgana and Sapzurro Bay

A few kilometers from Panama, Capurgana and Sapzurro Bay integrate the best protected sites of the coast. The region offers about 30 diving spots! It must thus be listed in the unavoidable list of diving sites in Colombia. Indeed, access is more difficult: it is only by plane or by boat. Indeed, its rocky islets retain one of the most virgin coral reefs in the world. This is where many marine species are located. The confirmed level divers will feast in the face of maritime wall beauty.

In Capurgana and the bay of Sapzurro, you can see many fish-surgical fish, angelfish, parrotfish... But also lobsters, merous, naughty sharks and turtles. Its calm and crystalline waters are ideal for diving.

5. Taganga, Santa Marta

Located near Santa Marta, Taganga is renowned for offering PADI diving training among the cheapest in the world. But pay attention to the bad surprises. Consider checking the equipment and conditions proposed by some centres. In Taganga, you dive along the rocky coast of the Tayrona Park where you offer a wide variety of aquatic fauna and flora. Some spots even make you enter a giant multicolor fish aquarium.

Note: between December and April, visibility is better than the rest of the year, but the current is stronger.

6. Ile de Malpelo

The island of Malpelo is a must-see site when you visit the most beautiful diving sites in Colombia. Located in the Pacific more than five-cent kilometers from the continent, it is suitable for cruises. This rock of three hundred seventy-five meters high on two meters long stands on the same pedestal as Cocoros island and Galapagos . Experienced divers from all over the world are getting a spot. We understand why!

Here, the steep walls and caves are unmatched. Deep waters allow you to cleave hammer sharks, whale sharks, silky sharks or tuna bands. A memorable memory!

7. Ile de Gorgona

Second Pacific Island (the first being Malpelo), Gorgona Island has served as a penitentiary centre until the 1980s. It is now part of the Heritage of Humanity, and it has to be preferred for a diving session in Colombia.

A true refuge for marine species, the island of Gorgona is known worldwide for its enchanting aquatic landscapes. The divers marvel at its spectacular underwater garden! Magic also operates at the sound of humpback whales, manta rays and other fish benches.

8. Nuqui and Bahia de Solano

Located in the Gulf of Tribugá, in the department of Choco, Nuqui and Bahia Solano are places to remember when you come to discover the dive sites in Colombia. Many species find refuge during migration. Over the seasons, you can watch humpback whales and their little ones, turtles and sardine benches.

What's more heavenly than getting close to the bottom of this oceanic box where thousands of sardines move? Proy of other predators, these obviously do not happen alone and attract many manta rays, tunas, marlins, large-headed carangues, dolphins and sharks. In addition, more experienced divers will be able to look forward to the wreck of the Sebastian de Belalcázar. It survived the battle of Pearl Harbor, then it was flown near Playa Huina in the intention of creating an artificial coral reef. At your approach, a wreck resident will welcome you with his most beautiful smile: a merou of about two meters long.

You now know the list of unmissable places when you come to visit the most beautiful dive sites in Colombia. To your masks and tuba, or bottles for the most expensive, it’s gone!