Diving in Costa del Maresme

Barres, the local word for the rocky ridges that run parallel to the shore, organise diving on the Maresme, and fishermen named them long before divers arrived. Off Mataró they stack up in roughly six rows, from a ridge at the wave line out to the outermost at 26 to 29 m, and many carry a surname: La Torre Ferrer, La Barreta d'en Serra, La Llosa d'en Pujolà. Sand and Posidonia seagrass lie between the ridges, and the ridges are credited with keeping bottom trawlers off the Mataró meadow.

La Trencada, at about 14 m, is the gentle row to start on. Barra de l'Arbre and La Torre Ferrer sit in the 15 to 22 m row, El Pujolà works the outermost, where the surrounding profile drops to about 34 m, and Barra de l'Arbre doubles as a night dive. These are crevice dives. Morays and congers look out from the cracks, octopus and spiny lobsters tuck in beside them, and anyone who looks small finds nudibranchs and flatworms; dusky groupers turn up now and then.

Off Port Balís the signature is El Santuari, a decommissioned fish farm that was reportedly sunk on purpose in 2009 after it stopped producing in 2003. Its iron framework rises from the sand in two levels, so the upper walkways and the lower deck make very different dives. Barracudas circle it in summer and autumn, and seahorses are recorded there. Posidonia Dive takes divers from Port Balís; Blaumar schedules it as an occasional special outing. Nearby, La Virgen has a shallower western flank, a steeper eastern face and a name for spiny lobsters, and the Barra del Negre runs on as one long ridge through Punta Cana, Àncora del Negre and Peu del Negre.

Offshore lies the wreck of a Second World War bomber that local divers found in 1994. Its position stays private by local custom, so it is not a published dive site.

Everything is boat diving. Blaumar and Mediterranean Dive work from Port de Mataró, Posidonia Dive from Port Balís at Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, and Cercleaventura Mar from Premià de Mar. The runs are 10 to 15 minutes, there are no fixed buoys, and boats anchor at each site. Centres often lay a line from the anchor across the ridge, and divers are commonly sent down in pairs or small groups instead of behind one guide, so bring a compass and expect to navigate your own dive.

From central Barcelona it is roughly half an hour by car. Rodalies lines R1 and RG1 reach Mataró in about 49 minutes from Barcelona Sants, and Mediterranean Dive is a four-minute walk from the station. Barcelona-El Prat is 48 to 50 km away, around an hour and a quarter in total with changes. Arrive about 45 minutes before departure; boats typically leave at 08:00 or between 10:00 and 11:00. Port de Mataró has parking, and the centre at Port Balís coordinates it.

The shallow rows suit Open Water divers. Several Port Balís ridges lie at 25 to 30 m, past the 18 m Open Water limit, so confirm your certification with the centre before booking them, and at La Virgen ask whether the shallower western flank fits it; nitrox fills are available at the main centres and help on those profiles. Bottom water stays at 15 to 18 C below the thermocline even in high summer, so choose the suit for the bottom: a 5 mm wetsuit with hood in summer, a semi-dry or drysuit from November to April. Night dives run through Posidonia Dive, Cercleaventura Mar and Blaumar, which charged a 6 EUR supplement on selected outings in 2026.