Diving in Tossa de Mar

Most of Tossa's diving starts at one beach. Cala Mar Menuda faces south, so the tramontana does not reach it even when it blows hard, and several routes of different depth leave from the same entry, from the shallows to about 22 m with some going on to 30 m. The coast around it is granite, posidonia and rock, divers and operators report little or no current, and the boat sites sit a few minutes out.

Beyond the beach, La Cueva de Tossa is a cavern about 2 m long with a maximum depth of 18 m, where lobster and shrimp turn up on many night dives. By boat, Roca Muladera has a wide shallow zone for novices and a deeper one beyond, and one centre recommends it for groupers, which are occasional and wary here. Tres Barres is a pair of parallel rock bars with nudibranchs and fish schools. The island wall of Illa de Tossa lies under five minutes out and can be dived at 14 to 30 m depending on the route. Roca de Santa Anna is the advanced favourite, and sunfish are seen there in summer.

At the deep end, Els Bolets has mushroom-shaped rocks reported covered in lobsters, and Perduts is an offshore rock site that can hold barracuda. Roca d'en Ricard is an advanced dive too, rated for small groups. Seahorses, moray eels, octopus and spiny lobsters turn up across the area, and in winter monkfish and john dory at Asunción, La Cueva, Las Barras and Perduts.

No diving permit, reserve fee or diver quota applies, and the coast is not a marine reserve. It lies inside the PEIN Massís de les Cadiretes, approved in 2004, an environmental designation that sets no diving rules. You book directly with a centre.

Several independent centres work the town, some from Cala Mar Menuda beach itself. One runs its own boat with groups of at most four certified divers; another drops divers at the beach and collects them at an agreed time. Levels are set by the centres, not by a rule. Mar Menuda is open to all levels, the easiest boat sites run 3 to 18 m, and the pinnacles and Roca d'en Ricard are advanced, and the night dive run by OceaNomads needs Advanced Adventurer. In summer, ask the centre how the banyera entry at Mar Menuda works on the day, as a 2014 report says entry and exit there were not possible from 10:00 to 18:30.

Diving runs all year; May to October is the usual season and the cold months suit monkfish. Girona-Costa Brava airport and Barcelona are the gateways. Summer surface warmth does not carry down, so ask the centre for the temperature at your planned depth.