Cala Santanyí Diving Center

Cala Santanyí Diving Center is a family school in a small bay on Mallorca's south-east coast. Beginners make their first dive in the cove in front of the centre, and the Zodiac that takes divers further out reaches its dive sites in at most 15 minutes, by the centre's own account. The school describes itself as small and close, with safety as its priority.

Francisco Belmonte, known as Paco, founded the centre more than 20 years ago, and the name Paco's Diving comes from him. He is retired now and helps with logistics when he is at the school. His son Noe Belmonte skippers the boat and is the team's SSI instructor, with 22 years at the centre. The other instructors have worked well beyond the bay: Juan Silvela trained in Thailand, where he lived and taught for three years, and Peter Toth spent several years in the Red Sea in Egypt before joining 14 years ago. Oscar Camps took his Dive Master as soon as he was old enough and went straight to work at the centre. Between them the team speaks Spanish, Mallorcan, English, German, Italian, Hungarian and Swedish, with some French.

The boat is a Zodiac called Kiwi One, with room for 12 people. The centre counts 25 dive sites between Cala Figuera and Caló des Moro and says its spots lie in the Migjorn Marine Reserve.

Courses start with Bubblemaker for children from age 8 and Discover Scuba from 10, then run through Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster, with specialties such as Nitrox, Deep, Night and Perfect Buoyancy. Rental is by the item.

The centre also runs day trips to the Cabrera National Park, and the trip price includes the park permit.

Many of the people who write about this centre are first-timers, and some had their children try diving here. They describe patient, careful instruction, an instructor who knew how to calm a nervous beginner, and attentive staff. Several reviewers name the same instructor, Oscar. The reviews are positive overall, and the one mild reservation concerns how much marine life the cove shows.