Baix de cols

The rock crowns just under the surface and the cliff falls away from there. Drop along the wall and the white gorgonians appear almost immediately, dense across the rock face down to about 15 m. The route hugs that wall: clean buoyancy is part of the dive, not a separate skill, because the coral is close enough to brush. At the base the wall meets sand, and a 15 m wide corridor opens between this rock and the next pinnacle. Spider crabs sometimes sit on that sand. Stingrays cross it occasionally.

Following the cliff to the right brings you to the tunnel. About 10 m of sponge-lined passage, wide and naturally lit, conger eels visible in the crevices on either side. In spring there are more of them, settled into the tunnel walls. Out the other end the route loops back along the rock toward the ascent. Most teams get 40-50 minutes of bottom time on a single tank at this profile.

Three features stacked into one easy dive: a wall covered in Eunicella singularis, a sandy corridor, and a real swim-through, all inside Open Water depth limits. That combination is what the Medes-side dives are known for, and it's what divers travel for. Baix de Cols offers it on the coast, with no permit, no reserve quota, no booking window. Spanish divers asking online for advice on what to dive between L'Escala and L'Estartit have named this site in a four-dive shortlist alongside the Reggio Messina wreck and Cala Pedrosa, which is the company you want.

Bring a torch. The tunnel crevices and the darker patches of the wall are where the conger eels, lobsters, and octopus sit, and a light is the difference between seeing them and swimming past. Macro lenses do well here on nudibranchs, scorpionfish, and the gorgonian detail. Wide-angle catches the wall.

Departures generally run from L'Escala port rather than L'Estartit, so check with your centre. No permit is needed and there's no booking system, but local boats fill on summer weekends, so call ahead. Spanish dive insurance is mandatory and is sold by all operators.