Punta Salines

The route typically starts from the mooring in the inner bay, where the bottom settles between 4 and 10 m and rock tongues cutting through sand give the briefing its buoyancy markers. From here the route follows the rock edge around to the headland. The floor drops away and the wall section begins around 18 m. Gorgonians — red Paramuricea clavata and yellow colonies — line the vertical face down to roughly 25 m. Brótolas hold station against the wall; octopus and moray eels work the holes; schools of sargo and salpa often run overhead in the mid-water column. The eco-brief for this site specifically tells divers to look up, because the bay's overhead fish movement is easy to miss when the wall keeps pulling the eye down.

The return route climbs back along the rocks toward the chimney, which most centres hold back as the ascent feature. Entry is at around 8 m, exit near 3 m. The shaft is wide enough for a group to thread through without going single-file. Natural light fills the chimney throughout. After the exit, the safety stop sits in the inner bay shallows.

A 2024 trip report logged a max depth of around 19 m here, which reflects how centres routinely plan the recreational profile — shallower than the 28 m wall maximum suggests.

Two things set Punta Salines apart from its siblings on the Costa del Montgrí. First, the inner bay genuinely accommodates try-dives and course training alongside a wall dive. Not many coast headland sites have a calm, sandy configuration that absorbs a beginner group while the wall handles the more experienced divers on the same boat. Second, the chimney is the only confirmed broad swim-through on the coast at recreational depth with natural light throughout. La Pedrosa has a longer tunnel at 60 m but it is more committing; here the chimney is a clear landmark that gives the dive a natural shape and a distinct ascent point.

The gorgonian wall is the coast's most-cited accessible coralligene example without a reserve permit. It lacks the grouper density of the Medes, where decades of fishing prohibition have produced a very different biomass. It delivers a credible gorgonian dive without booking pressure or a park tax.

Wind is the main variable. The headland is exposed to llevant (east) and tramontana (north-northeast); either can cancel the dive at the surface. South winds are not a problem. Centres make the call on the day, so check the forecast and have a fallback plan ready.

Carry a torch for the chimney and the rock crevices even in good summer visibility. Moray and brótola territory rewards a closer look. Maintain buoyancy through the chimney shaft to keep silt out of the group's sightlines.

Open Water divers must dive guided within the Natural Park. The straightforward route is to book with a "Grupo B" centre, which includes the guide in the dive fee rather than as an add-on cost.