Key details
Which one should I choose?
- Try dive: you have never dived. No certificate, no experience: you go shallow with an instructor to yourself.
- Licensed diving: you are already certified and want to make the most of the island's wrecks, caves and volcanic scenery.
- OWD course: you want to leave with the certificate. It takes three days, so it only fits if you are staying a week.
Try dive (no experience needed)
From the shore it takes place in Rays Bay, where the seabed is largely volcanic reef and around fifteen species show up: fish, turtles, moray eels, octopus, cuttlefish and rays, seen almost daily though nobody can guarantee them. There is a briefing beforehand and each person gets their own instructor, all gear included. From age 8. The boat version leaves from Ola Diving in Puerto Colón or Dive Spot in Las Galletas and reaches better seabeds, but for a first time the shore option is calmer: you walk in and can get out whenever you want, which counts for a lot with first-time nerves.
Licensed diving (certified divers)
What sets Tenerife apart is not the wildlife, it is the relief: wrecks, caves, lava flows and walls that drop straight down, with good visibility almost all year and none of the Mediterranean's brutal thermocline. Dives are planned around your level and what you fancy, usually two a day with an hour's break between them. Night dives and DPV scooter dives are available too. If you arrive certified with just one free day, tell us your level and we will line up the two dives that pay off most.
OWD Course (Open Water Diver)
It is the first certification and needs no experience, from age 10. On booking they send you the eLearning so you can do the theory from your phone before arriving — the dull part, best cleared at home. Day one is confined-water exercises, days two and three are four open-water dives. You leave certified to dive to 18 metres anywhere in the world. A warning for your schedule: it takes three days of your trip and you cannot fly right after, so it only makes sense if you are staying a week or more.
Included
- Diving equipment
- Instructor or guide depending on the option
- Safety briefing
- OWD certification on completing the course
Not included
- Prior certification (only needed for licensed diving)
- Photos or video
- Transport to the meeting point unless pickup is included
Pickup
Cancellation & conditions
Free cancellation up to 48h before on standard activities. Changes subject to availability. For sea-dependent activities, we offer a date change, an equivalent alternative, or a case-by-case review with the provider.
Naventia Trips as local curator
Naventia Trips acts as a local intermediary and experience curator. Activities are operated by selected professional providers. Final availability, schedules and conditions are confirmed before booking.
Frequently asked questions
I have never dived, which option do I choose?
The discovery dive, from the shore or by boat. It needs no licence or experience, you go with an instructor just for you and you do not go deep. If it is your first time, choose the shore one: you walk in and can get out whenever you want.
20 or 40 minutes for the discovery dive?
Twenty for most people: it is what a first contact comfortably takes, and it costs €75 from the shore. The 40 minutes (€95) are for those who already know they will be comfortable underwater and want to see more; if in doubt, start with 20 and, if you want more, next time you will know.
How much does each option cost?
Discovery dive from the shore, €75 (20 min) or €95 (40 min); by boat, €85 or €105. Certified divers, €80 for two shore dives and €100 by boat. The Open Water course, €440. Joining on the boat without diving, €30. Photos are separate, €25 per person, and the transfer only if you book it.
When do we not recommend it?
With a cold, sinusitis or an ear infection: you cannot equalise the pressure in your ears and the instructor will not take you down. With heart or respiratory problems without checking first: there is a medical questionnaire and it is worth filling in calmly. And the day before your flight home: after diving you must wait at least 12 hours before flying, 18 after several dives.
Do I need to know how to swim? What about children?
It is enough to be comfortable in the water: the instructor holds you the whole time and there are no distances to swim. Children can do the discovery dive from age 8, and the Open Water course from 10. If someone in the family does not want to dive, they can come on the boat for €30.
I already have my certification, what do I need?
Your valid certification and little else. Tell us your level and how many dives you want to do and we book the package that works out best: there is everything from a single dive to multi-day packages, which bring the price per dive down considerably.
Is it worth getting the Open Water certification on holiday?
If you have three days and the will, yes: the theory is done by eLearning before you come, so in Tenerife you get the good part, confined water and four open-water dives, and you go home certified for €440. What does not pay off is squeezing it into an already full week: they are full mornings from 09:00, three in a row.
Where is it and at what time?
The shore discovery dive leaves from the centre at Paseo Marítimo 17 in Los Cristianos at 10:00, 12:30 or 15:00; the boat one from Puerto Colón at 13:30. Certified dives and the course start at 09:00. If you have no car, pickup is booked separately; we quote it with the booking.
Which language does the instructor speak, and what about rough seas?
Spanish, English, German, French, Polish or Russian, depending on the instructor available in your slot: tell us yours when booking. If the sea does not allow it, the time, date or option is changed — the shore copes with what the boat cannot; for any other reason, free cancellation up to 48 hours before.
How is the booking confirmed?
Naventia Trips checks availability, provider conditions and the traveller's level before confirming the experience.
Can you tell me what else to do on those days?
Yes, and it is what we get asked most. Tell us which days you have free and where you are staying, and we will say what pairs well with this excursion and what should not go on the same day.