Cartagena is a city in Colombia and is blessed with some amazing dive sites in the area. With that Cartagena has a coastline with the Caribbean sea. Cartagena is just a few kilometers from the shore where there are colorful reefs and marine life.
Cartagena’s dive locations offer amazing white sand beaches, shipwrecks, and a variety of tropical marine life. With that, the dive conditions are generally good all year around. Rosario Islands is a popular location to dive in Cartagena.
In today’s post, we will go through in more detail where to go scuba diving in Cartagena Colombia so let’s get started!
Read more on common questions asked by divers
Where Is Cartagena Colombia?
Cartagena is a city in Colombia that is located on the northern tip of Colombia. And Cartagena faces the Caribbean Sea. It has strong Spanish ties related to the post-colonial era but today Cartagena is a seaside location with a bit of Caribbean flair.
Its exact coordinates are 10.40 latitude and -75.51 longitude. With that, it sits 34 meters above sea level.
When To Go Scuba Diving In Cartagena Colombia?
Cartagena is blessed with a Caribbean tropical climate that has very little change over the year. This means the dive conditions are good all year round. With the average temperatures over the day ranging from 26°C/78°F to 32°C/90°F.
The ocean visibility depends on the dive site also well as weather conditions but it can vary from 10 to 30. You will get the chance to see sharks, coral, huge crabs, reefs, and more.
Where To Go Scuba Diving In Cartagena Colombia?
Cartagena has a coastline with the Caribbean sea, as well as that it is close to the Rosario Islands which is a coral national park 43 tropical islands located in the Colombian Caribbean, with that there are more than 28 dive sites.
There are 4 areas in Cartagena where you can go diving. In those areas, there are some amazing dive sites. Those areas are as follows.
- Baru Island.
- Rosario Islands.
- Varadero Reef and Tierra Bomba Island.
- Salmedina Shipwrecks.
Baru Island
Baru Island is south of Cartagena which has crystal clear Caribbean waters. Also, Baru Island was not technically an island until a canal was built. Baru offers a great chance to see life, coral, and several wrecks.
Also at Baru, there is an underwater art museum with underwater sculptures. The sculptures were made by Colombian artist Germán Botero. Naturally, these sculptures have turned into an artificial reef with coral and other marine life developing around it.
Sites Baru normally has a weak current and waves are small making conditions generally easy all year-round.
Rosario Islands
Rosario Islands is a Coral National Park which is located about 100 km off the coast of Cartagena. It is around a 40-minute boat trip to the dive sites. Diving at the Rosario islands gives you a chance to explore some great dive sites and see the reef canyons and marine life.
While Rosario Islands has all-year-round great diving conditions but conditions can sometimes be more challenging and may suit a bit more experienced scuba divers.
Varadero Reef And Tierra Bomba Island
Tierra Bomba island is around 1 km off the coast of Cartagena with the Varadero reef that surrounds the island. The Varadero reef has a dynamic marine ecosystem in the Bay of Cartagena. It is also called Hope Spot by the international non-profit Mission Blue.
You will have the chance to a wide range of marine life. As well as that you can do a shore dive or a 1-minute short boat ride.
Salmedina Shipwrecks
Salmedina Banks has a marine reef that lies on the coast west of the bay of Cartagena. This reef supports a varied amount of marine life. There are two sunken shipwrecks at the base of a lighthouse.
The wrecks serve as a diving base. With the lighthouse indicating the shallowest part of the reef. Depths can range from 5 to 36 meters.
Wrapping Up
Finally, Cartagena Colombia has some amazing dive sites, and to go diving in Cartagena is mainly provided by the local dive shops. Cartagena is blessed with a coastline with the Caribbean sea which gives you a great opportunity to see different types of coral and marine life.
Probably the best area to go diving in Cartagena is Rosario Islands. Cause there are lots of coral reefs and a variety of marine life.
And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on where to go scuba diving in Cartagena Colombia has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.
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