Playa Chica
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Playa Chica is Lanzarote's teaching pool, night-dive venue and photo studio in one. From an easy beach entry, sand slopes past garden eel colonies and cruising stingrays to a reef line where seahorses cling near the harbor wall and octopus hunt in the open. Advanced divers carry on down the wall to the Cathedral, a high-vaulted cavern at around 30 m with a resident grouper usually holding court at the entrance. The site's popularity is deserved and visible — expect classes, photographers and a steady procession of fins on summer days.
The moment you come for: Seahorses and garden eels, the Cathedral cavern, effortless logistics
Topography: Sand slope and volcanic reef dropping to a wall with the Cathedral cavern at about 30 m
Entry: Walk-in entries from a small town beach and harbor wall in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote — probably the busiest shore site in the Canaries.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Boat traffic near the harbor mouth and depth creep on the wall; the Cathedral is a genuine 30 m dive.
Conservation: Seahorse populations are sensitive to harassment — no repositioning, no flash barrages, no touching.
Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★★★★☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting