Spain · Gran Canaria
Best Time to Dive in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
27.86°N 15.36°W
The wildlife shows no season worth planning around, so the weather picks your month: September to January. The wider season runs September to February.
- Best time
- Sep–Jan
- Water
- 19–23 °C
- Visibility
- 20–35 m
- Season runs
- Sep–Feb
- Dived from
- day boat and shore diving
- Tidal range
- 0.9–2.0 m
- Species logged
- 7
Worth knowing: 22% of days see seas over 1.5 m.
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Water temp (°C) | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| Visibility (m) | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 25–35 | 25–35 | 20–30 | 20–30 | 20–30 |
| Marine life | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Sep–Jan
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Gran Canaria, Canary Islands diving season
March to June · Shoulder season
4 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 19–22 °C
- Visibility
- 20–30 m
- Rain
- 2 days a month
Diving conditionsExpect some swell. It rains more.
Marine lifeAngelshark (near-guaranteed) peaks at Gran Canaria, Canary Islands in these months.
July to August · Off season
2 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 22–23 °C
- Visibility
- 20–30 m
- Rain
- 0 days a month
Diving conditionsSwell is common, and crossings can be rough. The wind is up. It rains less.
Marine lifeAngelshark (near-guaranteed) peaks at Gran Canaria, Canary Islands in these months.
September to February · Peak season
6 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 20–23 °C
- Visibility
- 20–30 m
- Rain
- 2 days a month
Diving conditionsExpect some swell. The wind eases. It rains more.
Marine lifeAngelshark (near-guaranteed) peaks at Gran Canaria, Canary Islands in these months.
- Spring tides run 2.0 m against 0.9 m on neaps, so currents build around the full and new moon.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Canary Islands water temperature and weather
678 underwater observation records · 21 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
7
rough days a month
Seas top 1.5 m on 22% of days. Enough to cancel a day boat
3
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
2
wet days a month
0 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.8 m | 4% | 2 | 0 | 20 °C | 10.4 h |
| February | 1.8 m | 10% | 2 | 0 | 21 °C | 11.0 h |
| March | 1.9 m | 11% | 4 | 0 | 21 °C | 11.8 h |
| April | 1.8 m | 6% | 3 | 0 | 22 °C | 12.7 h |
| May | 1.7 m | 12% | 1 | 0 | 24 °C | 13.4 h |
| June | 1.6 m | 8% | 1 | 0 | 25 °C | 13.8 h |
| July | 1.8 m | 32% | 0 | 0 | 28 °C | 13.6 h |
| August | 1.8 m | 17% | 0 | 0 | 28 °C | 13.0 h |
| September | 1.5 m | 8% | 1 | 0 | 26 °C | 12.2 h |
| October | 1.5 m | 0% | 3 | 0 | 26 °C | 11.3 h |
| November | 1.5 m | 5% | 3 | 0 | 23 °C | 10.6 h |
| December | 1.7 m | 2% | 3 | 0 | 21 °C | 10.2 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Excellent | February week 1: Excellent | March week 1: Poor | April week 1: Moderate | May week 1: Moderate | June week 1: Moderate | July week 1: Poor | August week 1: Poor | September week 1: Moderate | October week 1: Excellent | November week 1: Excellent | December week 1: Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Good | February week 2: Excellent | March week 2: Good | April week 2: Good | May week 2: Moderate | June week 2: Moderate | July week 2: Poor | August week 2: Poor | September week 2: Good | October week 2: Excellent | November week 2: Good | December week 2: Good |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Moderate | February week 3: Good | March week 3: Moderate | April week 3: Moderate | May week 3: Moderate | June week 3: Good | July week 3: Poor | August week 3: Poor | September week 3: Good | October week 3: Excellent | November week 3: Excellent | December week 3: Good |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Moderate | February week 4: Moderate | March week 4: Moderate | April week 4: Moderate | May week 4: Good | June week 4: Moderate | July week 4: Poor | August week 4: Poor | September week 4: Good | October week 4: Excellent | November week 4: Excellent | December week 4: Excellent |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: second of October
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 20 °C | 1.5 m | 20 km/h | 8% |
| Week 2 | Good | 20 °C | 1.8 m | 23 km/h | 7% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.8 m | 26 km/h | 4% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.9 m | 25 km/h | 5% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 20 °C | 1.6 m | 24 km/h | 6% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 20 °C | 1.5 m | 24 km/h | 5% |
| Week 3 | Good | 19 °C | 1.7 m | 26 km/h | 7% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 19 °C | 2.3 m | 30 km/h | 9% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 19 °C | 2.3 m | 30 km/h | 8% |
| Week 2 | Good | 19 °C | 1.8 m | 29 km/h | 7% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 19 °C | 1.8 m | 30 km/h | 12% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 19 °C | 1.8 m | 29 km/h | 15% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.8 m | 27 km/h | 11% |
| Week 2 | Good | 20 °C | 1.8 m | 26 km/h | 6% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.9 m | 26 km/h | 8% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.7 m | 30 km/h | 10% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 20 °C | 1.7 m | 30 km/h | 7% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 20 °C | 2.0 m | 31 km/h | 4% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 21 °C | 1.7 m | 34 km/h | 3% |
| Week 4 | Good | 21 °C | 1.5 m | 32 km/h | 5% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 21 °C | 1.6 m | 31 km/h | 7% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 21 °C | 1.6 m | 32 km/h | 4% |
| Week 3 | Good | 22 °C | 1.6 m | 33 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 22 °C | 1.7 m | 36 km/h | 0% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 22 °C | 1.8 m | 38 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 22 °C | 1.8 m | 38 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 22 °C | 1.7 m | 38 km/h | 0% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 22 °C | 1.8 m | 38 km/h | 0% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 23 °C | 1.7 m | 37 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 23 °C | 1.7 m | 37 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 23 °C | 1.7 m | 36 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 23 °C | 1.8 m | 35 km/h | 1% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 23 °C | 1.7 m | 34 km/h | 2% |
| Week 2 | Good | 23 °C | 1.6 m | 32 km/h | 2% |
| Week 3 | Good | 23 °C | 1.5 m | 31 km/h | 4% |
| Week 4 | Good | 24 °C | 1.5 m | 31 km/h | 4% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 23 °C | 1.5 m | 29 km/h | 3% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 23 °C | 1.6 m | 25 km/h | 5% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 23 °C | 1.4 m | 25 km/h | 10% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 23 °C | 1.3 m | 24 km/h | 12% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 23 °C | 1.5 m | 26 km/h | 7% |
| Week 2 | Good | 23 °C | 1.6 m | 26 km/h | 7% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 22 °C | 1.6 m | 22 km/h | 10% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 22 °C | 1.6 m | 22 km/h | 12% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 22 °C | 1.6 m | 24 km/h | 12% |
| Week 2 | Good | 21 °C | 1.8 m | 24 km/h | 8% |
| Week 3 | Good | 21 °C | 1.7 m | 22 km/h | 9% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 21 °C | 1.6 m | 20 km/h | 8% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: 5 mm + | February: 5 mm + | March: 5 mm + | April: 5 mm + | May: 5 mm + | June: 5 mm + | July: 5 mm | August: 5 mm | September: 5 mm | October: 5 mm | November: 5 mm | December: 5 mm + |
- Dec–Jun5 mm with hood and gloves
- Jul–Nov5 mm full suit
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 1.5 m.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands marine life — what you'll see diving
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelshark | All year | Near-guaranteed | 290 | ||
| Loggerhead turtle | All year | Near-guaranteed | 28 | ||
| Atlantic spotted dolphin | All year | Near-guaranteed | 135 | ||
| Bottlenose dolphin | All year | Likely | 88 | ||
| Common dolphin | Jan–Feb, Apr | Hit-or-miss | 46 | ||
| Bryde's whale | Aug–Oct | Hit-or-miss | 44 | ||
| Short-finned pilot whale | Jan, Mar, Sep | Likely | 21 |
Peak Present
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Gran Canaria, Canary Islands — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- The wildlife shows no season worth planning around, so the weather picks your month: September to January. The wider season runs September to February.
- When is the diving season in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- The diving season in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands runs September to February, and it is at its best September to January.
- Is the diving in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands good for beginners?
- Yes. It suits Open Water divers, so it works for a first trip after certification.
- How warm is the water in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- Between 19 and 23 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in March and warmest in September. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- A 5 mm with hood and gloves covers the coldest water of the year. In the warmest months a 5 mm full suit is enough.
- What is the visibility like in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- Roughly 20 to 35 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- The most consistently recorded species are Angelshark (near-guaranteed), Loggerhead turtle (near-guaranteed) and Atlantic spotted dolphin (near-guaranteed), from 678 records within 60 km.
- Does Gran Canaria, Canary Islands get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- The tide rises and falls 2.0 m around the full and new moon, against 0.9 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- July is the weakest month for conditions.
- How do you dive Gran Canaria, Canary Islands?
- Mostly from day boats and the shore. Trips run through the season, Sep–Feb.