Puerto Colón, Costa Adeje

A beginner's try dive and snorkel off Costa Adeje

4.7 from about 2,000 reviews on GetYourGuide

A first scuba dive off Costa Adeje, hand in hand with a PADI instructor for every two beginners, then a snorkel, in a sea where loggerhead and green turtles are regularly present. From 75 euros. Read the dive medical form before you book.

Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, with a full refund
Reserve now, pay laterHold your place today and pay nothing yet
Duration: 3 hoursStart times show in the calendar
InstructorEnglish, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian and Dutch
Small groupUp to 10 people

Travel Sub Dive Center works from the Escuela Náutica building at Puerto Colón, the marina on the Costa Adeje seafront, opposite pier 5 and inside the port's private car park. It is a PADI five-star dive centre and says it has been in the port since 1999. The trip starts at reception with a medical questionnaire to sign, then a short classroom briefing on safety, basic scuba skills and the equipment; the operator says its video lessons come in ten languages. The wetsuit, fins, mask and scuba kit are all included.

A speedboat then takes 10 to 15 minutes to a dive site the operator does not name. The group splits in two: an instructor takes two beginners down, hand in hand, while the others snorkel at the surface, and then they swap. The operator's own page gives 20 to 25 minutes of scuba and 20 to 25 minutes of snorkelling, in a trip of two and a half to three hours; GetYourGuide sells it as three hours. On depth the two disagree: GetYourGuide says up to 12 metres, the operator's page up to 10 metres, and 3 metres for children of 8 and 9.

This is the centre's own try dive rather than PADI's introductory programme, Discover Scuba Diving, which starts at 10 and goes no deeper than 12 metres. Travel Sub sells that separately for 110 euros, with online study, skills practice at 5 to 6 metres and up to 45 minutes underwater. The try dive costs 75 euros whether you book it on GetYourGuide or with the centre.

The sea along the coast of Adeje is part of the Franja marina Teno-Rasca Special Area of Conservation, where Spain's environment ministry records loggerhead and green turtles as regularly present. Both are on Spain's list of specially protected species, the loggerhead also as vulnerable, and the law forbids any act meant to catch, chase or disturb them; the area's own rules also ban feeding wildlife. The operator's motto is 'watch, but do not touch'. It says turtles meet its groups in 95 percent of cases, and in July 2026 it said four were living around the site. Low-rated reviews from April to October 2026 describe dives with fish and no turtle.

Why this one

On GetYourGuide on 6 October 2026, three other beginner dives on the south coast compared like this. 'Beginner's Dive at a Spot with Turtle Sightings', from the same harbour, was rated 4.8 from about 910 reviews, from 70 euros for two hours, with a snorkel if time allows. 'Tenerife South: Scuba Dive for beginners in Adeje' was 4.9 from about 80 reviews, from 85 euros for three and a half hours, and 'Tenerife: Beginner Scuba Dive Experience', from near Las Galletas, was 4.9 from about 340 reviews, from 83 euros for three hours. This one was 4.7 from about 2,000 reviews, from 75 euros for three hours, with the snorkel built in. The smaller rivals score higher from fewer reviews; this one has the long record, a dive and a snorkel in one booking, and a harbour 8 to 11 minutes by car from the four Costa Adeje hotels in our edit.

Booking direct costs the same 75 euros, by the centre's 2026 price list. Book direct instead if you want PADI's Discover Scuba Diving, at 110 euros, for the longer dive and the skills practice, or if one of you only wants to snorkel: the centre's snorkelling trip joins the same outing for 45 euros. Of our other pages, the Sea Trek helmet walk off Playa de Las Vistas puts non-swimmers and glasses wearers on the seabed at 5 metres with no diving, for 85 euros; the kayak and snorkel trip from Los Cristianos stays at the surface, from 38 euros; and the small yacht from Las Galletas pairs a snorkel with whale watching, for 95 euros.

Compared withKayak and snorkel, or a first scuba dive?

Good for

Adults who want to try scuba once before paying for a course
Couples and friends who want a first dive and a snorkel in one morning
Guests on the Costa Adeje coast, 8 to 11 minutes from the harbour by car

Not for

Anyone pregnant, or with a condition on the dive medical form and no doctor's note
Anyone flying home or going up Teide within 12 hours
Anyone who would book only to see a turtle

When to go

What the sea off Puerto Colón is like month by month between 09:00 and 17:00, when the dive boats go out: how big the waves get, how often the sea is calm, the water temperature, and the air at midday.

Month	Waves	Calm sea	Water	Air
Jan	1.3 m	69%	21°C	20°C / 18°C
Feb	1.2 m	72%	20°C	20°C / 18°C
Mar	1.5 m	52%	21°C	20°C / 18°C
Apr	1.2 m	73%	21°C	21°C / 19°C
May	1 m	96%	21°C	22°C / 21°C
Jun	1 m	97%	22°C	23°C / 21°C
Jul	1.1 m	93%	23°C	24°C / 22°C
Aug	1.2 m	88%	24°C	26°C / 24°C
Sept	1 m	96%	24°C	25°C / 24°C
Oct	1.1 m	85%	24°C	25°C / 23°C
Nov	1.2 m	80%	23°C	24°C / 22°C
Dec	1.3 m	69%	22°C	22°C / 19°C

Waves are the median of each day's highest wave between 09:00 and 17:00 at sea off Puerto Colón; calm sea, the share of days when they stay under 1.5 metres; water, the median sea temperature at midday. Air is the median temperature at 12:00, with the coldest day in ten after it.

Calmest from May to September

In the four years of sea data we looked at, the day's highest waves off Puerto Colón stayed under 1.5 metres on about nine days in ten from May to September and on only about half the days in March. The water is coolest in February, at about 20°C, and warmest in September and October, at about 24°C; the wetsuit is included.

From our Tenerife hotels

Drive times are routed to Travel Sub's reception in the Escuela Náutica building at Puerto Colón, opposite pier 5. There is no hotel pickup for the try dive: the centre's price list includes pickup between La Caleta and Los Cristianos only with its PADI courses. The centre sits inside the port's private car park, but one low-rated review found nowhere to park, so a taxi from the Costa Adeje hotels may be simpler.

Bahía del DuqueCosta Adeje8 min by carMake your own way
Royal Garden Villas & SpaGolf Costa Adeje, Costa Adeje10 min by carMake your own way
Royal Hideaway Corales BeachLa Caleta, Costa Adeje11 min by carMake your own way
Royal River Luxury HotelGolf Costa Adeje, Costa Adeje11 min by carMake your own way
Gran Meliá Palacio de IsoraAlcalá, Guía de Isora19 min by carMake your own way
The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, AbamaGuía de Isora20 min by carMake your own way
Hacienda del CondeBuenavista del Norte51 min by carMake your own way
Hotel San RoqueGarachico53 min by carMake your own way
Gran Hotel TaoroPuerto de la Cruz70 min by carMake your own way
Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa GardenPuerto de la Cruz70 min by carMake your own way

The facts

Duration: 3 hours on GetYourGuide; the operator says 2.5 to 3 hours, with 20 to 25 minutes on scuba and 20 to 25 minutes snorkelling
Depth: Up to 12 metres on GetYourGuide, up to 10 metres on the operator's page; 3 metres for children of 8 and 9
Language: English, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian and Dutch on GetYourGuide; the operator also lists German
Group: Up to 10 on GetYourGuide; one instructor for every two divers, in pairs while the others snorkel
Meeting point: Travel Sub reception, Escuela Náutica building opposite pier 5, inside the Puerto Colón private car park
Included: Speedboat, PADI instructor, full diving and snorkelling kit with wetsuit, insurance, water
Not included: Photos and video, towels and swimwear, prescription masks, hotel pickup
Age and health: From 8, to 3 metres until 10; under 15s with an adult; no pregnancy; a medical questionnaire for all, and a doctor's certificate for asthma, heart or lung conditions, surgery, diabetes or epilepsy; GetYourGuide also excludes over 70s
Bring: Swimwear, towel, sun hat, sunscreen, flip-flops, ID for children; contact lenses rather than glasses. No smoking, alcohol or glass on board
Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours before on GetYourGuide; the operator moves or cancels dives for weather and sea, and gives no refund for medical refusals
Price: From 75 euros on GetYourGuide on 6 October 2026, the same as the operator's 2026 price; the calendar shows today's price
Run by: Travel Sub Dive Center (Dive Travelsub SLU), Puerto Colón, Costa Adeje

What guests keep saying

Recurring themes in the tour’s reviews, in our words, never quoted.

Praised

Friendly, professional instructors, even in reviews that were otherwise disappointed
Patience with beginners who struggle to equalise
Octopus, stingrays and shoals of fish, even when no turtle appears
Guide and transport, each scored 4.8 out of 5 in GetYourGuide's breakdown

Complaints

No turtle on many dives, in reviews from April to October 2026

The catch

Turtles are a chance, not a promise
The listing's title and highlights are built around turtles, and the operator says they meet its groups in 95 percent of cases. Low-rated reviews from April to October 2026 describe something else: fish, sometimes an octopus, and no turtle, in one account for everyone on the boat. Turtles are wild and move about, and the law forbids chasing or feeding them to bring them closer.
What to do. Book it for the first dive and count a turtle as a bonus. If turtles are the whole point, ask the centre on the day how recent the sightings have been.
About 20 minutes on scuba, in three hours
The operator's page gives 20 to 25 minutes of scuba and the same again snorkelling; the rest is the briefing, kitting up, the boat and waiting while the other pair dives. Replying to one review, the operator put its try dives at 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how fast each diver uses air. Several low-rated reviews counted 10 to 15 minutes.
What to do. Breathe slowly and stay relaxed: calm divers use less air and stay down longer. Expect a morning out with a short dive in it.
A health condition can stop you at the desk
Everyone signs a medical questionnaire before the dive. The operator's terms ask for a doctor's certificate from anyone with asthma, heart or lung conditions, past surgery or a collapsed lung, recent surgery, diabetes or epilepsy, rule out pregnancy, and give no refund to anyone turned away for medical reasons. GetYourGuide's listing goes further: it calls the dive unsuitable for diabetes and for anyone over 70.
What to do. Read the standard dive medical form, the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire that PADI uses, before you book. If it sends you to a doctor, see one before you travel and bring the signed form.
No flight and no Teide for 12 hours afterwards
Divers Alert Network advises at least 12 hours between a single no-decompression dive and a flight, and 18 hours after several dives; its advice covers aircraft cabins pressurised to the equivalent of 610 to 2,438 metres. The listing applies the same 12 hours to going up high. The Teide trips on our list go to 1,424 metres for the stargazing, 2,183 metres for the paragliding launch and 2,356 to 3,555 metres on the cable car.
What to do. Dive early in your stay, never on the last day, and keep Teide for a different day.
Your ears set the depth
Ears have to be equalised all the way down, and several low-rated reviews describe ear pain, in one case for three days afterwards. One guest reached 10 metres only slowly, with a patient instructor; another said the site was only 7.8 metres deep. The depth on offer also varies by source: up to 12 metres on GetYourGuide, up to 10 on the operator's own page, 3 for children of 8 and 9.
What to do. Do not dive with a cold or a blocked nose, equalise early and often, and signal the instructor as soon as anything hurts.

Questions people ask

Good questions about A beginner's try dive and snorkel off Costa Adeje

Can I scuba dive in Tenerife without a licence?

Yes. A try dive like this needs no certificate: after a briefing you dive hand in hand with a PADI instructor, one for every two beginners, to 10 or 12 metres. This one leaves Puerto Colón and costs from 75 euros on GetYourGuide on 6 October 2026.

Will I see turtles on the try dive?

Possibly, not certainly. The operator says turtles meet its groups in 95 percent of cases, but low-rated reviews from April to October 2026 describe dives with fish and no turtle. Loggerhead and green turtles are both regularly present in the protected sea off this coast.

How deep and how long is the dive?

GetYourGuide says up to 12 metres; the operator's own page says up to 10, and 3 metres for children of 8 and 9. Expect 20 to 25 minutes on scuba, which the operator says depends on how fast you use your air.

What is the minimum age?

Eight, with dives limited to 3 metres until 10, and under 15s must come with an adult. PADI's own Discover Scuba Diving programme starts at 10.

Which health conditions rule you out?

Pregnancy rules you out. The operator asks for a doctor's certificate for asthma, heart or lung conditions, surgery, diabetes or epilepsy, and gives no refund if you are turned away for medical reasons; GetYourGuide's listing also excludes anyone over 70.

Do I need to be a strong swimmer?

Neither the listing nor the operator sets a swimming test. The standard dive medical form asks whether you struggle with moderate exercise, such as swimming 200 metres without resting, and a yes needs a doctor's approval before you dive.

How long after diving can I fly or go up Teide?

Divers Alert Network advises at least 12 hours after a single dive before flying, and the listing applies the same to going up high. The Teide cable car's base station is at 2,356 metres, so keep it for another day.

Is it cheaper to book direct?

No: the centre's 2026 price list gives the same 75 euros. Book direct for PADI's Discover Scuba Diving at 110 euros, or for a snorkel-only place on the same trip at 45 euros.

A first dive

See dates and prices

If you book through our links we may earn a commission from GetYourGuide. It never affects which experiences we include. Operators cannot pay to be here. · Last checked: October 2026