Currency: euro Recompression chambers: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote Emergency number: 112 Best time to visit: All year round

The Canary Islands (in Spanish Islas Canarias) is an archipelago located off the northwest coast of Africa. As an autonomous community of Spain it is a part of the European Union although it's quite far from the continent. The archipelago consist of 7 larger islands: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Fuerteventura, El Hierro, Lanzarote, all of which are volcanic in origin. The highest mountain of Spain is Teide in Tenerife (3718 m). Sometimes the Canaries are called the islands of eternal springtime: temperatures between the seasons vary only less than 10 Celsius degrees. The monthly average temperatures are from 18 to 24 degrees. The easternmost islands, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are very dry. The northwestern side of the islands are colder and wetter all year.

There are plenty of dive centers in every islands. The most popular ones amongst the tourists, Tenerife and Gran Canaria offers diverse diving possibilities, but all the other islands has some special dive spots. It's very common to encounter big rays, several species of morays, cuttlefish, angel sharks, etc. In specific spots the divers can expect turtles, seahorses, devil rays as well. The visibility in the Atlantic can be between 10-20 meters. Sometimes the ocean can be choppy so be careful when you plan a shore dive. The water temperature is 22-24 degrees in the summer and 17-19 in the winter.

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