DIVING WITH THE KIDS IN TENERIFE

By Alison Boler

The girls, Lucy (13) and Daisy (12) and I (?*?) were looking for somewhere to go diving over the October half term. Somewhere warm - well, hot - that didn't involve flying for more than 5 hours. Frankly, the Red Sea was first choice but we couldn't get a convenient flight. We looked around. The weather in the Mediterranean looked a bit iffy at the end of October. So, where to go to get winter sunshine and reasonable diving??? Some research on the web soon gave us the answer: Tenerife, and what a very good choice it turned out to be.

Accommodation and flights were pretty easy to arrange. We got a very reasonable apartment just outside Los Christianos for £400 for the week and the flights from Manchester (daytime) were £200 each. So, that was the basics sorted out. I also hired a car (£100). We could have managed without one but I thought it would give us more flexibility. As it was we used about £20 of petrol all week.

There are a lot of diving operators in Tenerife - quite a bewildering choice so it's important to choose well. Atlantic Divers attracted us for a number of reasons. Firstly, they're a BSAC resort as well as a PADI 5 Star Gold Palm Resort, which tells you that the standards are likely to be good. Then, I really liked the enthusiasm that bubbled through their website. It wasn't just the usual bland shop-front. You could tell that Nicky and Mick (the owners) are still really keen divers who aren't just in it for the money. In fact it had a very "clubby" feeling about it, whilst presenting a professional image. This feeling intensified when I exchanged emails with Nicky, explaining what we were looking for. It seemed like nothing was too much trouble, even down to offering to lend the children thicker suits for free, and reassuring me that there were plenty of suitably "family friendly" dive sites. Yes, that's right, FREE. One of the nice things with Atlantic is that you pay for the diving but the kit is free. Well, in fact you get a discount if you don't want kit other than tanks and weights.

On the subject of diving with kids in Tenerife: we saw quite a few out on different boats and it isn't a problem to arrange, especially if you are also a diver. No one seemed to raise an eyebrow on the boats based in the Los Christianos locale. We saw children on try dives, open water dives and on referrals completing their sea dives. If you want to dive with your kids, or if your kids want to go diving in Tenerife, it's all very possible. You just need to find the right people who are equipped and qualified for the job. Certainly the crew at Atlantic couldn't have been more friendly and welcoming to the kids on board.

The Atlantic Dive Centre is in a small village to the east of Los Christianos and was about 15 minutes drive from our apartment. They offer a free pick up and drop off service anywhere in the tourist area. The shop is quite large with plenty of room to change, lots of rental equipment, a large classroom, showers, filling station etc. The normal daily routine is that the van will pick you up at your hotel at about 8:30 and take you to the shop to kit up.

You are then taken in groups with your heavy kit to the harbour (if you are boat diving) or to a shore diving site. They have two good RIBs, which provided comfortable transport to the dive sites, which were all within 5 or 10 minutes from the harbour. So, first dive is around 10 am and then you go back into the harbour and enjoy a very convivial break at one of the cafes until 12ish while the cylinders are changed. They have a good range of cylinders from 8l twins, 10l, 12 and 15l singles. Then there's the second dive and you can count on being back at the dive centre by 2 pm. It was a popular schedule with people who had non-diving family members with them because it meant that they could still spend a decent amount of time together.

There were five members of staff during our visit: Mick (Scouser!) and Nicky(Glaswegian), the owners, Tony(Maidstone) Instructor, and Sam and May, Dive-masters. They were all extremely kind and friendly and very professional. The boats were always manned during a dive (not to be taken for granted with all operators as I witnessed), entries and exits used the anchor line and any currents were accurately gauged by using a current line! What a good idea, so often overlooked! How many times on holiday have you asked about currents, to be told "We'll have to see when we get in. They're very unpredictable around here!!" My heart always sinks....

The diving style is very British. It's not the sort of posh, full service that you get in the Caribbean. You carry your own set and you help load and unload the boat, so if you don't like that, it might not be your cup of tea. However, there's a lot of good fun and laughter too and we all had a whale of a time. Well, what do you expect from an organisation run by a Liverpudlian and a Glaswegian!!! It's not going to be quiet and dull, is it???

The girls found it a step up from what they have experienced before, which was good. But not too much of a step up. Mick and Nicky were very accommodating in choosing sites for the day that worked for everyone on the boat. My younger daughter, Daisy, who always dived with me, was still suffering the aftermath of a cold and we needed sites where she and I could descend slowly and stay shallow without inconveniencing the rest of the group. This proved to be no problem and they always anchored the boat up in 6 - 8m so that Daisy and I could stay in that depth if necessary whilst the others generally explored at about 25m.

There were plenty of interesting dive sites to visit. Memorable ones were the wreck of the Condesito, Stingray City, Yellow Mountain 1 and 2, Coral Arches and Ponte Negro. The girls especially enjoyed feeding the stingrays, we went back twice. It's an interesting site in about 18 - 21m. There's a barge wreck to explore, the rays of course and a reef nearby - so something for everyone. On all dives there were plenty of small fish to be seen plus arrow crabs, pipefish, barracuda, starfish. The underwater topography is typical of a volcanic region: lots of huge boulders and weird rocks. Not coated in colourful coral like the Red Sea, but grandiose in its own way. The water temperature was a comfortable 23°C and visibility fair - about 15- 20m. Lucy and I dived in 3-4mm suits and didn't feel cold at all. We put a 4mm jacket over Daisy's 3mm wetsuit to give her some extra protection because she is small and feels the cold more than most.

Several of the divers on the boat took the opportunity of introducing their wives and kids to diving during the week. There are some excellent shore diving sites in the area that are perfect for the purpose giving a gradual beach entry into around 5m. I saw a lot of smiling faces returning with Nicky. In fact, I went along with Daisy on one of the try-dives to see what it was like. We were joined by Jose, a Durham based Spanish doctor, who regularly dives the North Sea and his 11 year old son who was very excited at experiencing his first sea dive with dad! Lead by divemaster, Sam, we enjoyed an hour of "rock fuddling" as we explored the shallow ledges edging the coastline. It was a great experience for all concerned and an ideal way to get an introduction to the sport.

All too soon our diving days passed and it was time to sadly pack our gear away again. We felt that we'd made some friends during our stay - not just the diving staff, but also the other divers on the boat who were mainly British, but with representation from Spain and Holland. Maybe, it was that clubby atmosphere or maybe it was those leisurely lunches by the harbour... it was that sort of a place.

Atlantic's prices are incredibly reasonable. We paid just over 650 euros (£480) for 3 x 10 boat dives including the pick up service and loan of a jacket for Daisy. Oh, and Lucy's regulator started to free flow on the second day and Mick serviced it for her as part of the deal. That works out at £16 per dive!! Very good value.

Away from the diving, there's plenty to do in Tenerife. The southern resort areas of Los Christianos and Playa de las Americas are teeming with restaurants, shopping centres and other amusements. The shopping is superb - so take your plastic. We went exploring on our day off and visited a market for some early Christmas shopping, then drove north to Puerto de la Cruz. The scenery changes are quite extreme and fascinating. The southern part of the island where we stayed is dry, scrubby mountainous terrain - a bit like Arizona. The drive north takes you through the volcanic centre of the island where you climb up through the clouds (literally) to a lunar landscape around the heights of Mt. Teide before descending down through sub tropical banana plantations and the lush greenery of Puerto. Other excursions are trips to other islands like La Gomera and Gran Canaria, boat cruises to see the pilot whales and dolphins, the cable car to Mount Teide, the jungle gardens, water park - you get the picture. There's no need to be bored.

Living expenses are pretty cheap. Lunch cost around 2 - 3 Euros for a good snack meal. The full English Breakfast proved very popular with the divers for a between dive meal!! A full dinner at any one of the hundreds of restaurants available needn't cost more than about a fiver.

Would we go back? Yes, definitely. You should too.

Link to Atlantic Divers site. Travel Club Listing
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