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Cala Roja- Cabo de Palos
Dive site · Spain
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
72Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: Sea: flat, Visibility about 15 m, Water 20 °C
Mon 2 · 70 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 13 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 21°C
Tue 3 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.8 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 62 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 18°C
Thu 5 · 67 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 67 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 19°C
Sat 7 · 76 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 19°C
Sun 8 · 77 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 19°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 177, good
- Mon 270, good
- Tue 372, good
- Wed 462, good
- Thu 567, good
- Fri 667, good
- Sat 776, good
- Sun 877, good
- Mon 976, good
- Tue 1060, good
The site in three facts
- Advancedand up
- Water 20 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces SEswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 77, good | 0.4 m | 3 kn | 8kn | 21°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 70, good | 0.7 m | 13 kn | 18kn | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 72, good | 0.8 m | 5 kn | 7kn | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 62, good | 1.0 m | 12 kn | 18kn | 18°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 67, good | 0.3 m | 2 kn | 10kn | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 67, good | 0.3 m | 4 kn | 9kn | 19°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 76, good | 0.2 mflat | 6 kn | 10kn | 19°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 77, good | 0.2 mflat | 2 kn | 7kn | 19°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 76, good | 0.3 m | 2 kn | 8kn | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 60, good | 0.8 m | 21 kn | 27knboats in | 22°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 00:50 −0.1 mHigh 09:31 +0.1 mLow 11:16 +0.1 mHigh 16:40 +0.1 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 01:54 −0.1 mHigh 10:49 +0.1 mLow 12:29 +0.1 mHigh 16:33 +0.1 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 03:15 −0.1 mHigh 11:39 +0.1 mLow 19:14 +0.0 mHigh 21:34 +0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Cala Roja- Cabo de Palos on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.
One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Cala Roja- Cabo de Palos
It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SE: swell from the SE reaches it, and wind from the NW blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 1.2 km away. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 27°C in August, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is La Manga. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 1 wind sports spot.
- What it is No source states what kind of site it is.
- How deep No source states how deep it goes.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 1.2 km away.
Water about 20°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep and Oct (about 20 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,040–US$1,980 each
about US$1,040–US$1,980 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to ALC, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$489–US$1,010 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$348 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$234–US$442 |
| Total | about US$1,040–US$1,980 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: La Manga
4 min by car · 28 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About La Manga its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$80 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 18h 15m
About 18h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → ALC, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 1h 35m by road
Flights ORD → ALC on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in La Manga · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in La Manga · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Divers Cabo de Palos 1.2 km
Turkana 22 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.
This week: visibility about 15 m, about usual for the month (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.
The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.