Diving in Ibiza: the Blue Holes of Portinatx

In the north of Ibiza we find some of the best dive sites on the island, including the famous Blue Holes of Portinatx, a spectacular underwater route full of cavities where sunlight filters through the rock, creating beautiful games of light and shadow.

This dive site in Portinatx is one of the most attractive for divers visiting Ibiza thanks to its combination of tunnels, rocky platforms and abundant marine life.

Ibiza: a perfect island for diving

Ibiza is world-famous for its music, nightlife and glamorous lifestyle. However, beneath the surface the island hides another of its greatest treasures: some of the best underwater landscapes in the Mediterranean Sea.

Along its coastline divers can discover excellent diving and snorkeling spots, with spectacular underwater scenery and rich biodiversity. The waters surrounding Ibiza host extensive seagrass meadows, rocky walls, caves and a wide variety of marine species.

Many of these sites are described in the Ibiza Diving Guide, one of the most comprehensive works dedicated to scuba diving on the island, which includes 35 of the best dive sites in Ibiza.

Located about 51 nautical miles from Dénia and 45 miles from Mallorca, Ibiza is also surrounded by numerous small islands that enhance its marine landscape. Among the most famous are Es Vedrà, Tagomago and Sa Conillera.

In total, around 50 islets and rocky outcrops surround the island, creating diverse underwater environments with important ecological and cultural value.

Diving in Portinatx, northern Ibiza

For this dive we head to the northern coast of Ibiza, one of the wildest and most rugged areas of the island, close to the tourist village of Portinatx.

This dive is particularly famous for the sunlight effects that pass through the perforated rock platform, creating dramatic underwater lighting.

We anchor in front of the coast at around 4 meters depth and start swimming north while gradually descending along a reef, keeping the wall on our left side. On the seabed we encounter patches of Posidonia seagrass and large rocks.

These rocky balconies and overhangs host plenty of Mediterranean marine life, including false coral (Myriapora truncata), colourful sponges and the striking yellow cluster anemone (Parazoanthus axinellae). Around them swim schools of damselfish and cardinalfish, together with the occasional large scorpionfish.

A cave guarded by a giant pen shell

Continuing along the wall we reach a cave at around 18 meters depth, where a large pen shell stands vertically in the centre. This species is currently endangered and has almost disappeared from many areas of the Mediterranean.

Divers should maintain good finning technique, as the seabed is silty and can easily become cloudy.

After leaving the cave we continue heading north-west until the wall forms a pointed promontory. At this point we move toward a rocky outcrop surrounded by a wide Posidonia oceanica meadow, where wrasses, seabream and serranids are commonly seen.

To the left there is a drop-off descending to a sandy bottom at around 30 meters, but we continue following the wall at around 20 meters depth, gradually ascending until reaching a large rectangular rock at about 13 meters.

A dive full of arches and underwater light

Continuing along the route, and close to the mooring point, we reach the entrance to a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the rocky platform.

The rock is perforated by large openings through which sunlight penetrates, creating spectacular underwater light beams that give the dive an almost surreal atmosphere.

The natural arches guide the route while sunlight shines from above, illuminating the interior of the cavities. Clouds of damselfish and cardinalfish swim around the walls and ceilings, which are covered with false coral and yellow anemones.

After exploring the tunnels we emerge back onto the rocky platform, almost next to the boat, completing one of the most beautiful dives in northern Ibiza.