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Diving in Valparaiso

Chile’s Valparaiso region has more than 50 dive centers, all offering daily dive trips, and scuba diving courses. However, the best time to dive in Chile is between December and March. In less than an hour’s boat ride, you can reach some of Chile’s best dive sites. Scuba diving in Chile’s Valparaiso region offers different types of diving, like walls, wrecks, and lots of biodiversity. The walls extend from a few meters to more than 40 meters deep, just a short distance from shore. In Valparaiso Port, you can find many wrecks to explore, and just offshore from the cities of Zapallar and Quintay are fantastic dive sites. Thanks to the Humbolt Current’s upwelling of nutrient-dense waters, this region has exceptional biodiversity. Everything seems to grow bigger and brighter here, especially the anemones and sponges covering the rocky reefs. Chile diving is easily accessible in this area by flying into the Santiago International Airport (SCL) and driving or taking a bus to the different dive centers in Valparaiso ranging from 120 to 180 kilometers from Santiago. Finding a place to stay is easy with many accommodation options, from luxurious hotels to low-cost bed-and-breakfasts. Some dive centers even offer accommodation services. Come experience all that diving in Valparaiso has to offer.

Featured places to go in Valparaiso

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Papudo

Explore unique rock formations, cliffs, and pinnacles underwater in the Papudo area.

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Wildlife Encounters in Región de Valparaíso

The upwelling of the Humbolt Current is essential to the Valparaiso region’s rich biodiversity. You can find a great variety of algae, invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals here. These waters are home to many nudibranchs, jellyfish, pyrosomes (sea unicorns), anemones, sponges, sea urchins, starfish, mollusks, crabs, and shrimp. Colorful coldwater corals, like gorgonians, anemones, and sponges, cover the rock walls. Divers may often encounter benthonic fish such as rollizos, lenguados, and castañetas, and the occasional ray and moonfish. Scuba diving in Chile at night is fantastic with octopuses, pintarrojas sharks, and mantis shrimp, along with amazing bioluminescent organisms. Marine mammal sightings include sea otters, sea lions, dolphins, and whales.