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Located at the foot of Cap Norfeu, Cala Canadell is a small, wild and solitary cove, which can be reached in a short 20-minute walk through the garrigue. Its rocky seabed, cracks and submerged caves make it a good snorkeling spot in the region, where you can see a great diversity of Mediterranean fish and invertebrates.

School of salema at Cala Canadell
Cala Canadell has large rocky beds, where a great diversity of fish (like this school of salema) can be seen.

How to go snorkeling to Cala Canadell

Cala Canadell is located at the foot of Cap Norfeu, west of Roses. From the center of Roses, take the road to Cala Montjoi (Carretera a Montjoi) and continue for about ten kilometers.

After passing Cala Montjoi (snorkeling report here) then Cala Pelosa, you will come to a crossroads where the start of the trail (location here) of Cala Canadell is indicated.

There are a few spaces to park along the track around the intersection. A path through the garrigue then allows you to descend into the cala on foot (500m). Cala Canadell is a nudist beach.

Cala Canadell snorkeling map

Water entrance for snorkeling Cala Canadell

You can enter the water anywhere you like from the pebble beach.

Cala Canadell snorkeling exploration tips

You can snorkel all over the cala, but the most interesting areas are on both sides of the beach, along the rocks. Left of the beach, several small narrow caves, carved into the cliff, are found.

Blenny at Cala Canadell
Blennies are easy to spot in shallow rocky beds.

Exploring Cala Canadell, you’ll swim above huge, polished rocks, as well as large pebble areas. On the rocks, look for beadlet anemones and fanworms, whose crown of feathery tentacles retracts at the slightest danger.

The drop-offs are good places to look for red-black tripletail and several other species of gobies and blennies. Among the most common fish in the spot are the comber, the thicklip grey mullet, the salema and the striped red mullet.

Fanworm at Cala Canadell
Sabella are sometimes found on the walls.

Restaurants and accommodation nearby

Cala Canadell is a completely natural site, but there are several restaurants in the surrounding area, including Cala Pelosa, Cala Jóncols and Cala Montjoi.

 

  • Level required Intermediate
  • Protected areaCap de Creus Natural Park
  • Maximum depth20ft/6m
  • Water entranceFrom a pebble beach
  • LifeguardNo
  • Visitor numbersMedium
  • Access costsFree
  • Restaurants nearbyNo
  • Public toilets & showersNo

MAP Spot

These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters.

This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.