Scuba Diving Regions in Chile

    From world-class walls to muck diving havens, discover the unique character of each regional cluster.

    Regional Diversity

    Diving in Chile is possible year-round, but the best conditions vary by region. For the mainland and Easter Island, the summer and autumn months (December to April) offer the most pleasant air temperatures and the best sea conditions. Visibility is often at its peak in the autumn. The Patagonian south is best explored during the height of summer (January and February) when the days are longest and weather is most stable.

    15
    Regions
    65
    Total Sites
    7
    Day Limit

    Planning Tips

    Many regions are seasonally dependent. For Chile, the best diving conditions are usually spread across different months depending on the archipelago or coast.

    Updated: June 2026

    Algarrobo & San Antonio

    coastal
    4 dive sites

    Algarrobo and San Antonio occupy a productive stretch of central Chile's coast where dramatic rocky headlands, kelp-covered walls, and purpose-sunk artificial r...

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    Antofagasta & Atacama

    coastal
    7 dive sites

    Antofagasta and the Atacama region offer diving in one of the world's most dramatic landscapes, where the driest desert on Earth meets the Pacific Ocean to crea...

    Archipiélago de Juan Fernández

    island
    4 dive sites

    The Archipiélago de Juan Fernández is one of Chile's most remote and biologically significant diving destinations, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located 670 kilome...

    Base Towns

    San Juan Bautista (Robinson Crusoe Island)

    Arica y Parinacota

    coastal
    4 dive sites

    Arica y Parinacota is Chile's northernmost coastal region, where the Atacama Desert meets the Pacific Ocean to create a unique diving environment characterised...

    Chiloé & Golfo Corcovado

    coastal
    4 dive sites

    Chiloé and the Golfo Corcovado offer one of Chile's most culturally rich and ecologically unique diving experiences, where the mythical island of Chiloé meets t...

    Coquimbo & La Serena

    coastal
    5 dive sites

    Coquimbo and La Serena form one of central Chile's most accessible and rewarding diving regions, where the Humboldt Current creates productive kelp forest ecosy...

    High-Altitude Freshwater (Andes)

    lake
    3 dive sites

    Chile's high-altitude Andean lakes offer some of the most technically demanding and geographically extreme diving on Earth, where crystal-clear glacial waters a...

    Base Towns

    Arica (for Chungará)
    Los Andes (for Portillo)
    San José de Maipo (for Laguna Negra)

    Iquique & Tarapacá

    coastal
    6 dive sites

    Iquique and the Tarapacá region represent one of Chile's most productive and diverse diving destinations, where the nutrient-rich Humboldt Current creates spect...

    Norte Chico Coastal Islands

    archipelago
    1 dive sites

    The Norte Chico coastal islands represent Chile's most remote and least accessible diving region, a chain of pristine archipelagos where cold-water reefs, giant...

    Base Towns

    Puerto Montt (mainland base)
    Chaitén (closer base)

    Patagonia – Aysén & Laguna San Rafael

    glacial
    2 dive sites

    Patagonia's Aysén region and Laguna San Rafael National Park represent the extreme frontier of Chilean diving, where ice diving near the San Rafael Glacier crea...

    Base Towns

    Coyhaique
    Puerto Chacabuco
    Caleta Tortel

    Puerto Montt & Llanquihue

    lake
    4 dive sites

    Puerto Montt and the Llanquihue lake district represent one of the world's most unique and extraordinary diving destinations, where freshwater lakes contain sub...

    Punta Arenas & Estrecho de Magallanes

    coastal
    4 dive sites

    Punta Arenas and the Strait of Magellan offer diving at the bottom of the world, where strong-current drift dives through kelp forests, historical wooden shipwr...

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

    island
    8 dive sites

    Rapa Nui, universally known as Easter Island, is one of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth and offers an extraordinary diving experience defined by crys...

    Base Towns

    Hanga Roa (the only town)

    Tierra del Fuego & Canal Beagle

    coastal
    3 dive sites

    Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel represent the southernmost diving on Earth, where kelp forest walls, giant king crabs, and extraordinarily cold clear wa...

    Valparaíso & Viña del Mar

    coastal
    6 dive sites

    Valparaíso and Viña del Mar form the cultural and recreational heart of central Chile's coast, offering world-class kelp forest diving at Quintay alongside hist...

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