Costa del Sol: Malaga and Nerja

Check the forecast and operator site call the day before diving. Carry an SMB and spool, especially from boat sites and anywhere near summer traffic. Stay out of overhead environments unless trained, equipped, guided, and permitted. Do not push Maro-Cerro Gordo when the skipper says conditions are wrong. Maintain conservative computer settings if planning repetitive dives, mountain drives, or flights. For suspected decompression illness, stop diving, administer oxygen if trained and available, call 112 first, and then contact DAN Europe or DAN for diving medical coordination.

Malaga has major hospitals and emergency services, but do not self-drive a symptomatic diver to a chamber. Call 112 for emergency coordination, tell dispatch it is a diving accident if relevant, and involve the dive centre's emergency action plan. DAN Europe provides 24/7 diver assistance for members and can advise medical teams. EU visitors should carry their European Health Insurance Card where applicable, but private medical care and dive-specific evacuation or recompression costs are better covered by travel and dive insurance.

Maro-Cerro Gordo is a protected maritime-terrestrial area with Natura 2000 and Mediterranean conservation importance. Do not dive or freedive in designated limitation zones, do not anchor on or fin through Posidonia, do not collect marine life, and do not harass octopus, morays, cuttlefish, or nesting seabirds on cliffs. Use moorings or operator-controlled boat procedures, keep buoyancy neutral, streamline gauges and cameras, and leave rocks, shells, pottery, and seagrass undisturbed.