Saundersfoot, Wales, United Kingdom

Saundersfoot Reef

Saundersfoot is a popular shore and small-boat diving area on Carmarthen Bay, just north of Tenby on the south Pembrokeshire coast. The reefs running off Monkstone Point and the surrounding bay offer protected, beginner-friendly diving over mixed substrate of rock, kelp and sand in 5 to 15 metres of water. The relatively sheltered conditions, easy harbour-based access and consistent reef life make Saundersfoot one of the most reliable training and progression dives in south Wales. Marine life includes kelp forests of Laminaria hyperborea on the shallow reef edges, snakelocks anemones, plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges and hydroids. Resident fish include ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse, pollack, bib, tompot blennies, sand gobies, dragonets and the occasional small-spotted catshark or cuttlefish in summer. Edible crabs, spider crabs, hermit crabs and lobsters are common in the rocky gullies. Visibility ranges from 3 to 8 metres and water temperature sits between 9 and 17 degrees Celsius. Currents are weak inside the bay. Charter boats run from Saundersfoot harbour.