The best and most exciting dive spots of the island, from Garajau Marine Reserve to the famous Wreck Afonso Cerqueira F488 until the exclusive Ponta de São Lourenço!
Garajau National Park
This is the most exciting diving area of the island, a paradise for our divers and for underwater photography. Within the Garajau Marine Reserve, discover different dive sites boasting walls, vibrant reefs, intricate caves, and a bustling ecosystem teeming with marine life which is definitely abundant. Divers may find here tunas, mackerels, large groupers, stingrays and eagle rays, barracudas, huge rays, jacks, turtles, morays, and many more. The National Park has been the location for the 2022 European Underwater photo competition. The average depth is 20 m.
Our favourite dive sites:
- T-Reef
- Cape Garajau
- Pinaculo
- Baia dos Porcos
- Garajau Drift
- Sardine Plateau
- Arena
- Blue Hole
Location: southern coast of Madeira
F488 Corveta wreck
The Corveta Afonso was sunk on 4 September 2018 south of Cabo Girão, off the coast of the island of Madeira. The ship, which immediately after sinking was declared a
national park, forms an artificial reef that is home to a variety of marine animals.
The wreck is easily accessible by boat. Get in the water from the boat to discover this impressive warship. The Corveta is 85 meters long and is still in excellent condition.
Ponta de São Lourenço
Ponta de São Lourenço, located on the extreme east of the island and reachable from our dive center Azul Diving | Ponta de São Lourenço located at Quinta do Lorde Marina. It is a diver’s dream come true with its crystal-clear waters, vibrant marine life, and dramatic underwater landscapes, offers divesites for beginners and advanced divers. The area is populated by the elusive Monk Seal (the rarest seal in the world), rays, barracudas, octopus and it is the only place on the island where you can spot the black coral.
For the more adventurers divers, there are challenging dive sites that plunge to depths of up to 40 meters. In this area there are also 2 wrecks; the Newton and the Forerunner.
Our favourite dive sites:
- Baixa da Cruz
- Parede Cevada
- Parede do Sardinha
- Newton/Forerunner wreck
- Arco Badajeira
- Baixa do Lobo
Location: east coast of Madeira
Pronto wreck
“Pronto” is 30.12 meters long, 6 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, was built in 1895 and sunk on April 29, 1929, at 5 pm outside the Ilhéu da Pontinha with a shipment of 200 tons of water. The wreckage lies on a sandy bottom at 30mt depth surrounded by an astonishing amount of marine life. This dive site is a paradise for deep divers and experienced divers.
SHORE DIVES
Funchal | House reef
A few steps from the shop, a solid concrete jetty stretches out into the bay, sheltered from the wind. Equipped with stairs, handrails and a practical platform at the sea surface level, our jetty offers an easy entry and exit point for divers and swimmers. It is an easy and lovely dive spot, where the alternate between rocky and sandy bottoms allows to spot different species of marine organisms, such as octopi and cuttlefish, barracudas, stingrays, and eagle rays, moray eels, and much more.
Ponta de São Lourenço | House reef
What makes this site special, however, is the volcanic caves and rock formations. The bottom topography changes throughout the dive from sand and rocks to isolated blocks and even caves.
This is an exciting site for beginners and experienced divers alike, with a max depth of 18 meters.
Unique sightings include frogfish, huge round stingrays, sea horses, and the elusive monk seal. You will also see octopi, barracuda, groupers, garden eels, trumpetfish, cuttlefish, and morays.
USEFUL LINKS
WHERE TO FIND US
Penha França Mar Hotel
Rua Carvalho Araujo 1
9000-022 FUNCHAL
Dreams Madeira Resort
Quinta do Lorde Marina
9200-044 Caniçal