Portugal, what is the diving like?

[reverie]

Planning a dive trip for the beginning of June 2016, and would like some input about diving in Portugal. I've done some research about it, but it would be nice to get input from divers that's been diving there.

How is the general diving conditions in Santa Maria? Are whalesharks regularly sighted (or are there feeding stations) in Santa Maria? What about macro life?

We've so far narrowed down to Azores and Santa Maria, but as time and budget are limited resources, we can only pick one. Are there any other places that we should look at?

 

[luiscb]

Hello there!

One thing is to dive in mainland Portugal and another thing is to dive in the Azores or in the Madeira islands.

Santa Maria is one the 9 islands of the Azores located in the eastern part of the archipelago. Diving is excellent over there, sometimes world top class! In Baixa do Ambrosio for instance you can can dive with dozens of Mobulas / Manta Rays surrounding you. Its is absolutely astonishing and only in the Azores yu will be able to have such a concentration of Mobulas. Close to Santa Maria (20-25 miles I think) you have two amazing reefs in the middle of the ocean : Formigas (there is even a small rocky island) and Dollabarat. In those places anything can happen: you can cruise sharks, whale sharks, mola-molas, ...or not ! But normally, those places are very, very good !
But it will be a pity being in the Azores not to visit other islands like Sao Miguel, Pico / Faial (Princess Alice banks and shark diving in Condor) or Sao Jorge, not to mention Graciosa (excellent diving spots) and Terceira. Far to the west Flores is breathtaking, by the beauty of its sceneries and Corvo is also very special. The Azores is one of those amazing hidden paradises, still very authentic and with beautiful sceneries to be discovered.

On top of that is very safe, people are very nice and kind and there are excellent restaurants. Check out this video that I found in you tube :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6aqVhW7lJs
or this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3k32GmO8zg
or this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttl4Qy--xOE

 

[TruckDiver1981]

Can anyone recommend about mainland Portugal at all?

 

[K3]

I'm considering a 2-Tank dive out of Lagos. Just thought I'd reach out to see if anyone has any thoughts on dive sites or operators.

thanks!

 

[Storker]

It's worth exactly what you paid for it, but I've read a pretty strong recommendation of Blue Force Dive Center Santa María Azores

 

[PedroP]

Yes, Sesimbra. This close to Lisbon (~35Km and 45m drive) and with several dive shops (and Hotels).
This the weekend dives for most divers around Lisbon. Water temperature is around 15-17ºC and visibility varies between 3-10 meters.
Hope to see you there.

Can anyone recommend about mainland Portugal at all?

 

[TruckDiver1981]

Yes, Sesimbra. This close to Lisbon (~35Km and 45m drive) and with several dive shops (and Hotels).
This the weekend dives for most divers around Lisbon. Water temperature is around 15-17ºC and visibility varies between 3-10 meters.
Hope to see you there.

I hope so too!!

 

[VcRossi]

Hi,

I'll be in Portugal in the 1st week of november and was wondering if Berlenga or somewhere in Algarve is worth diving at this time of the year. Does anyone know what the average visibility and sea conditions are at this time of the year?
Any help is appreciated!

 

[PedroP]

Hi,

Generally diving in the fall and winter in Portugal most be done with extra care. Starting October the sea can be rough, due to the wind, specially in west the coast.

Berlengas is very exposed to currents between mainland and islands, even during summer. In Algarve the sea is usually much calmer, it's south facing coast.

Visibility is better much better during fall and winter, less sunlight means less algae blooms and strong winds also help clear water. Even so the visibility in Algarve is usually very limited compared to west coast.

Again I recommend Sesimbra (50km from Lisbon) to dive in mainland, special in winter time, since is bay facing south is shelter from most currents and good visibility (10-15m). Choose a sunny day with slow winds, average air temperature is 20ºc and water is a lot cooler ~12ºc. We are expecting from next weekend for temperatures to drop around 10ºc. Bring a dry suit and wind breaker for the boat ride back to dock, it's the wind the gives chilling feel.

Happy and safe diving.

 

[MantaSlap]

I visited Lagos Portugal in late October 2018. Dove one day with Dive Ciprea to Ocean Revival Park (wrecks). Enjoyed exploring the wrecks - fun, easy swim-through of the main compartments, engine rooms, and bridge (where you could play captain and spin the wheel). We were hooded, gloved, and bootied up but water wasn't too cold (think it was like 20 C). Viz was only about 5-7 meters; granted this was just after the zombie hurricane blew through...DM said at its best in summer 2018 got to 12-15m. Volume of sea life at the wrecks was decent, had hoped to see some octopi but no luck on that count. Dive op was solid, we had small groups on two rigid inflatables - only gripe is that it was cash only, necessitating a trip to ATM before I could get back to the beaches!