Madeira island diving

[Sbiriguda]

Madeira is the last "European" destination off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain, so I will open another thread on this after the ones alredy existing for Canary Islands and Azores
Which are the best dives and freediving spots in Madeira and the nearby islands?
Thanks

 

[UFOrb]

Hi again @Sbiriguda
I haven't dived in Madeira but we stayed on nearby Porto Santo in Oct 2017. It was a short family holiday so I only did 1 days diving (2 dives). Of the two sites, the highlight was definitely the Madeirense wreck, which I believe is considered by most to be the best dive in the area. I saw an eagle ray, big groupers, schools of barracuda, jack fish/trevally, sea bream and many smaller fish. I will try to upload some pics if I can find some time later.
The other dive was also nice, with some current, fish, and interesting landforms, including a little cave. Will check my log book later if you want to know the name of the site?
We really enjoyed Porto Santo, which has a nice long soft sand beach and you won't find any McDonalds on the island

 

[Saldiac]

I used to live in Madeira from 2010 to 2013 and dived year round.

From what I remember most diving occurs along the south coast of Madeira. There's the Garajau Marine Reserve which has a few dive sites, one called Garajau with an abundance of fish and another called the T-reef dive site (with two pinnacles). Club Naval with its canyons also makes for a fun dive. The Bowbelle Wreck is a very popular wreck dive with an infamous history.
I always dove with Madeira Divepoint which has a fun house reef that was always fun to explore.

I visited Porto Santo twice but only went diving on the 2nd trip. The Madeirense wreck is amazing since it lies inside the harbour area which makes it a very sheltered dive site. The visibility is great and there's no current or waves.

More information: DIVING, PORTUGAL, TOP DIVE SITES - MADEIRA: Discover underwater world with us

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

We went there this year and they is a new wreck: the Corveta Afonso Cerqueira off Cabo Girão. Amazing..
Our dive centre was Manta Diving Madeira located below the Galomar Hotel - it was only for one week but it was great.

 

[Sbiriguda]

The dive on the video is the Pronto wreck just outside Funchal harbor. I have dived nearly all the sites from Camara de lobos in the West to nearly Funchal airport in the East. Its good diving to about 30m with good visibility. There is the Afonso wreck, Gow Cave, T Reef and Garajau, all with lots of fish. Club Navel for Moray eels.There is good diving on Porto Santo but I have not dived it yet because it involves extra cost and 2 days travel. There is an interesting dive further West on the wreck of the Bow Belle sand dredger. The dive centre does not go there often as it is 45 minutes + on the boat and the wreck is near 40 m so the dive is short. The dive centre (Madeira Divepoint) is at the Pestana Carleton Hotel and is very good. We go as a holiday with diving, rather than going just for diving and Madeira is great for this. Once the covid situation is a bit more settled we hope to book two weeks for this Autumn when water is at its warmest.

I will reply to myself copying a post from another discussion, bump
Madeira October 2020