I’m in Lagos/Algarve until early August. We’re thinking of this area for retirement
Does anyone have a dive shop they like?
Does anyone have a dive shop they like?
Dive shop recommendations in Lagos, Portugal
- Thread starter JohnN
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Let us know. I read an article on Americans retiring in Portugal because it's so darned expensive here in the US. Our neighbors just left to continue their retirement in Portugal this past month, and another guy I know mentioned he's considering the same thing. I read that there are 45% more Americans living there than a year ago, and the graph showed the number climbing steadily after around 2016. Anyway, let us know about the diving opportunities.
OP
David Novo
Contributor
I was never scuba diving there but did some freediving.
It is not the best diving in Europe nor in Portugal. The islands: Azores and Madeira would be the best diving in the country.
In continental Portugal probably Sesimbra, south of Lisbon.
The coastline topside is likely one of the nicest in Portugal though.
I saw something on a television documentary about seahorses being abundant in Algarve. That would be enough to get me to dive there.
David Novo
Contributor
That is in Ria Formosa not in Lagos (90 km away).
OP
I looked up Ria Formosa. . . in 2000 there were 30 seahorses/m^2, now on the verge of extinction, but apparently recovering.
I'm used to driving 3+ hours to dive, 90 km like is next door. It would be certainly worth a trip
David Novo
Contributor
In Algarve, I got nice feedback of diving in Sagres, which is closer to Lagos and is the southwestern end of Europe.
OP
I took a side trip to Sagres and tried a couple dives there. I did not bring any of my gear (upon threat of pain of death from my wife), so I had to use their rental equipment. It was the first time I used a 7mm wetsuit (I went from warm water to drysuit diving), and the gear was unfortunately not all that good.
In the operator's favor they did have 12L (100 ft^3) steel tanks, but only filled them to 200 bar. The wetsuit was too small and a huge PITA to get on, I had a major free-flow on the secondary before I splashed so I hit the bottom on the Norwegian freighter with about 120 bar (we agreed on a turn pressure of 140). The second dive was much better.
I'd go with the dive operator again. I appreciate how hard it must have been to stay open during the Covid epidemic, but only with my own gear and a drysuit. The diving was quite good and certainly worth return trips
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