- Water temperature
- 18–24°C
Updated July 2026
Good to know
Good to Know
- Diving here is boat- and shore-based, not liveaboard — you can build a full week of diving using Funchal-based operators without ever needing an overnight boat.
- The Afonso Cerqueira wreck requires an Advanced Open Water certification (or equivalent, with recent dive experience) to reach its full depth, so it's not accessible to brand-new divers.
- Bring or rent a 5-7mm wetsuit — water temperature swings from around 18°C in winter to about 24°C in summer.
- A small per-diver conservation/national park fee (a few euros) applies for diving inside protected areas like Garajau and the Cabo Girão marine park where the Afonso Cerqueira wreck sits.
- If a full Madeira dive trip interests you, the Porto Santo wrecks (Madeirense, Corveta Pereira D'Eça) are worth the roughly 2.5-hour ferry crossing, but plan it as a separate leg of the trip rather than a day add-on from Funchal.
- Only a limited number of dive boats are allowed inside the Garajau MPA at a time, so booking a couple of days ahead is advised.
- Most Funchal-based shops offer both PADI and SSI tracks, so it's worth asking which certification you actually want before booking, since agency doesn't always determine price.
- A medical clearance form (a GP note dated within the last 3 months) is commonly required for the Open Water course and sometimes for try-dives, so sort this out before arriving if you have any relevant health history.
- Madeira is Atlantic marine life (groupers, morays, rays, occasional monk seals) rather than tropical coral reef diving — worth knowing if you're expecting Caribbean- or Red Sea-style scenery.
- If you're curious about freediving as well as scuba, at least one Funchal operator (Madeira Divepoint) runs a proper PADI Freediving program rather than just an occasional add-on, so it's a legitimate option here, not just scuba shops offering a token snorkel trip.
- PADI course pricing at some shops excludes the PADI certification/processing fee — confirm whether it's bundled before comparing quotes between operators.
Named Sites
Afonso Cerqueira Wreck (Corveta Afonso Cerqueira)
- Type
- wreck (artificial reef)
- Access
- Boat dive only, reached from Funchal-based dive centers
- Location
- Sunk off Cabo Girão, within the Cabo Girão marine park, a boat ride from Funchal
- Best Season
- Year-round, though it sits in more open water than the sheltered Garajau sites so is more weather-dependent
- Depth Range
- Reported as roughly 12-30m by some sources and 12-33m by others; maximum recreational depth used is typically 30m
- Marine Life And Features
- A former Portuguese Navy corvette, 85 meters long, deliberately sunk in 2018 and declared part of an underwater national park. Divers can swim through the engine room, cafeteria and captain's deck, and encounter schools of tropical fish, triggerfish, groupers, rays and turtles.
- Certification Note
- An Advanced Open Water certification (or equivalent, minimum dives logged within the last 12 months) is generally required to reach the full depth of the wreck
Garajau Marine Reserve (Overall Protected Area)
- Type
- reef / rocky reef complex (multiple sites within one MPA)
- Access
- Reached daily by boat from Funchal-area dive operators; one of its seven sites (Praia do Garajau) also has direct shore/ladder access from the Garajau Beach Resort, reachable by car or cable car
- Location
- 7km of coastline from Lazareto to Ponta da Oliveira, near Caniço, a short boat ride (roughly 10-15 minutes) from the Funchal marina
- Best Season
- Year-round; sheltered from prevailing north winds so considered diveable in most conditions
- Depth Range
- Seafloor is mostly rocky with reefs and outcrops down to about 30m, giving way to sandy flats beyond that; the reserve reaches depths of up to 50m
- Marine Life And Features
- Portugal's first exclusively marine protected area, declared in 1986. Known for large, habituated dusky groupers, barracudas, morays, amberjacks, stingrays, and large shoals of bream and other fish. A small per-diver conservation fee is charged by the regional Forests and Nature Conservation Institute for diving inside the MPA.
Sub Sites
Lazareto
- Notes
- One of the seven traditional Garajau diving spots; marks the western boundary of the reserve
Pináculo (Pinnacle)
- Notes
- One of the seven traditional Garajau spots, named for a pinnacle rock formation
Mamas / Mamas-T Reef (T-Reef / 'Amphitheatre')
- Type
- pinnacle/reef
- Features
- Includes a small cave and walls to explore, sometimes called an 'anemone tour' site
- Depth Range
- Roughly 10-24m, with two volcanic pinnacles rising from about 30m to 12m below the surface
Praia Do Garajau (Garajau Beach)
- Type
- reef, shore-accessible
- Access
- Direct shore entry via steps from the Garajau Beach Resort/Mero Diving Center, reachable by car or cable car — no boat needed
- Depth Range
- Average depth around 20m
- Marine Life
- The most popular Garajau site; sandy bottom with large rock formations, home to well-known individually recognized dusky groupers, plus tunas, mackerel, barracudas, rays, jacks, turtles and morays. Monk seals are occasionally sighted in the wider reserve.
Baía Dos Porcos
- Notes
- One of the seven traditional Garajau diving spots
Arena
- Type
- reef
- Access
- Boat dive within the reserve
- Features
- A large rocky outcrop dive; fish life includes bream, wrasse and triggerfish
Galo
- Type
- reef/wall with small cave
- Access
- Located directly at the bay by the Galo Resort; entrance via ladder, well suited for beginners though entry can be tricky in wave conditions
- Features
- A small cave to explore and walls populated with anemones and reef life
- Depth Range
- Entrance around 8m, exit around 18m
VidaMar House Reef
- Type
- reef, shore dive
- Access
- True shore dive, easy entry, described as suitable for all levels including a first dive in Madeira
- Location
- Directly in front of the VidaMar resort in Funchal
- Depth Range
- A drop-off from about 5m down to roughly 18m
- Marine Life And Features
- Good visibility and typically no current; also offered as a night dive
Sandy
- Type
- reef, shore dive
- Location
- A few minutes from Brava dive center, entry via harbor stairs
- Depth Range
- Shallow, coast-hugging dive
- Marine Life And Features
- Named for a resident sea turtle ('Sandy') regularly seen at this site
Confined-water / Beginner Site Near Brava Diving Center
- Type
- shallow reef, shore dive
- Depth Range
- Maximum about 5m
- Notes
- Used specifically as an introductory/confined-water site for first-time divers
Ponta De São Lourenço Protected Area
- Type
- reef / seamount, volcanic landscape
- Access
- Shore dives available in this area plus boat dives to a nearby seamount; treat this as a day-trip zone from Funchal rather than a central dive
- Location
- Eastern tip of Madeira, a longer drive/boat transfer from central Funchal (well beyond a 10-minute radius, reached via a second dive-center base at Quinta do Lorde/Caniçal)
- Depth Range
- Seamount and reef dives roughly 7-30m depending on site; some sites documented with visibility of 20-30m
- Marine Life And Features
- Dramatic volcanic landscape; one nearby site includes old cannon and ammunition remains near a small cave
Bom Rei (ex-Bowbelle) Wreck
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Off Ponta do Sol / Madalena do Mar, west coast — a notable distance from Funchal by boat or car
- Depth Range
- Lies upright and largely intact at a maximum depth of about 32m
- Marine Life And Features
- An 80-meter former dredger (infamous in the UK as the vessel involved in the 1989 Thames 'Marchioness' disaster), now a colourful artificial reef
- Notes
- Included for completeness; this wreck sits well outside the immediate Funchal day-boat area and is typically dived on multi-day Madeira diving itineraries rather than as a quick Funchal outing
Certifying Bodies And Levels
- Notes
- Madeira Divepoint (also branded XPOINT Madeira) is a PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center (IDC), which is the credential level required to run courses up through Divemaster and Instructor training locally. Azul Diving Center Madeira is a combined SSI and PADI shop offering both certification tracks side by side.
Typical Costs
- Advanced Open Water Diver Course
- €259
Figure from a Madeira-based operator (Machico, not Funchal proper); Funchal-based shops offer the same PADI Advanced Open Water course but a Funchal-specific price wasn't confirmed
Two Dive Boat Trip
- Amount Local Low
- €79
- Amount Local High
- €125
- Note
- Includes tanks, weights, guide, and insurance; full equipment rental typically adds roughly €22/day
Discover Scuba Try Dive
- Amount Local Low
- €45
- Amount Local High
- €90
- Note
- Single supervised try-dive, no certification required, per person, per month equivalent not applicable (one-off activity)
Open Water Diver Course
- Amount Local Low
- €399
- Amount Local High
- €500
- Note
- 3-4 day course; one Funchal operator (Azul Diving) lists SSI Open Water Diver specifically at €464 and a shorter SSI Scuba Diver (restricted-depth) course at €280. For PADI courses, certification/processing fees are typically charged separately from the course price.
Single Fun Dive Certified Diver
- Amount Local Low
- €30
- Amount Local High
- €50
Levels Available
- PADI Bubblemaker (kids' intro, age 8+)
- Discover Scuba Diving / Try Dive (no certification, single supervised dive to ~12m)
- SSI Scuba Diver / PADI Scuba Diver (shorter, restricted-depth entry cert)
- Open Water Diver (PADI or SSI, full entry-level certification)
- Advanced Open Water Diver
- Rescue Diver / EFR (First Aid)
- Divemaster and Instructor-level training
Bodies Commonly Offered
- PADI
- SSI
Operator Density
- Summary
- At least four named, actively operating dive shops are based directly in central Funchal, with additional operators elsewhere on the island (e.g., Machico, ~30-40 min away) offering similar courses.
- Note
- Azul Diving also runs a second location further east in Machico/Quinta do Lorde; that location is outside the Funchal proximity radius. Other operators (e.g., Haliotis Madeira) are based in Machico, not Funchal itself.
Named Operators In Funchal
- Azul Diving Center Madeira (Penha de França Mar, Rua Carvalho Araújo, Funchal)
- Madeira Divepoint / XPOINT Madeira (Pestana Hotel Madeira Carlton, Funchal)
- Explora Madeira Diving Center (Funchal)
- Scuba Madeira (Funchal)
Porto Santo Note
- Applicable But Separate Island
- Yes
- Access
- Reached from Funchal via a roughly 2.5-hour ferry crossing (Porto Santo Line) or a short flight — genuinely a separate trip, not a same-day Funchal dive-boat option
- Marine Life And Features
- The Madeirense has grown into a full reef ecosystem with sand eels, coral, tunicate and hydroid growth on its superstructure; both wrecks lie close to shore on Porto Santo itself
Sites
- Madeirense (wreck, sunk 2000)
- Corveta Pereira D'Eça (wreck)
Access Summary
Diving out of Funchal is genuinely day-boat and shore accessible — it is not a liveaboard destination. Most named sites are reached by RIB/dive boat in roughly 10-20 minutes from the Funchal marina or from dive centers based at coastal hotels (e.g. VidaMar, Penha França Mar). A handful of sites are true shore dives directly from Funchal or the neighboring Garajau/Caniço coast. The one caveat: sister-island wreck diving on Porto Santo (Madeirense, Corveta Pereira D'Eça) requires a separate roughly 2.5-hour ferry crossing or a short flight, so it's a day-trip/overnight extension rather than something reachable within a normal Funchal dive-boat radius.
General Conditions
- Visibility
- Commonly cited as 15-40 meters, with some sources citing typical visibility of 20-30 meters and occasional highs of 30-40 meters in calm conditions.
- Best Season
- Diving is possible year-round because the south coast (Funchal/Garajau side) is sheltered from prevailing north winds, but sea conditions are generally calmer and more stable from late spring through autumn; winter can bring more Atlantic swell that affects boat access to some sites.
- Diving Style
- Year-round diving with volcanic reef, pinnacle, and wreck sites; described by operators as suitable for both beginners (shallow, sheltered reef dives) and advanced divers (deeper wrecks and pinnacles).
- Water Temperature
- Roughly 18°C in winter rising to about 24°C in summer; dive shops typically rent 5-7mm wetsuits depending on season.
Freediving Crossover
- Details
- Genuine crossover exists rather than being assumed: Madeira Divepoint explicitly lists PADI Freediving among its course offerings and stocks freediving equipment rental alongside scuba gear. Separately, Explora Madeira Diving Center's Funchal listing advertises a standalone 'Freediving' experience alongside its scuba offerings. This is on top of the shared use of the same local reef/marine-park sites (e.g., Garajau) for both scuba and snorkeling/freediving-style activities.
- Confirmed
- Yes
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.