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Scuba Dive Portugal from Top to Bottom

  • From

    € 3.775,00 /diver

  • What's the plan?

    13 days (approx.) 20 boat dives, the ultimate Diving in Portugal package

  • Base location

    Portugal from Top to Bottom. This means diving from Matosinhos, Peniche and Sesimbra all the way down to the Algarve, at Lagos or Armação de Pera

  • Diving area

    Porto, the Berlengas Archipelago, Sesimbra, Fonte da Telha and Praia da Rocha - the Ocean Revival Park
  • What else do you get?

    Thirteen days/ twelve nights in 3-star hotels, room for 2, continental breakfast
    Nine days diving, nineteen dives (Recreational, boat dives)
    Tanks and weights
    Car with GPS for the whole trip (13 days)
    Port Wine Tasting in Porto
    Private Tour in Lisbon
    Dinner at a Fado Restaurant in Lisbon

  • All packages include local support during your stay

The package

Portugal consistently wins top place in the World Travel Award as the World’s Leading Destination. So make it even more unique and remarkable by coming to dive in Portugal.

WTA World Travel Awards Portugal Europe Best Diving DestinationPORTUGAL - WORLD TRAVEL AWARD'S WORLD’S LEADING DESTINATION

"Embark on an unforgettable scuba diving adventure from top to bottom of mainland Portugal. Discover the best dive sites as you journey from the captivating Porto region to the stunning Alentejo coastline, all the way down to the pristine waters of the Algarve, diving at dive sites such as Peniche, Sesimbra, Porto Covo, Sagres, Lagos and Armação de Pera. Immerse yourself in a world of underwater wonders, from vibrant reefs and hidden caves to intriguing wrecks and encounters with diverse marine life. Explore Portugal's coastal treasures on this ultimate diving itinerary and create memories that will last a lifetime."


Day 1

Porto, Matosinhos;
You will arrive at the Porto Francisco Sa Carneiro International Airport (OPO). and proceed to your 4-star hotel. At around 8:00 PM your Portugal Dive Buddy will meet you at the hotel reception. He will brief you on what will happen during this fantastic diving trip that is now starting, providing useful information and answering any questions you may have. He will also give you the Portugal Dive hoodies, that we hope you’ll wear during the entire trip.

Porto is the capital and gateway to the north of Portugal and is the city which gave our nation its name, as well as a fortified wine known world-wide: Port wine. With its splendid geographical location on the mouth of the river Douro, Porto has a rich architectural heritage which earned it UNESCO's coveted World Heritage site status in 1996. It is the capital of the North and the second-largest city in the country. Its hard-working inhabitants are renowned for their commercial enterprise and resistance to foreign invaders, which explains why Porto is known as the «unvanquished» city.


Day 2

Matosinhos, Porto;
First-day Diving; People tend to leave the best for last, but not this time. You will start with one of the most iconic dives in Portuguese waters, the U-boat 1277.
U Boat - 1277 is a WWII shipwreck. She was a German submarine Type VIIC/41 from the Kriegsmarine. On 3rd June 1945, she was scuttled by her crew to avoid the capture of the submarine by the Allies.
The wreck of U boat -1277 is located in a North-West direction from Oporto, 2 miles offshore way, laying at a depth of 31mts.
Small white anemones (Sargatia elegans) cover the hull of the submarine, thousands of pouts, the largest congress in these waters, big and curious octopuses, fantastic lobsters and the magnificent pink anemone community, are some of the natural attractions of this wreck.
To see other dives close to this location, click here.
This is absolutely the best of the best diving in Portugal. You are going to dive in 4 different locations: starting in the Porto region, you'll drive south to experience the unbelievable Berlengas Archipelago, dive in Sesimbra, try the unique Fonte da Telha dive spots, and finally, end up on the Ocean Revival Park. All this discovering always the best spots and dive with the the finest diving centers.
PortugalDive.com
After the dives on this first day, we invite you to attend a Port Wine Tasting experience. But don’t drink too much, as this is a dive trip and tomorrow you have to wake up early to drive south to Peniche.

Days 3 and 4

Peniche, Berlengas Archipelago;
Your base for the next couple of days is Peniche, and you will be diving in the fantastic Berlengas Archipelago. You will find it hard to believe that you’re diving European Continental waters. But yes, you are.
Located opposite Peniche, the Archipelago consists of 3 groups of small islands: Berlenga Grande (the only inhabited one, that can be visited by boat from Peniche) and the nearby reefs, Estelas and Farilhões-Forcadas; their geological nature is different from that of the Portuguese coast.
The Islands have their particular fauna and flora, with characteristics that make their ecosystem unique in the world, the importance of which was recognised by the creation of the Berlenga Nature Reserve in 1981.
“Parede de Rabo de Asno” is the dive that everybody wants to do (its name translated into English: Donkeys Tail Wall).
The rock is famous for its wall covered with red Gorgonians and for its cave. Its bright blue waters make the wall similar to a coral wall as we usually find in the tropical seas. In certain parts, the density of the Gorgonians covers the rock completely; inside the cave, we can still find walls lined with Gorgonians and the shoals of Pouts sometimes cover the sight. A beautiful sight!
It is a dive with usual currents which brings pelagics to feed along the wall. In the extremities of the rock, there is usually seabream, and it is also possible to see mola-mola.
To see other dives at this location, click here.

Day 5

Lisbon;
Lisbon is Portugal's capital and the hub of a multifaceted area which appeals to different tastes and senses.
In a city that has been influenced by many different cultures throughout its past, there is still a village feel in each historic neighbourhood.
Your Portugal Dive Buddy will take you on a stroll through the Pombaline grid of streets in the Baixa district that opens on to the Tagus in Praça do Comércio. You will then follow the river to discover some of the city’s most beautiful parts: the Cais do Sodre, the monumental area of Belém with its World Heritage monuments and to come back afterwards to the mediaeval quarters on the hill we call Alfama.
Your day will end with dinner at a Fado Restaurant. Your Portugal Dive Buddy will invite you to listen to sounds that evoke the Portuguese soul. Fado is melancholic with mourning voices expressing longing and is always accompanied by an acoustic and a Portuguese guitar.
A national symbol and included in UNESCO’s list of World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, beyond the music, Fado is a sensory experience, a journey through history, art and the gastronomy of Portugal. One more experience you'll never forget.

Days 6, 7 and 8

These blue waters are waiting for you. And if you want to take a specialty course while your holiday's buddy is diving, don't waste the opportunity to become certified as you need to be...
Sesimbra;
For the next three days you will be diving in the Sesimbra Marine Reserve.
For Portuguese divers Sesimbra is a kind of sanctuary – some call it the “Mecca” of Portugal Diving – because of everything you find underwater but also because of its location and morphology; the perfect match for a site where you dive over 330 days, on average, each year.
Sesimbra, formerly a fishing town set in a sheltered bay, was founded on the hilltop around the Moorish castle that Dom Afonso Henriques (the first King of Portugal) captured from the Moors in 1165.
Sesimbra's wealth of seafood persuaded the population to go down the hill and explore the neighbourhood, turning this town into one of the region's main fishing ports. It was the sea too that during the 20th century attracted outsiders in search of the excellent sheltered beaches with prime conditions for water sports and diving, making this peaceful place a busy summer resort.
Jardim das Gorgonias (Garden of the Gorgonians) is one of the most popular dive spots in the area, because of the diversity of life and easy orientation. In the descent, a group of seabreams accompanies the divers, seeming to guide the “guests” to their territory. Reaching the bottom, 15.5 meters, you face the primary rock, while on the rock floor some soft corals and gorgonians dance with the flow. If you look carefully, you will see some fish that lurk among the corals or are merely sleeping. This rock has several holes and cracks; each one is full of life: forkbeard fish, octopuses, morays, not to mention the diversity of sponges, anemones, algae and many sea stars in different colours.
Here we can also find a huge variety of nudibranchs, so, if you are a fan, the camera is indispensable! The best time is between April and September, although some species can be seen all year round.
The most popular course is to have the rock on your left side and to go round it, taking into account that the northside of the stone is less deep; therefore, you can have a longer dive. When following this path, it is possible to see cuttlefish, pipefish, white seabream, several species of corals soft and hard, mixed with schools of fish. If you look carefully, you can see some zeus faber, hiding in disguise...
Please take into account that when rounding the rock on our right side there is a large sand area. Look steadily for hiding flounders, stingrays and other creatures.
When the dive has ended, the seabreams will be escorting you again, halfway to the surface. Once again we advise: keep the camera ON and ready!
To see other dives at this location, click here.

Day 9

Fonte da Telha;
Day nine will be the day you head further south, towards the Algarve. But not quite, as this is also the day to go diving at Fonte da Telha, a beautiful beach south of Lisbon, and a unique opportunity in Portugal because although this is a country with numerous beaches, this is the only dive centre that has its entire operation on the beach.
Pedra da Lagoa, or Lagoon Stone, is one of the most appreciated dives at Fonte da Telha for the life that it attracts. Usually there is some current and, because of that, it is rated a dive for experienced divers who should know how to handle such conditions.
The average visibility is 10 meters, and the maximum depth is of 30 meters. This spot consists of two stones that are about 20 to 30 meters apart. As we approach the most massive stone, seabreams surround the divers, while triggerfish and schools of pouts swim by you.
This stone has canyon forming shelves where you can see lobsters, rock crabs, Mediterranean slipper lobsters, octopuses and many congers. The rocks are full of life; yellow, red, orange and purple are predominant colours due to the various species of sponges, soft corals, and starfish urchins. For this reason, some consider the "Lagoon Stone" (translated from the Portuguese) the dive where one can observe more species with the greatest diversity of life off mainland Portugal.
For other dives close to this location, click here.

Days 10 and 11

Algarve, Praia da Rocha;
Located at the mouth of the Arade river, Rocha Beach extends over a vast area of sand, some 3 kilometres long, irregularly broken up by unusual rock formations that the sea has been carving out over tens of thousands of years. Bathed by a calm and warm sea that provides for risk-free swimming, Rocha Beach houses many facilities for different sports, including the Ocean Revival Park. You will stay here for the last part of your trip, diving the wrecks of the Ocean Revival, and enjoying everything else the Rocha Beach has to offer.
The Algarve is universally recognized as one of the best destinations in the world for those who wish to go to the beach and have lots of fun. Now, you're about to find out how exciting it can be for diving.
The “Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo Frigate" is the second frigate in a group of four ships ordered in 1964 by the Portuguese Navy. From the time when it was brought into active service for the Portuguese Navy on 26th April 1968, it took part in several missions in Africa, in various national and international exercises, search and rescue missions and also inspection of the exclusive economic zone. It also undertook voyages for the instruction of naval college trainees. This shipwreck is part of the Ocean Revival Project

The Ocean Revival Project was born with the intent of promoting Algarve's underwater tourism, making it an exceptional destination. Three other ships are part of this project: "Corveta Oliveira e Carmo", "Patrulha Zambeze" and "Navio Hidrográfico Almeida e Carvalho". The Ocean Revival Park is a group of shipwrecks definitely worth exploring!

The lower decks are only accessible to experienced divers as it is necessary to have reasonable buoyancy control not to raise sediments. However, there is still a lot to explore on the superior decks, where you will find lots of life. You can observe several different schools of fish such as triggerfish and seabream, who almost act like dive guides as they accompany us throughout the entire dive. They are the actual hosts of these wrecks!
To see other dives close to this location, click here.

Day 12

Algarve, Sagres;
And on the twelveth day, you rest. Yes, it’s surface interval day — time to enjoy a little more of the Algarve. We recommend a trip to Sagres, to enjoy the site where many centuries ago Portuguese sailors departed on their epic first journeys to countries such as Brazil.


Day 13

Faro;
Time to say goodbye. You will go to the Faro International Airport (FAO), and no doubt start planning your next dive trip to Portugal. We look forward to welcoming you again!


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Embark on an extraordinary scuba diving program that takes you on an immersive journey across mainland Portugal, from north to south, showcasing the best diving sites the country has to offer. Here's a description of this captivating itinerary: 1. Dive into the North: Begin your adventure by exploring the Porto region offshore scuba diving starting at the U-1277 uboat wreck, one of the most iconic shipwrecks of mainland Portugal. 2. Uncover the Underwater Secrets of the Lisbon Region: Journey south to the Lisbon region, where you'll discover an intriguing mix of wreck dives, vibrant reefs, and marine encounters. Dive the wrecks off the coast of Sesimbra, exploring historical remnants that have become artificial reefs teeming with marine life. Delight in encounters with schools of fish, colorful sea fans, and the occasional octopus or seahorse. 3. Explore the Alentejo Coastline: Continue your expedition along the Alentejo coastline, renowned for its rugged beauty and hidden underwater treasures. Dive into crystal-clear waters where you'll encounter diverse marine species, including bream, wrasse, and moray eels. Discover submerged caves, impressive rock formations, and underwater canyons that add excitement and wonder to your diving experience. 4. Dive in the Algarve's Marine Paradise: Journey further south to the Algarve, a region known for its picturesque beaches and exceptional diving opportunities. Explore the mesmerizing underwater world of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina, where you'll find pristine dive sites teeming with marine biodiversity. Swim alongside colorful fish, encounter curious octopuses, and witness the beauty of underwater seascapes. 5. Finish in the Enchanting Armacao de Pera or Albufeira enormous and beautiful reefs: Conclude your scuba diving odyssey by diving in the South, where you'll have the chance to revisit favorite dive sites or explore new ones. Take advantage of the exceptional marine diversity, unique seabed landscapes, and extraordinary encounters that make the Algarve a world-class diving destination. This comprehensive scuba diving program takes you on an unforgettable journey around mainland Portugal, showcasing the best dive sites and underwater wonders. Experience a seamless blend of adventure, natural beauty, and marine exploration as you dive from the north to the south, immersing yourself in the diverse and captivating world beneath Portugal's coastal waters. 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