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If you are by any chance exploring the Alentejo with its famous hills, water damns and excellent rural areas, or cruising along the Costa Vicentina and Litoral Alentejano Natural Park and you want to get wet, you are in for a surprise. The best diving area is from Sines to Vilanova de Milfontes with Porto Covo as diving epicentre, but diving operators are working to find more dive sites and develop diving tourism. More suitable for summer vacation, these waters are clear with sandy bottoms and rock cliffs without algae, gorgonians or hard coral. There is a giant anemone famous for its red colour very difficult to find in other parts of the country. The most common fish around is the pig fish, famous for its curiosity and fin bites. Pelagics cross these waters so you might get lucky, you could eve see some dolphins, but don’t bet your money on it, they are very shy and are not very used to divers. You can see the regular macro life around: anemones, sponges, blennies, nudibranches and small fish. The clarity of the water and the natural cliffs gives you that flying feeling that divers love so much. There are a few small wrecks around Sines visited regularly. The coastline is beautiful and the less habited in all Portugal. Located in Alentejo where the sun shines strongly in summer, diving is very refreshing. Close but yet away from big cities, Alentejo coastline is unique in Portugal. The advantage of Portugal being small is the fact that you can be nearly anywhere in 4 to 5 hours, giving you the opportunity to dive in different places without spending precious time of your vacation moving around. To get an idea, Sines is only about 1,5 hour to Sesimbra and another 2 hours to the Algarve, get the picture? If you are in a dive trip, don’t miss diving in Alentejo.

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If you are around Algarve, we can bet you are eating very good, partying hard and sleeping even better in the wonderful warm, windless beaches that make this massive Bay from Lagos to Lagoa a perfect place to get wet. With low currents and surrounded by two small rivers and the larger Arade River, itself a must see, local waters are not as pristine as other places in Portugal. That is not a problem because macro life will, for certain, rule your dive. Also, it is the most probable place to see spotted rays and giant nudibranches, the biggest in Portugal. Sandy bottoms and scattered rocks filled with algae, sponges, anemones, hidden Mediterranean moray eels and shrimps are seen almost every dive. Funny blennies, sea beams, lobsters, crabs, octopuses and cuttlefish are always around as well as other colourful fish species. Don’t miss the Alvor artificial reef built in 2000 to protect and develop local species and to create excellent dive sites. The reef offers what it was created for: lots of fish and macro life. If you want to go deeper, in 1917 during WWI, the German submarine U35, sunk a couple of steamboats and other ships, allowing divers to visit this old wrecks, nearly 100 years latter, and experience some adrenaline dives… Eat, drink, sleep,party and dive are the life motto in Algarve. Make sure you fulfil each one of the items while you are planning your next year vacation to some other fantastic place in Portugal.

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From the fresh and deep waters around Sagres to the warm and calm waters of Portimão and Albufeira, Algarve has always welcomed divers from around the world more then any other region in Portugal. The Algarve is full of action and is the warmest place in Portugal, just a few hundred miles from Africa and blessed by cool tempered waters. Warm wind and low depths make it the perfect family vacation. Expect to see lots of tourists from all over the world as well as from all parts of Portugal. The Marinas are especially busy with bars, shops and restaurants. Some hotels are fantastic with big swimming pools very close to small rocky beaches. There are also spa facilities, golf courses, a few water parks and a marine zoo. Perfect for open water divers, depths around Albufeira and Portimão range from 10mts to no longer then 24mts. Sandy bottoms with scattered rocks are home for giant nudibranches, shrimps, anemones and sea stars. Near shore the caves are famous for their natural beauty. Diving in Algarve should really be a complement for your vacation to get your whole body refreshed in the warmer days. If you are a dive expert and want some more action, the Sagres area has a lot more diving diversity and opportunities to pump your adrenaline. Algarve is excellent for a cool diving vacation with family members or friends that don’t dive because they will be as happy as you.

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Diving in Sagres is probably the best way to refresh your ideas while staying in the Algarve. Located at the southern west tip of Europe, overlooking the Atlantic, just 40 miles from the center of the Algarve where all the action is. Diving in Sagres is excelent to get away from the city and get to know some of the typical villages, like Vila do Bispo. Famous for it’s caves, walls full of gorgonians and shipwrecks, along with the sunfish and various tipes of nudibranches, there is plenty to see in every dive. In the rocky bottoms arround Sagres, you can expect to see lobstres, different types of shrimp, anemons, cuttlefish, octopusses, several colour gorgonians, from deep pink to electric yellow, they hold innumerous sea life species that are, for sure, the delights for underwater photographers. Some of the caves are massive and play incredible light shows for divers. Arround Sagres are several beaches to relax after diving. Try the local gastronomy to add that fifth star to your day.