Madeira Diving Atlas
The Garajau Marine Reserve on the south coast east of Funchal has been a strictly protected marine reserve since 1986. To get to Garajau Beach, you drive or take the cable car down from Cristo Rei and enter the water from the shore. In Caniço de Baixo, a dive centre is located right at its house reef within the reserve. Fishing is prohibited throughout the area, and dive boats may only moor at the mooring buoys. Off Cabo Girão lies the corvette Afonso Cerqueira, which was sunk in 2018 to create an artificial reef. The ferry to Porto Santo departs daily from Funchal, and two more sunken ships lie off the island.
This guide is written for divers who either drive to the dive sites themselves or dive through a dive centre. Each profile gives the shore entry point and parking information, and the compass rose shows you which wind conditions make the site unsuitable. Sample weeks with Plan B combine the sites into dive days. Above water, you’ll find accommodation near the dive sites, restaurants and excursions, with a map link for each location. Finally, there are sections on getting there, travel information, and emergencies and recompression chambers.
You’ll receive an A5-format PDF that you can read on your phone or tablet while on the go and print as a booklet at home.