Carrapateira Kelp Garden
Dive site
Between the surf breaks of Bordeira and Amado, the Carrapateira peninsula shelters a series of rocky reefs dense with Laminaria kelp from 3 to 12 m depth, transitioning to open rock encrusted with cup corals, hydroids, and anemones below the canopy. Bull rays rest motionless on sand patches adjacent to the kelp at 8 to 15 m, often in groups of three or four, making this one of the most reliable bull ray sites on mainland Portugal. Common spiny lobster emerge from holes at dusk for night dives; common octopus change colour through the kelp fronds; and the occasional angel shark lies buried on sand in autumn. Cold Atlantic upwelling keeps visibility low after storms but delivers nutrients that sustain unusually high invertebrate density for an Atlantic kelp site.
Conditions
Depth
3 to 22 m
Open water and up
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
6 to 15 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
13 to 21°C
5mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
| Vis (m) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Current | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | calm | calm | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate |
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