Portinho da Areia Sul

Swimming from the beach towards West you'll find a series of canyons with vertical rock walls from 12m up to 3m deep. These are covered with sponges, soft coral (fam. Alcyoniidae), dozens of species of nudibranchs and other molluscs like octopuses, cuttlefish and squids. Local law and the heavy small boat traffic makes the use of signalling buoys mandatory. In spite of the shallow depth, divers should use SMBs for ascending to the surface. Current may be moderate so one should pay attention to the direction before starting the dive (start against the current so the way back will be helped by the current). Arriving at Peniche, go to the left towards the harbor and continue to the fortress ("Fortaleza"). Continue straight ahead towards Portinho da Areia. There's a restaurant near the beach with a parking lot. Portinho da Areia Sul is also known as Portinho da Areia.