Just south of Lisbon, the Setubal municipality is home to many Sesimbra dive centers offering a variety of daily boat dives. Numerous dive sites sit just offshore here, including the famous Arrábida National Park and several great wreck dives.

The reef diving is spectacular, with deep rocky reefs, walls, and underwater caves. Wreck divers will love the many shipwrecks, which provide excellent habitat to a variety of fish species.
Sesimbra diving is also fantastic for macro lovers, where you can spot colorful blennies, nudibranchs, and even seahorses at select dive sites.

Although Sesimbra dive centers are open year-round, the best time to go scuba diving in Sesimbra is from April to October, when the water and air temperatures are warmest. Although air temperatures can reach 27C/81F in the summer, the water does not exceed 22C/71F, so you will still want to bring a wetsuit.

Scuba diving in Sesimbra is a wreck diver's dream. This area of Portugal's coast is littered with historic shipwrecks like the famous Nigerian cargo ship, River Gurara. 

Reef diving is also spectacular here, where you will find beautiful underwater topography perfect for wall diving, cavern diving, and cave diving. Sesimbra is home to Portugal's first underwater marine park, Arrábida National Park, which is now one of mainland Portugal's most popular dive locations.

Sesimbra diving is teaming with marine life. Between the fantastic natural reefs and many shipwrecks, there is no shortage of habitat for the wide variety of Atlantic fish species that call these waters home.

Amongst the colorful gorgonian and anemone-filled reefs, you can see many fish species like snapper, pigfish, sunfish (mola mola), cuttlefish, sea bream, blennies, triggerfish, and even seahorses. Living in the reef, you can see lobsters, spider crabs, conger eels, and nudibranchs while diving in Sesimbra.

Arrábida National Park - Arrábida National Park is the first marine park established in continental Portugal and one of the most popular dive areas in this region. Come explore the beautiful sheer underwater cliffs that make this site famous.

River Gurara Proa Wreck - Diving in the Lisbon Region is not complete without exploring this famous wreck. This Nigerian cargo ship sank during a storm in 1989 and is now host to a rich array of marine life.

Jardim das Gorgónias - One of the most popular dive sites in Sesimbra, Jardim das Gorgónias is easy to navigate and home to amazing biodiversity.

Baia da Armação - This small bay is an excellent site to encounter the elusive seahorse this area is famous for. The unique-looking sunfish (mola mola) is also frequently seen here.

Baleeira - This dive site is accessible by shore or boat. Done as a shore dive, Baleeira is a great dive for beginners to see lots of marine life. Advanced divers can access this site by boat to get to deeper waters.