Azul Diving Madeira | SSI and PADI dive center in Funchal
Hotel Penha França Mar, R. Carvalho Araújo, São Martinho, 9000-022 Funchal, Portugal, Funchal, Funchal, PRT
About the Center
Azul Diving Madeira is a 5-star PADI and SSI dive center located in Funchal, Portugal. With a strong commitment to excellence and flexibility, they prioritize the experience of each guest, whether diving at Madeira's prime dive sites or embarking on exciting whale and dolphin watching tours. They offer a comprehensive range of PADI and SSI certification courses, including Instructor Development Course, Snorkeling, Boat Diving, and Wreck Diver, all delivered by experienced and certified instructors.
The center boasts various facilities to ensure diver comfort, including lockers, a bar, accommodation, equipment rental, a dive shop, and air fills (including nitrox). They also facilitate boat diving and guided dives, with added services such as airport transfers. Safety is a key priority, coupled with a strong emphasis on fun and environmental sustainability, viewing themselves as ambassadors for the oceans.
Azul Diving Madeira prides itself on its fleet of boats and its dedication to providing memorable diving experiences. For certified divers, they offer daily trips to the Garajau Marine Reserve and the famous Afonso Cerqueira wreck, with a guarantee of 50 bars remaining air or 60 minutes bottom time (computer allowing). Additionally, their whale and dolphin watching tours allow participants to discover Madeira's rich marine life, including Sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, and Common dolphins.
With two locations in Madeira, in Funchal and Ponta de São Lourenço, Azul Diving Madeira is easily accessible. The center speaks multiple languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese, ensuring smooth communication with an international clientele. Their commitment to 5-star service includes handling all diver's gear from arrival to departure, allowing for a more relaxed and enjoyable diving experience.
Available Courses
2 cursosOpen Water Diver PADI/SSI
The Open Water course at Azul Diving runs over three days and follows the PADI curriculum, with eLearning or the latest PADI materials used for the theory component. The Funchal base handles the classroom and pool work, with ocean dives into the Garajau Marine Reserve area — a protected zone that puts certified fish and varied terrain in front of students from their very first real dives. Pool sessions come before each open-water dive, so skills are practiced in a controlled environment before being applied in the sea. The approach is methodical: instructors walk through what will happen on each dive and why, which reviewers note significantly reduces anxiety for nervous beginners. Maria is one of the named Open Water instructors at the centre. The PADI 5 Star rating means the centre operates to the top tier of PADI's quality standards, and instruction is available in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and German, so language barriers are rarely an issue for visiting divers. Completing the course certifies you to dive independently with a buddy to 18 metres worldwide. Azul Diving's location in Funchal means the qualifying dives happen in genuinely interesting water — the same marine reserve where the 2022 European Open Championship of Underwater Photography was held — rather than in a sheltered bay with nothing to look at.
Try Scuba Experience
The Try Scuba at Azul Diving starts in the classroom at the Funchal centre with a theory briefing before anyone touches the water. From there the group moves to the pool for a session with the actual equipment — regulators, BCDs, masks — to get comfortable breathing underwater and handling the kit before the pressure of an open-water environment. Once the pool work is done, the instructor takes participants out to the ocean for a real dive. The target depth is a maximum of 12 metres, and the dive runs roughly 45 to 50 minutes. The Funchal location means the ocean dive takes place close to the Garajau Marine Reserve area, with the resident marine life that comes with a protected zone — groupers, octopus, and whatever the Atlantic brings in that day. Everything you need is included: complete scuba equipment, the pool time, the briefing, and the ocean dive itself. At the end, participants receive a Certificate of Recognition, which is the standard document that allows you to continue with a full certification course later if you decide to take it further. Minimum age is 12. You need to be able to swim. The experience is not suitable for pregnant travellers or people with heart, respiratory, circulatory, or psychological conditions, or those taking prescription medication. You also need to avoid flying within 12 hours of the dive. Public transport serves the Funchal location, which makes logistics straightforward if you're staying in the city centre.
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Frequently asked
What people ask before booking
From Funchal: the Garajau Marine Reserve and the Afonso Cerqueira wreck. From the Ponta de São Lourenço base at Quinta do Lorde Marina: the Ponta de São Lourenço Protected Area. Two-dive trips and single-dive slots run Monday through Saturday depending on the day and departure point.
12 years old. The programme includes a theory briefing, a pool session, and an ocean dive to a maximum depth of 12 metres lasting around 45-50 minutes. Full equipment is provided.
Three days, based on how the course is described in guest reviews. It includes pool sessions for skills practice before moving to open-water dives.
English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and German.
The centre guarantees either 50 bars remaining in the tank or a full 60 minutes of bottom time — whichever comes first. Gear is set up and handled by staff from arrival to departure.
Yes, particularly at Ponta de São Lourenço. The Mediterranean monk seal — fewer than 25 individuals estimated around Madeira and the Desertas Islands — has been spotted at both locations. It's not scheduled, but the centre documents encounters regularly.
Yes, through their partner Blue Safari Madeira. Tours depart from Funchal Marina and target sperm whales, pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, and common dolphins. A marine biologist is on board and sightings are guaranteed.
Funchal: Penha de França Mar, Rua Carvalho Araújo 1, 9000-022 Funchal. Ponta de São Lourenço: Quinta do Lorde Resort, Hotel & Marina, Quinta do Lorde, 9200-044 Machico.
How to get there
Hotel Penha França Mar, R. Carvalho Araújo, São Martinho, 9000-022 Funchal, Portugal, Funchal, Funchal, PRT