Rhea Dive
SSI dive centre on Porto Santo since 2007, running twice-daily boat trips to 19 named sites with hotel pickup from Campo de Baixo.
Last updated September 2026
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About
Rhea Dive has operated on Porto Santo since 2007, based at Hotel Pestana Porto Santo in Campo de Baixo, with boats departing Marina do Porto Santo. It is a registered tourist entertainment company (no. 1136/2017), licensed by Instituto do Desporto de Portugal, SSI-certified, and a member of the Madeira Promotion Association. The centre publishes an unusually granular map of its own diving: nineteen named sites, each listed with a depth figure, bottom type and minimum certification. Miguel, a PADI and SSI Master Instructor, and Nelson, an SSI Dive Master Instructor, lead a team of nine.
Boats run twice daily, a double morning dive on Nitrox and a single afternoon dive, with hotel pickup, and equipment collected, dried on racks between dives and returned at day's end. The fleet is a 12 m Thalita catamaran (38 divers) and a 7.5 m semi-rigid boat (12 divers), backed by two 9-seat minibuses for transfers. Courses run the SSI ladder from Open Water Diver through Dive Master, alongside freediving levels, a Try Scuba introduction and a course for children; the filling station reaches 40% nitrox. Six languages are offered across the site: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. A day's outing on the boat starts from a minimum of EUR 170 per dive trip.
What divers say
Hotel pickup and equipment handling, drying and storage between dives, comes up again and again in reviews, alongside a dive video offered as a purchasable keepsake, mentioned independently across several years. Instructors Miguel, Nelson and Uwe are named individually and praised for patience and safety briefings. A diver who dived the Cordeca wreck with Rhea Dive in 2025 reported being happy with the outing. Reviews lean strongly positive; the small handful that fall short of the top band show no shared complaint.
Facilities
Pricing
We do our best to show current pricing, but rates may change without notice. Last verified September 2026. Always confirm the latest prices on Rhea Dive's official website before booking.
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Courses
Guided Dives
Other Services
The IFCN protected-area tax applies specifically to the Cordeca wreck dive and is a government charge, not a Rhea Dive fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rhea Dive's own site list some dives beyond what an Open Water or Advanced Open Water diver is trained for?▾
Two of the sites on Rhea Dive's own list carry a mismatch: Baixa do Noroeste is given at 50 metres with Advanced Open Water as the stated minimum, and Ilhéu de Ferro at 18-40 metres with Open Water as the minimum, while SSI's Advanced certification caps at 30 metres (40 with the Deep Diver specialty) and Open Water caps at 18 metres. No second source resolves this; the likeliest explanation is that the figure describes the site's overall depth range rather than a single required certification for the whole dive, but that has not been confirmed. An Open Water diver should not expect to be taken to 40 metres, nor an Advanced Open Water diver to 50, on this listing alone.
What's the minimum age for Rhea Dive's Open Water Diver course?▾
Ten years old, with limitations at ages 12 and 15, and a signed medical statement is required from every candidate.
Is there an extra charge for diving the Cordeca wreck with Rhea Dive?▾
Yes, a EUR 5 IFCN protected-area tax applies specifically to the Cordeca (Corveta General Pereira d'Eça) wreck dive, on top of the trip price; it is a government charge, not a Rhea Dive fee.
Does Rhea Dive pick divers up from their hotel?▾
Yes. The standard day includes hotel pickup with equipment already loaded, a double morning dive with Nitrox followed by a single afternoon dive, and a return drop-off; between dives, equipment can be left on-site and is dried on racks rather than carried back and forth.
Can someone without a certification try diving or freediving with Rhea Dive?▾
Yes, a Try Scuba Diving introduction is offered separately from the certification courses, alongside a Basic Freediving level for anyone new to freediving; children have their own Scuba Diving for Children programme.
Can you buy a video of the dive?▾
Yes, a filmed video of the dive is offered as a paid souvenir, an add-on independently mentioned by several reviewers across different years.
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