Reis Magos

Steps take divers down from Praia dos Reis Magos straight onto a rock wall that runs the length of the beach, starting around 6 metres and dropping to a sandy plateau by about 16 metres; boat divers descend onto the same wall from open water. Seahorses shelter along the rock, in numbers a diver can reasonably count on. Damselfish and ornate wrasse work the shallower stretches, morays sit in the cracks lower down, and cleaner shrimp run their stations inside the wall's anemones. Most of the dive stays in the 12-15 metre band, with the sandy base kept for the last stretch along the bottom of the wall.

Reis Magos's case rests on two things few other Caniço sites offer together: a resident seahorse population and a night dive two independent sources call highly recommended. One catalog source calls this one of the few known places on Madeira to see seahorses, and a second recommends the site specifically after dark, when spider crabs, flounders and large numbers of small bioluminescent fish replace the daytime residents. Cipreia Dive Club runs its operation directly on the beach here, so the dive starts and ends at the centre's own front door instead of a boat transfer.

A Madeira dive catalog lists this as a site for underwater photography alongside all levels and night diving, and another, separately, calls it a favourite among photographers. The subjects are mostly macro: seahorses along the wall, cleaner shrimp working the anemones, and an arrow crab picking its way over the rock. Natural light holds on the upper wall by day; after dark the colour changes, with different species out and a torch doing the work the sun did earlier.

Pleasure-boat traffic passes close to the entry line here, so carry a surface marker buoy. Current strength is disputed: one source calls it calm with no current at all, another logs it as average with occasional strong pulses and swell big enough to make the shore exit difficult. Check the day's read with your centre before committing to a steps entry, and be ready to switch to boat pickup if the surface is rough. Open Water divers are fine for the full 6-16 metre profile.