Reefwander
Flat rock ledges and a small sandy beach below a sea wall and pale cliff, with waves breaking on the left under a clear sky — Praia da Poça - House Reef, Cascais & Cabo Raso.

Cascais & Cabo Raso · Portugal · Reef

Praia da Poça - House Reef

Beach entry onto a reef split by cracks running out from the shore

Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0

The house reef at Praia da Poça in Estoril is a shore dive straight off the beach. A small sand bank faces south, ringed by reef cut with north–south cracks, between 1.5 and 8 m. Octopus, cuttlefish, sea bass and conger live on the reef.

Also known as Praia da Poça, Praia da Poca.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Praia da Poça - House Reef: typical dive 1.5–8 m (5–26 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit1.5 m8 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

38.7017° N, 9.3915° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

From the beach exit, facing south, divers reach a small sand bank surrounded by reef that extends east, south and west. The reef sits between 1.5 and 8 m and is cut by cracks running north to south, perpendicular to the coast. Various species of fish live here, along with octopus, cuttlefish, sea bass and conger.

Marine life and season

  • Octopus & cuttlefish
Month-by-month season rating for Praia da Poça - House Reef
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Cascais & Cabo Raso: Boats run all year; the sea is coolest around March and warmest around September.

Dive videos

Polvo · Joaojcorreia on YouTube

Sources

  1. Praia da Poça - House Reef – ScubaGo dive site — ScubaGo
  2. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

Photo credits

More dive sites in Cascais & Cabo Raso

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Sheltered bay where an undulate ray turns up on lucky days

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Small-spotted catsharks on a rock-and-sand bottom at 24 m

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Try-dive reef where nudibranchs, octopus and cuttlefish share 8 m of water

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