Cascais & Cabo Raso · Portugal · Reef
Principes
Try-dive reef where nudibranchs, octopus and cuttlefish share 8 m of water
Principes is a shallow training spot off Cascais where a reef rings a bottom no deeper than 8 m. Dive centres use it for try dives and first ocean dives. Visibility tends to be good, and the reef holds bream, wrasses, octopus, cuttlefish and many nudibranchs.
Where it is and how deep
38.6893° N, 9.4242° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
A reef surrounds the site, and the whole dive keeps to 8 m or less. Dive centres use it for training and try dives, as a first experience of the ocean. Visibility is good, and the shallow rock holds bream, wrasses, octopuses, cuttlefish and many nudibranchs.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Cascais & Cabo Raso: Boats run all year; the sea is coolest around March and warmest around September.
Sources
- Principes – ScubaGo dive site — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Cascais & Cabo Raso
Reef
Small passages through the reef top on the swim back to the sand
Countless nudibranchs below the rocky recess that names the site
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Large gorges that look like the Sintra hills on a clear day
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Sheltered bay where an undulate ray turns up on lucky days
Small-spotted catsharks on a rock-and-sand bottom at 24 m
Beach entry onto a reef split by cracks running out from the shore
Similar dives elsewhere
Wreckage and coal at 12 m under a reef that crests at 1.5 m
Shore-entry reef at 7-8 m, the local beginner and refresher dive
Anchors, masts and a sunken buoy on an 8 m harbour bottom
Reef
El Pinque Mushrooms
Tenerife · Spain
Two shallow terraces ending at a pair of mushroom-shaped rock heads