Maceió & Praia do Francês

Diving here runs from two places. In the city, a dive shop on Pajuçara beach runs the boats: the Eufrásio reef lies about 5 km from the coast, some 20 minutes out, and the wrecks are roughly an hour's ride away. Twenty kilometres from the capital, at Praia do Francês, a recreational centre has dived the bay since 2009; no boat is needed there, and the dives go out every day at low tide. First-timers start in the natural pool at Pajuçara.

The Eufrásio reef is a mostly flat rock formation 70 m long, broken by a few plateaus, at a depth of 18 m. Maceió's three large wrecks, the Draguinha, Dragão and Sequipe, lie at an average of 30 m; the Draguinha is 50 m long, and a giant moray keeps watch from a crack in its hull. The Praia do Francês reef goes no deeper than 10 m, and octopus hide in its dens. When the wind drops in the season, visibility passes 30 m.

Maceió suits a mixed group: new divers on try dives at Praia do Francês and in the Pajuçara pool, certified divers on the Eufrásio reef and the Praia do Francês reef, and advanced divers on the wrecks. June to August is a poor time to come, with unsettled weather, rain and strong wind that make diving hard. Maragogi is a separate base with its own dive centre.