Santa Iria
Dive site · Portugal
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
60Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: Sea 1.1 m, Visibility about 25 m, Water 20 °C
Tue 3 · 66 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 18°C
Wed 4 · 60 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.5 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 61 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.4 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 19°C
Sat 7 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 17°C
Sun 8 · 38 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 11 kn
- Gusts
- 22knboats in
- Air
- 17°C
Mon 9 · 5 out of 100
- Sea
- 4.2 m
- Wind
- 25 kn
- Gusts
- 35knboats in
- Air
- 18°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 257, fair
- Tue 366, good
- Wed 460, good
- Thu 561, good
- Fri 673, good
- Sat 769, good
- Sun 838, poor
- Mon 95, poor
- Tue 105, poor
- Wed 115, poor
The site in six facts
- Down to 20 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 20 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces Nswell from there reaches it
- Best Jul–Aug6 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 57, fair | 1.6 m | 8 kn | 12kn | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 66, good | 1.3 m | 6 kn | 10kn | 18°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 60, good | 1.5 m | 4 kn | 8kn | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 61, good | 1.4 m | 12 kn | 19kn | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 73, good | 1.1 m | 4 kn | 8kn | 19°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 69, good | 1.2 m | 7 kn | 16kn | 17°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 38, poor | 1.3 m | 11 kn | 22knboats in | 17°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 5, poor | 4.2 m | 25 kn | 35knboats in | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 5, poor | 5.0 m | 23 kn | 31knboats in | 16°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 5, poor | 5.2 m | 23 kn | 35knboats in | 17°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovLow 00:43 −0.4 mHigh 07:13 +0.5 mLow 13:51 −0.5 mHigh 20:04 +0.4 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:09 −0.4 mHigh 08:33 +0.6 mLow 15:09 −0.5 mHigh 21:20 +0.4 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:23 −0.5 mHigh 09:41 +0.6 mLow 16:10 −0.6 mHigh 22:19 +0.5 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Jul–Aug
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May4of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep4of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Santa Iria on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Santa Iria
A reef dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces N: swell from the N reaches it, and wind from the S blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 15 km away. The sea is about 16°C in March, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 24°C in August, its warmest (5 mm wetsuit). For Advanced divers the best months are usually July and August, with about 6 good days in 7; in January, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ribeira Grande. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 20 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 15 km away.
Water about 20°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 25 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Aug and Sep (about 30 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$811–US$1,550 each
about US$811–US$1,550 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to PDL, estimated from distance and season, changing at JFK, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$382–US$797 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$47–US$80 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$181–US$301 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$201–US$375 |
| Total | about US$811–US$1,550 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Ribeira Grande
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 5 min by car · 31 places to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Ribeira Grande its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$67 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 15h
About 15h door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → PDL, changing at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), then 40 min by road
Flights ORD → PDL on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Ribeira Grande · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Ribeira Grande · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
AZORES SUB dive center 15 km
Season Challenge diving center 18 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Cowfish Tursiops truncatusWhale or dolphin
Seen in 3 records.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS, through OBIS; common names from Wikidata. Largest datasets here: CETUS. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.