Beluga Submarine

• Partly covered
• From 3
• Children from 10 €
• Booking advised

Two and a half hours east from Funchal marina to the Garajau reserve on a small trimaran with eight underwater windows, so a child sees fish without getting in the water.

Eighteen passengers rather than the hundred a catamaran carries, seating on deck in sun and shade and seating below at the glass, and the part children remember is feeding fish through the windows over the reserve. Reviews divide hard - twenty-six of fifty-three excellent, ten terrible - and the line runs exactly between people who booked a fish trip and people who booked expecting dolphins. The boat moves slowly and does not go looking for them.

Worth knowing: Cash only, which catches people out at the quay, and check-in is twenty minutes before departure at the Cais 8 office. Boots of any kind are banned on board.

Opening hours

Mon

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Tue

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Wed

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Thu

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Fri

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Sat

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Sun

11:00-13:30, 15:30-18:00

Prices

Adult from 12 years 35 €, child up to 11 17.50 €, ages 1-4 10 €, free under 1. Swimming is optional and you bring your own towel and swimsuit.

Season

Two trips a day with no closed season announced, but departures are cancelled for weather and sea state.

Getting there

Prices and opening times change without notice, and on this island they change often. Everything here carries the date it was checked in our research notes; if a place has moved or closed, tell us and we will fix it.