Scuba diving Azores

Haliotis Dive Center is located at the Faial Resort Hotel on the island of Faial, Azores. Open from March to November, you have access to showers and changing rooms, an equipment store, a small classroom, and an inflation station. The Haliotis Faial diving school offers PADI courses with Bubblemaker children's diving, Discover Scuba Diver baptisms, and specialties to improve in Digital Underwater Photographer or Aware fish Identification. Go diving onboard Haliotis Faial's semi-rigid boat, The Lioti, 12 meters long, equipped with two 300 HP Yamaha outboard motors. Benches allow divers to sit down during the sea crossing. The access ladder makes it easy and comfortable for them to enter and exit the water. Safety on board is ensured by the presence of an oxygen kit and first aid equipment. A depth sounder allows you to locate the diving spots of Faial, located offshore. You will quickly reach the best dive sites in the Azores, Princess Alice, and Condor. Dives in the narrow channel, 8.3 km wide, between Faial and Pico, are very popular. The climate and ocean currents in the Azores offer unique diving conditions in Faial. Have great encounters with the blue shark (Prionace Glauca) which is the big star in Faial. The diving center Haliotis Faial has even adopted it as its mascot! You can meet it in the open sea but also sometimes in the coastal areas. These sharks seem to become more numerous in Faial as soon as the water temperature varies between 13 and 18°C. Haliotis Faial's instructors will take you to observe these animals with tapered bodies and long and conical snouts, some of them reaching a length of 4 meters and a weight of 205 kg. Be careful, you may have to wait a long time in the water before you can see their big round eyes! [+]

Best Spot Azores Dive Centre is located in Ponta Delgada, on the island of Sao Miguel, Azores. Here you are in a 5 star PADI and AWARE dive center. Nevertheless, PADI training for beginners is in the spotlight with Discover Scuba Diver and Scuba Diver sea baptisms. Choose the 10-dive package with or without equipment rental, if you want to have time to observe pelagic animals. On Best Spot Azores Diving center boats, you have access to around 50 dive sites around Faial Island. Some of the Best Spot Azores dive guides are biologists who give you an educational introduction to the marine life of the Azores. Experienced, they guide you in a calm, relaxed and safe manner. During your diving holiday in the Azores, go on long trips out to sea to observe the passage of rays, tuna, and kingfish in the blue. Take advantage of a diving holiday on Sao Miguel Island to go on snorkeling trips with family and friends, with insurance and equipment included. Best Spot Azores guides explain how to use the equipment, fins, mask, and snorkel and give you technical tips to practice safely. The Best Spot Azores diving club organizes trips to the sea, either for a walk along the coast or for a beautiful encounter with the local fauna, in the middle of the Azores' underwater landscapes, in a zen atmosphere. [+]

Season Challenge Azores Islands Diving Center is located on the marina Pêro de Teive, in Ponta Delgada. Vans with 6 seats are used to transport equipment and clients to their hotels, free of charge. Open all year round from 8 am to 8 pm, the centre has to change rooms with toilets and hot showers. Free tea, coffee, and water are available. See you at the booking office for land and sea activities. A PureAir certified inflation station by Bauer allows the inflation of nitrox and trimix blocks. The rental equipment is from Cressi. Embark for two dives per day, aboard two RIBs of 6 and 14 divers, each equipped with GPS, sonar, VHF, and radar. The 10-meter Challenge, with a capacity of 14 divers, is well prepared for long trips and offshore dives. The Season, 6.25 meters long, with a capacity of 6 divers, is used for small groups and coastal dives. The equipment is carried by the center. If the number of participants is sufficient, day trips are offered with lunch on board. These offshore dives, far from the coast, allow you to observe manta rays in the open sea. Accompanying persons are welcome on board if there is room. PADI courses are offered from beginner to Divemaster level as well as technical diving courses. Take the opportunity to visit Ponta Delgada and its cultural sites, hikes for all levels of difficulty with a guide, and the tour of the island by van to the village and lake of Furnas with Season Challenge Azores Islands Diving Center. [+]

Diver Norberto is located in Horta, on the island of Faial, Azores. Diver Norberto is open all year round. Each of Diver Norberto's boats is dedicated to a specific activity. Embark daily for trips along the coastline at 3 am, 8.30 am, and 2.30 pm in zodiacs to the 20 dive spots on Faial and Pico. The protected marine reserve of Monte da Guia is located 10 minutes from the center. Take advantage of your diving holiday in the Azores to do some snorkeling or a first dive as the trips are open to all. Take the opportunity to observe the fauna of the Azores with triggerfish, large brown groupers, parrotfish, octopus, moray eels, and nudibranchs. Zodiacs are also used for diving at Princess Alice (cheaper but... less comfortable!). Diving holidays in the Azores are also dedicated to whale watching. You can also go on a day trip aboard the 12-meter catamaran from 9 am to 4 pm, for beautiful encounters with sperm whales and dolphins, which are present all year round. From July to September, go and observe blue whales and fin whales during their migrations. A great day out starts at 7.30 am and lasts until 7 pm, when you head to the Princess Alice Bank from July to September. Jump into the water for spectacular dives with blue sharks (Prionace glauca). Instructors and divers stay drifting at a depth of 10 meters, where the chum's fumes diffuse out of the box near the boat. A lifeline is attached to the boat if the current is strong, to assist less experienced divers. You must be a certified diver with a minimum of 30 dives, have an established medical, a pre-dive check and sign a risk acceptance document. Snorkeling is possible. [+]

Azores Sub diving school is located on the south coast of the island of Sao Miguel, Azores, in the marina of Vila Franca do Campo. Azores Sub is open all year round, with daily boat trips at 8:30 am and 2:30 pm. Azores Sub offers PADI courses suitable for beginners with the Discover scuba diver program, which includes snorkeling and a first dive to discover the rich underwater world of Sao Miguel Island. These dives prove to be a unique experience. For the more experienced divers, specialty courses are organized with dry suit diving, Drysuit Diver, or nitrox courses. At Azores Sub Diving Center, the snorkeling and freediving courses are supervised by a certified instructor so that these experiences are unforgettable and done with maximum safety. Participate with Azores Sub Diving center in the sea trips to the most beautiful dive sites of the Azores, the Formigas and Dollabarat reefs. The passage of pelagics such as manta rays and sharks will enchant you if you are patient in the water. The underwater landscapes around Sao Miguel are shaped by volcanic lava with natural arches, passages, caves, and drop-offs. You'll even dive in hydrothermal hot springs! Also, explore the wrecks dotting the areas where ships once anchored off Vila Franca do Campo. You will discover many anchors dating from the 16th century in the middle of schools of yellowmouth barracudas and yellowtail (Seriola rivoliana). In the crevices, find beautiful morays and huge groupers in the beam of your lamp. Diving and snorkeling are relaxing and invigorating activities that everyone can enjoy in the waters of the Azores due to a water temperature ranging from 16°C to 24ºC and visibility up to 30 meters. [+]