The azores

• Dive together with Mantor and Mobulas
• Dive with Blue Shark and Mako Shark in clear blue water
• The diving suits the more advanced diver

Depending on which island you choose to visit, you will be able to experience completely different types of diving. Princess Alice Bank is one of the Azores' most famous dive sites. It is a deep sea mountain located 50 nautical miles from the island Pico and 45 nautical miles southwest of the island Faial. To get here, a boat trip of about 2,5 hours is needed from the diving center on the island of Pico or Faial. The mountain rises from the depths from a depth of 1500 meters up to 35 meters below the surface. Normally, diving here is carried out with the help of a descent line, as the currents can periodically be strong. The dive site is known for mantas or mobulas that swim between the surface and about 30 meters deep. In addition to these amazing wonderful creatures, there are also Jacks, huge tunas, Baraccudor, Blue Marlin and sharks. Few divers return disappointed from this unique and adventurous dive site. Mobulas are found throughout the region and can also be experienced at, for example, the islands Santa Maria, Terceira, Faial and Sao Miguel. Whale sharks are also seen here quite often, mainly at the eastern islands, and several species of whales also pass here regularly.

Dive with blue sharks and mako sharks

Another very exciting diving experience is diving with Blue Shark and Mako Shark. The dive site is reached after about an hour's boat trip from land from Pico or Faial. The diving takes place in the open sea, which places great demands on divers to have full control over balance, orientation and dive profile. There are no natural reference points such as bottom or wall available. As a rule, however, there is a line to hold on to. Every diver is required to undergo a checkup dive before being allowed to dive here. Before the excursion here, all divers are informed about how to behave in the water and how to recognize potentially dangerous behavior of the sharks. The information also aims to avoid a negative impact on the sharks. It is important that the divers follow the diving staff's instructions carefully. Extreme caution and attention is necessary but the reward of seeing the sharks here is a magical experience and diving experience of a lifetime.

Dramatic diving, amazing diving trip

The Azores offer something for everyone but some dives can involve strong currents and big waves at sea so you should have experience and training and feel safe on and in the sea. To get the most out of the diving, you should have at least an AOW certificate or equivalent. You will need to do at least one checkup dive before you are allowed to go to the more remote locations in the middle of the ocean. SMB (surface marking buoy) is usually a requirement. In addition to an exciting marine life, there are also fantastic rock formations, dramatic drop-offs, wrecks and white sandbars. The sea here is seething with life. Octopuses, echinoderms, shoals of fish, seahorses, nudibranchs and turtles and much more can be seen. The visibility here in the middle of the Atlantic is, as I said, magical many times with sometimes +60 meters. There's a reason the Azores are called Europe's own Galapagos.