Santa Maria Island, Hotel Colombo
Santa Maria Island and hotel Colombo are located just outside the town of Vila do Porto. The hotel is large with over 85 rooms and offers a fantastic panoramic view of the island and the sea some distance away. All rooms have air conditioning, TV, internet and minibar. There is a lovely restaurant here that gives a beautiful view out over the island. There is a pool, gym and conference room, and you eat breakfast in the hotel's breakfast room. You can enjoy lunch and dinner at one of the various restaurants in town. It is about one to two kilometers from the hotel. Transport can be booked directly through the hotel.
The diving center is located directly next to the hotel and adjacent to the pool. It's really close to morning before the day's activities at sea begin. Santa Maria is normally the warmest of the Azores islands. It has by far the most hours of sunshine in the year as well. The water temperature is also often a bit higher with temperatures up to 27°C in August-September.
- Room with private bathroom
- Breakfast buffet
- WiFi and TV
- Fitness center
- Air conditioning
- Outdoor pool
Classic room
The Classic rooms are available as single or double rooms with a double bed or single beds. All rooms have air conditioning, private shower/toilet, TV, Minibar, safe and Wi-Fi and offer a balcony with furniture
Dive Center – Haliotis
The Haliotis diving center is right next to the hotel and also offers diving courses. For those who want to learn to dive, this is a nice place. The staff is experienced and knows the dive sites well. The dive center offers good service and they have several boats. Equipment is available for hire and is well maintained. The dive sites are very scattered on Santa Maria Island. Some places are near the marina. Among other things, a wreck lying in shallow water directly on a sandy bottom with lots of marine life. Then there are the slightly more extreme dive sites, Ambrosia, Dollabarat and Formigas. These are usually at least an hour away by boat. It can also take 2-3 hours one way if it is windy and the sea rough. These more remote dive sites require that you have some experience and that you are comfortable being in the sea.
Distant but fantastic encounters in clear blue water
It's a long way from everything here but the marine life can be amazing. Everything from mobulas and blue sharks, whale sharks, sperm whales to pufferfish and dolphins or shoals of thousands of barracudas. The more traditional diving along the coast offers diving at impressive rock formations. You will see different types of crustaceans including the odd bear lobster, seahorses, moray eels, sea bass, schools of fish, octopuses, turtles, nudibranchs and much more.
The RIB boats are designed for diving and take a maximum of 10 divers on day trips. Unfortunately there are none liveaboard which goes here in the Azores. If you go on a diving trip here, diving from smaller boats and accommodation on land applies. Contact us to book your holiday and diving trip to the Azores.
