The Azores, a nine-island Portuguese volcanic archipelago in the mid-North Atlantic, is Europe's premier big-animal dive destination, built around summer seamount expeditions: sicklefin devil ray carousels at Princess Alice Bank, baited blue-shark dives over the Condor seamount off Faial, and whale-shark encounters off Santa Maria in warm years.
Destination info
Conditions, highlights, and the resident marine life.
Conditions
Water and air temperature across the year.
WaterAirDryShoulderWet
Description
Scattered across roughly 600 km of open Atlantic about 1,500 km west of mainland Portugal, the Azores deliver temperate-water, blue-water diving that revolves around volcanic seamounts rather than coral reefs. The diving hub is the central group around Faial and Pico (Horta and Madalena harbours), the launch point for the archipelago's signature trips: Princess Alice Bank — a seamount discovered by Prince Albert I of Monaco's 1896 expedition, its summit at about 35 m some 45–50 nautical miles (a ~3-hour crossing each way) southwest of Faial — where sicklefin devil rays circle divers in open water, and the Condor seamount about 10 nautical miles from Faial, where baited blue-water dives reliably draw 5–15 blue sharks and the occasional shortfin mako. Santa Maria in the southeast adds the Ambrósio reserve's devil-ray groups just 3 nautical miles offshore plus, in some warmer years, whale sharks; São Miguel has the Dori Liberty-ship wreck minutes from Ponta Delgada; Terceira contributes a 16th–20th-century anchor graveyard in the Bay of Angra's underwater archaeological park; and the remote Formigas/Dollabarat nature reserve (protected since 1988) sits 41 nautical miles from São Miguel. The honest caveats: water is temperate (16–18°C in winter, 22–24°C in late summer — thick wetsuits or semi-dry even in season), the offshore bank trips run only around July–September and cancel on Atlantic weather, encounters are wild and unguaranteed, and the marquee sites demand advanced certification and real blue-water comfort. The Azores are also one of the world's great whale-watching grounds — some 28 cetacean species including resident sperm whales — but cetaceans are watched from boats: swimming with whales is prohibited by the regional code of conduct.
Highlights
What makes this dive worth the trip.
Princess Alice Bank, a mid-Atlantic seamount whose summit rises to about 35 m, lies 45–50 nautical miles southwest of Faial and Pico — roughly a 3-hour boat crossing each way — and is dived for its summer carousels of sicklefin devil rays (Mobula tarapacana), with visibility up to 40 m and moderate-to-strong currents that make it a trip for experienced divers only (Advanced Open Water minimum).
The devil rays at Princess Alice are scientifically remarkable: 15 Mobula tarapacana fitted with pop-up satellite tags at the seamount in 2011–2012 were recorded descending past 1,800 m at vertical speeds up to 6.0 m/s into water below 4°C — among the deepest, fastest dives documented for any fish (Thorrold et al., Nature Communications, 2014).
Baited blue-water dives over the Condor seamount, about 10 nautical miles from Faial and equally accessible from Pico, typically put divers face-to-face with 5 to 15 blue sharks on a single dive — the experience that made the Azores Europe's blue-shark capital.
Marine life
28 species you’re likely to encounter on a dive here.
Dive sites
6 signature sites at this destination.
Princess Alice Bank
A remote open-ocean seamount 45–50 nautical miles southwest of Faial and Pico, discovered in 1896 by Prince Albert I of Monaco's research vessel. The summit plateau sits at about 35 m (least depth ~29 m on the western edge) with drop-offs into abyssal water on all sides; dives follow a descent line to the top of the bank while sicklefin devil rays, amberjacks and occasional Galapagos sharks circle in the blue. The crossing takes around three hours each way and doubles as a whale- and seabird-spotting trip, but the site's depth, exposure and distance from help make this strictly an experienced diver's expedition, offered only in the July–September weather window.
5–60 madvancedDay boatStrongVisibility 15–40 m
Condor Bank (blue shark dive)
A large protected seamount roughly 10 nautical miles from Faial (the bank stretches ~39 km, its shallowest zone near 185–200 m), where demersal fishing has been prohibited since June 2010 — the first protected seamount in the Azores. The shark dive itself is a shallow blue-water drift: divers hang at 5–15 m beneath the boat over hundreds of metres of open water while crews draw in blue sharks with bait (without feeding them); 5–15 blues on a dive is typical and shortfin makos make occasional appearances. There is no reef and no bottom reference, so good buoyancy and comfort in open ocean matter more than depth skills.
5–20 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 15–30 m
Baixa do Ambrósio
A marine-reserve seamount about 3 miles off Santa Maria's northwest coast, 40 minutes by boat from Vila do Porto. Most divers simply hold the anchor cable at 5–15 m while summer groups of sicklefin devil rays circle within metres, joined by schools of almaco jacks, yellowmouth barracuda and bluefish; a small platform at 46 m offers a deeper option for technical divers, and ocean sunfish and (rarely) whale sharks pass through in late summer. The shallow hang makes it accessible to relatively new divers — and even snorkellers — when conditions cooperate, though the site is exposed and currents run moderate to strong.
5–50 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 15–30 m
Dori Wreck
A WWII-built American Liberty ship — one of the few of its class to have taken part in Operation Overlord off Normandy — that sank 800 m off Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, on 16 January 1964 and now lies on sand as a protected underwater archaeological park where fishing is prohibited. The 130 m hull sits with the top of the stern at just 9 m and the bow at about 20 m, making it suitable for all certification levels, night dives and even snorkelling; the largely intact stern shelters clouds of juvenile fish, schools of Moroccan white seabream around the boilers, and passing barracuda and amberjack. Only 5 minutes by boat from Ponta Delgada marina. Position pin is approximate (charted ~800 m off the city shore).
9–21 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 10–20 m
Formigas & Dollabarat Bank
A nature reserve since 1988 (and Ramsar site since 2008), the Formigas islets and the nearby Dollabarat bank rise from deep water between São Miguel and Santa Maria — a 41-nautical-mile, ~2-hour crossing from Vila Franca do Campo offered only in July–September. Pristine, fishing-free rock walls and plateaus hold dense dusky and island groupers, barred hogfish and white trevally, while the blue brings wahoo, tunas, yellowmouth barracuda, devil rays and occasional smooth hammerheads or Galapagos sharks. Strong currents, big swell and total remoteness (a naval patrol is the only company) make this one for experienced divers; on calm days the clarity over the banks is among the best in the archipelago.
5–60 madvancedDay boatStrongVisibility 20–40 m
Cemitério das Âncoras (Cemetery of Anchors)
Part of the Underwater Archaeological Park of the Bay of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira (designated 2005–2006), this site preserves around 40 anchors lost by ships sheltering in the bay between the 16th and 20th centuries — Angra was the Atlantic crossroads of the Portuguese India and Americas routes. Two buoys mark the entries: the first anchors appear at 16 m on rock, most lie between 22 and 32 m on mixed rock and sand, and a massive inverted anchor waits at 35 m. Weak currents and a 3-minute boat ride from Angra harbour make it an easy, history-rich dive, though the deepest anchors are best left to experienced divers.
16–35 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 10–25 m
Where to dive & stay
Local dive centers, resorts, and hotels.
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