Diving Holidays In The Azores
For world class diving you have to travel into the Atlantic to a small collection of islands, The Azores. A set of nine Atlantic Ocean islands, located due west of Portugal, about a third of the way to the USA. The nine islands were formed by ancient volcanoes which left their mark upon the stunning landscapes. The hills and mountains are often rich in vegetation and have a surprise around each corner, maybe a deep crater, a sparkling lagoon, a steaming geyser, a sea of flowers or an incredible view over the ocean.
If you are considering a holiday with some diving, perhaps diving on some purpose sunk wrecks, then Portugal's Algarve coast is accessible and offers a choice of accommodation.
Diving the Azores offers a haven of calm in the mid-Atlantic. The Azores are the perfect retreat for divers who seek unspoilt dive sites. The Azores offer dive sites to suit a variety of experience levels but to get the most from Azores' diving go with a little experience. Steep walls, gentle slopes, volcanic arches, seamounts, caves and islets make the underwater scenarios diverse and unique. The marine life is diverse and abundant with some colourful subtropical fish species. Morays, stingrays, dusky groupers, comb groupers, wrasses, parrot fishes, trigger fishes, breams and damselfishes are common in most dives.
Portugal has some differences in weather between the north and south and between the coastline and places more inland. In general though, summers are warm to hot. Winters average between 15 °C and 20 °C during the day and between 5 °C to 10 °C at night, again from north to south. Nights average around zero though on the higher plateau inland, where temperatures can drop below -10 degrees and snow is certainly not uncommon during the months of December to February.
For diving on mainland Portugal the season is the summer months May - September. In the Azores pelagic fishes like tuna, barracudas, jacks, sardines and mackerels are best spotted from July to September, when the warm Gulf Stream raises sea temperature to about 20-23ºC. Manta Rays are spotted every year around seamounts during July, August and September.
Around 25 resident and migratory whale species can be seen in the blue Atlantic waters. These include resident Sperm Whales and migratory species such as the magnificent Blue Whale which passes the island en route north during the summer months. The Azores whaling community sets an example of how to successfully transform to be reliant on whale conservation rather than whaling. In the Azores you also have a rare opportunity to swim alongside wild dolphins in their wild natural habitat. Just jump off the boat and join in. The dolphin will often approach swimmers out of curiosity, making this a truly exhilarating experience. The numerous species include Orcas, Bottlenose, Spotted and Striped Dolphins.