Adventure Dives in São Miguel, Azores

Discover the best diving spots with expert, local guides who know the island like the back of their hand.

Go out exploring with a team of expert and certified scuba divers who love nothing more than unveiling the most exquisite marine life and diving spots around the Azores island.

You can bring your own gear or alternatively, you can rent it onsite for a reasonable price. Sao Migual has more then 50 scuba diving spots that range from wrecks to lava structures.

Below is an example of the of the scuba diving spots you could visit:
Amora
Average depth: 15 metres
Maximum depth: 28 metres
Currents: Moderate
Dive types
· Deep
· Coastal
Ideal place for
· Underwater photography

Amora is located in the South coast of São Miguel Island, between Ponta Garça and Ribeira Quente. Unlike other diving spots, this one is characterised by the absence of rock formations. Instead, it features quite large pebbles over a seabed of sand.

The dive starts at 15/16 m deep, descending to 28 m of maximum depth, where large jewfishes live. During the dive, you will enjoy the company of barred hogfishes (Bodianus scrofa), Ballan wrasses (Labrus bergylta), Mediterranean parrotfishes (Sparisoma cretense) and blacktail combers (Serranus atricauda).

Spread through the peddle area there are Mediterranean rainbow wrasses (Coris julis), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), white seabreams (Diplodus sargus cadenati), moray eels (Muraena augusti) and salema porgy (Sarpa salpa).

Into the blue it is common to find large shoals of blue jack mackerels (Trachurus picturatus), amberjacks (Seriola spp.) and yellowmouth barracudas (Sphyraena viridensis).

Âncoras do Ilheu
Average depth: 16 metres
Maximum depth: 22 metres
Dive types:
· Coastal Reef
· Shipwreck
Ideal place for
· Night dives
Underwater photography
· Diving Baptism
Diving experience
· Open Water

The dive site consists of a small reef, about 40 m long, situated just off of the Vila Franca Marina, midway between the coast and the Vila Franca do Campo Islet. It has a number of archaeological remains, in particular centuries-old anchors, which bear witness to the historical importance of Vila Franca do Campo, the first capital of the island.

The site is 14 metres deep, with the sandy seafloor at a depth of 22 metres. There are approximately a dozen anchors, the earliest dating back as far as 300 years ago and the largest over 2 metres long. Its proximity to the marine reserve of the Vila Franca do Campo Islet means this is also an interesting site for marine life. It is common to find several species of moray eels and nudibranchs, while along the sandy seafloor you may spot large common stingrays (Dasyatis pastinaca) and small surmullets (Mullus surmuletus).

Arcos da Caloura
Average depth: 12 metres
Maximum depth: 18 metres
Dive types
· Coastal
· Cave
Ideal place for
· Night dives
· Underwater photography
· First dive
· Snorkelling
Diving experience
· All Divers

Located only 300 metres from the coast in a sheltered bay, Arcos da Caloura is a great place for snorkelling and all types of dive.

The top of the reef lies at a depth of 5 metres, dropping to 20 metres. At 16 metres you can find one of the four entrances to an impressive cave - the main attraction of this spot. Inside the cave it is common to see schools of large white trevallies as well as some resident dusky groupers (Epinephelus marginatus). The ceiling of the cave is regularly filled with dozens of different species of nudibranchs.

Around the cave there are many different smaller species, including several species of moray eels, Guinean puffers (Sphoeroides marmoratus), Mediterranean rainbow wrasses (Coris julis), wide-eyed flounders (Bothus podas), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), salema porgies (Sarpa salpa), Azores chromis (Chromis limbata), parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense), and blacktail combers (Serranus atricauda).