Diving Brazil in March- need lots of advice

[WPBdiver]

I was hoping to get some recomendations on charters in the following Brazilian cities- Santos, Guaruja, Ubatuba, Ilha Bela, Anngra dos Deis and Fernando de Noronha.

Any information will be helpful as I am starting from scratch. My wife is from Brazil, but she does not dive and will not be with me on the dive boats. Her Portugues will get me to the boat, but then I will be on my own with my very limited understanding of the language. So an operation that has a DM/anybody that speaks English would be a plus.

I also know almost nothing of what to expect. What do trips usually cost in $USD? What are the customs for tipping the crew? What should I expect of the UW environment? Water temps? Any specific dive sites to request? You get the idea.

Thanks for your help.

 

[miketsp]

I was hoping to get some recomendations on charters in the following Brazilian cities- Santos, Guaruja, Ubatuba, Ilha Bela, Anngra dos Deis and Fernando de Noronha.

Any information will be helpful as I am starting from scratch. My wife is from Brazil, but she does not dive and will not be with me on the dive boats. Her Portugues will get me to the boat, but then I will be on my own with my very limited understanding of the language. So an operation that has a DM/anybody that speaks English would be a plus.

I also know almost nothing of what to expect. What do trips usually cost in $USD? What are the customs for tipping the crew? What should I expect of the UW environment? Water temps? Any specific dive sites to request? You get the idea.

Thanks for your help.

OK. In the Santos / Guaruja region, the only decent diving is "Laje de Santos" (22nm out from Santos) and "Queimada Grande".
Laje de Santos is an ecological park so there is some control over the operators and dive boats. There are regular weekly trips by most of the dive boats operating out of Santos/São Vicente.
Queimada Grande is another island about 37miles out from São Vicente or 20 miles out from Itanhaem if you want a shorter boat ride.
Normally Laje is around R$190 to 200 for a 2 cylinder outing.
Queimada Grande is a little more but I haven't looked at the pricing since the last fuel price increase when Laje increased from 160 to 190.
Exchange rate is around R$2.30=USD1.00.

I can't really comment on Ubatuba or Ilha Bela as I don't normally dive them. From talking to colleagues the inshore sites are pretty basic with poor vis but there are some reasonable sites at the end of a longer boat trip. From São Paulo the cost&time/benefit is poor compared to Ilha Grande.

Iwould say, try to hit Angra dos Reis. You'll get more search results on Google if you look for Mergulho Ilha Grande. Some good diving. I like Parcel do Coronel & Queimada Pequena.
There are pousadas on Ilha Grande like the Nautilus where you can do a night dive right off the steps.
There is also quite a good liveaboard Luz do Dia (I've used it 4 times) and I'm now getting mailers for a new Catamaran (Guruça) which appears to be faster and is getting down to the better sites on the outside of Ilha Grande

As for Noronha, no question - some of the best diving in the world, but depending on when in March you intend to go it may already be too late to book.
I booked up 4 months ago for Carnival week (end of Feb, beginning of March) and got some of the last available plane seats. So you'll probably have to find an operator that has a block booking with space or go on a waiting list. It will probably be difficult to get a pousada at this late date.
A 2 cylinder outing was around R$180.00 when I last checked.
We'll be diving with Aguas Claras but there's really not much difference from Atlantis or Noronha Divers.

If you can't get Noronha then I would say your second best option is my favourite, Recife. Some excellent diving on dismantled wrecks from 24m to 48m. Again prices around R$190.00. There is also a Corvette at Recife (55m) but it's a long boat run and around R$400.00.

We do not normally tip in Brazil but I do on liveaboards and when diving the same boats several days running and when I get exceptional service. Tips are well appreciated and are nowhere near the level of the US sphere of influence.

You also have some good options at Guarapari (Espirito Santo) and Abrolhos (liveaboard trips run from Caravelas).

PS. Also Arraial do Cabo (RJ) offers some good diving.

 

[Hawkeye Mark]

I'll agree on Ilha Grande. We were there last XMAS. Stayed in the main town. Used Elite Dive Center. Definitely a worthwhile place to go. Really liked the suRface action.

I do not understand much Portuguese although my wife is from Brazil. I guess I'm a redneck as I insist we speak English in America. Anyway I didnt have any trouble even with a limited command of the language.

 

[WPBdiver]

Thanks for the great information. We just got our plane tickets today and now I need to start booking the dive trips. You have me nervous about the lead time for booking dive trips in Noronha. We are going to try tonight. Luckily, we won't be in Noronha until 3/13 which is after Carnival, so maybe I am okay. We already have our flight and are booked at Posada Sueste.

I have a few questions-

You mention 22nm and 37nm boat trips to Laje de Santos and Queimade Grande. Are these 2 tank day trips or do they involve an overnight stay on the islands? Just longer boat trips than I am accostomed too without it being a liveaboard.

I get the idea that the best diving is well off shore. Is there no worth while diving along the coast from Sao Paulo to Rio?

We are going to try to get to Mergulhu Ilha Grande as suggested. Unfortunately, our stay in Recife is only three hours to change planes, but we may try change the plans and stay a day.

Thanks again for your help. I will let you know how fair in booking the diving in Noronha.

 

[miketsp]

Thanks for the great information. We just got our plane tickets today and now I need to start booking the dive trips. You have me nervous about the lead time for booking dive trips in Noronha. We are going to try tonight. Luckily, we won't be in Noronha until 3/13 which is after Carnival, so maybe I am okay. We already have our flight and are booked at Posada Sueste.

If you already got flights to Noronha and a pousada then you shouldn't have any problems getting space on the boats provided you contact the operator before you go.
If you leave this until you get there then obviously the risk is higher.

You mention 22nm and 37nm boat trips to Laje de Santos and Queimade Grande. Are these 2 tank day trips or do they involve an overnight stay on the islands? Just longer boat trips than I am accostomed too without it being a liveaboard.

Laje and Queimada Grande are 2 tank day trips. You can't land on the islands and especially at Laje you wouldn't want to - a lot of dangerous snakes.
Laje normally is a 1hour 40minutes run. Sometimes as fast as 1hour 10minutes when they need to get under the low Ponte Pensil bridge at São Vicente before high tide.

I get the idea that the best diving is well off shore. Is there no worth while diving along the coast from Sao Paulo to Rio?

We are going to try to get to Mergulhu Ilha Grande as suggested. Unfortunately, our stay in Recife is only three hours to change planes, but we may try change the plans and stay a day.

Inshore diving on the São Paulo coast is generally not worth the hassle.
At Angra/Ilha Grande you don't have to go too far to get a good dive.

Real pity to go through Recife and not dive there. Personally it's my favourite place.
We normally use Projeto Mar.
http://www.projetomar.com.br/
If you do get a chance to dive there tell Joel that Michael said hello.
We dive there almost every year end.

 

[WPBdiver]

If you already got flights to Noronha and a pousada then you shouldn't have any problems getting space on the boats provided you contact the operator before you go.
If you leave this until you get there then obviously the risk is higher.


Laje and Queimada Grande are 2 tank day trips. You can't land on the islands and especially at Laje you wouldn't want to - a lot of dangerous snakes.
Laje normally is a 1hour 40minutes run. Sometimes as fast as 1hour 10minutes when they need to get under the low Ponte Pensil bridge at São Vicente before high tide.



Inshore diving on the São Paulo coast is generally not worth the hassle.
At Angra/Ilha Grande you don't have to go too far to get a good dive.

Real pity to go through Recife and not dive there. Personally it's my favourite place.
We normally use Projeto Mar.
http://www.projetomar.com.br/
If you do get a chance to dive there tell Joel that Michael said hello.
We dive there almost every year end.

Thanks again for the great information. We are really going to try to change our flight plan in order to dive Recife. As it stands right now we are ending our trip by flying from Noronha to Sao Paulo through Recife only to leave for Miami from Sao Paulo the next day. If we can get to Miami out of Recife the problem is solved. Many thanks.

 

[WPBdiver]

Hey Mike, by chance are you an ex-pat with Motorola? I just remembered they had a plant in Sao Paulo. My brother Paul was an EE with them and ex-patted to Seoul a few years ago.

 

[miketsp]

Hey Mike, by chance are you an ex-pat with Motorola? I just remembered they had a plant in Sao Paulo. My brother Paul was an EE with them and ex-patted to Seoul a few years ago.

No, Motorola is a competitor of the company I work for - another telecoms multinational..