Diving in Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil

[cariocasubmarino]

Heading out tomorrow for 2 days' diving in Arraial do Cabo , probably with PL Divers (Operadora de Mergulho em Arraial do Cabo - PL Divers- Home). Will take a look around and post my notes on the local dive shops when I get back. I would of course welcome any advice on local spots, shops, divers, etc, as I should be going back there a few more times in the next few months.

 

[vikingjim]

Am hoping to fit in a day or two of diving in Arraial de Cabo in a couple of weeks time. How was your experience there. Any recommends for dive centers and hotels?
Will be in and out of Brazil for the next year or so so will be looking for quite a few dives.

 

[cariocasubmarino]

So, my experience with PL Divers (linked above) was mostly positive. They're attentive and international, which does not seem to be the norm across the MANY dive shops that have sprung up in town in the last five years. If you're going with a beginner, however, you're going to have to make a scene to make sure they don't take you to the outer waters, where you can get some rather low viz, heavy currents and washing-machine gullies, and coooold water. I told them my girlfriend had just finished her OW and they ignored that, which led to us cancelling her first dive and demanding our money back on it. Second through fourth dives in the inner waters went smoothly, including turtles and seahorses. All in all, Arraial is still a good spot to dive, but if you're forced to choose between there and some of the more famous spots in Brazil (Noronha, Abrolhos), just skip it and save the money. Hope that helps!

 

[vikingjim]

Thanks for the info. Am due there in a couple of days so shall let you know how my experience went. Bit of a delay in getting back to this site as have been out of reach of the net for a bit.

 

[vikingjim]

Tend to agree with you about PL. The lass in the shop speaks good English which was a bonus as my Portuguese is non existent. The dive guide spoke no English but had no problem as one of the other guides from another shop on the boat spoke good English. That and divers are used to communicating using hand signals anyway. Anyone travelling to Arraial who speaks no Portuguese should be prepared for having to use alot of sign language around the place.

Chose a day with rather colder water than usual for the area which also brought in some poorer viz than usual. Coming from colder climes this was not a problem but the local divers found the temperature a bit of a struggle. There was a bit of a washing machine going on with the swell.

Overall enjoyed the diving and found everyone friendly and helpfull. One thing I found strange was that all the kit was loaded up and taken to the boat without you getting a chance to check it out for size etc in the shop.

Intending to go back there for a couple of days in Feb.

The other places you mention,

Noronha, Abrolhos. Can they be reached easily from Rio de Janeiro?​

 

[jmlcv]

Hello, It was a while since you posted this message, but I hope my answer helps you and others here.
If you´re in Rio, you could look out for a dive in "Ilha Grande" and Paraty. There is a very nice liveabord called Antares that takes you to dive in both places. When I dived there, I found Ilha Grande fantastic.
You can go from Rio to Noronha and Abrolhos, but you will most likety fly there.

Noronha is a reservation park, so you have to pay a fee to get to the island. You can pay it upon arrival, or pay in advance through an online form. That saves some time at the airport.
I was in Noronha with my wife in our honeymoon, and it a fantastic place. 5 days there is enough to do some diving and knowing all the places. You may stay longer if you want to dive a lot, since there are lots of dive spots.
One thing you should never forget while browsing the island is sunscreem and bottles of water. Buying them while you go is really expensive.

Later at home, I will go through my notes from Noronha and I can share more if you like.

In Abrolhos I never dived, but people usually like a lot.

I am brasilian, so I will try to help and provide nice info from around... ;-)