Diving in Rio, Iguassu Falls, Florianopolis, or BA?

[chynaxdawl]

Hi,

This is my first time posting...or even visiting this forum. I started my PADI Open Water Diver Certification in the US--have completed the coursework and confined pool dives, and figured I'd complete the rest of the certification/the open water dives while I'm on vacation in South America in early/mid January.

I'll be visiting Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, Florianopolis, and Buenos Aires. Does anyone have recommendations on where and specific dive shops to complete my certification? Since this will be my first time, I'd prefer something easy, with good visibility that's warm, and has good marine/aquatic life.

I'm inclined to do it in Florianopolis since that was the only location I'm going to that has a five-star PADI dive shop on the PADI site.

All suggestions are appreciated...thank you!

 

[Nirvana]

First of all, welcome to the board.

You most certainly can finish your certification in Brazil or, I suppose, Argentina. If you want really warm water, Caribbean-like, you would have to go to Northeastern Brazil (Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas etc). From the Southeastern Brazilian states down south, you start receiving the influence from an ocean current from Antartica, which makes the water colder than what one would like.

It is not to say that diving in Rio can't be pleasant, far from it. There are lots of diving being done in the towns of Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio and Angra dos Reis, all within a 150km radius of the city of Rio. Those are probably the locations of choice for Brazilians divers in the South or Southeast.

I haven't dived in the vicinity of either Florianópolis or Buenos Aires, so I can't say for sure how diving is like over there. If I recall correctly, though, there is a recent thread in the South America sub-forum in which it is stated that there is nowhere to dive near Buenos Aires. You might want to look it up.

As for a recommended diving OP, I can point you towards PL Divers, in Arraial do Cabo.

I hope you have a good time here in Brazil.

 

[chynaxdawl]

Thanks, Nirvana!

What is nicer about diving in Arraial do Cabo than Rio...?

I did see that thread about Buenos Aires and it seems like I should stick to Brazil for diving. I would love to go to Fernando de Noronha but it's too expensive and I don't think I could even get in with peak season and the limitations.

I would prefer to stay very close to the cities I'm visiting...how do people without cars get to/from Rio and towns like Arraial do Cabo...?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Nirvana]

Diving in the city of Rio has a few down sides: the dive sites are not very filled with life, the boat rides are long - as the boats used are slow and they have to leave from a port distant from the islands that are dived - and it is not uncommon for the the boat to return soon after parting due to unfavorable sea conditions.

About the other places I mentioned (Angra dos Reis, Arraial do Cabo and Cabo Frio) all of them have very good dive sites. I advised you to go to Arraial for a few reasons: it is the town most devoted to diving among the three, where it would be easiest to find dive ops; it is the smallest of the three and thus the easiest to go from one place to another on foot; it is where there is an instructor I can direct you to (Paulo Lopes, owner of PL Divers).

You may want to know that Arraial do Cabo is very close to Cabo Frio (just a few minutes away by car). A dive op in Cabo Frio I can recommend (I can't vouch for any instructor there, though) is Litoral Sub.

Angra dos Reis is the one I would put on the bottom of the list. The reason being that the dive ops I know of operate out of small hotels locate very far from the town center. If you do go there, though, I'd point towards Sotto Mare.

About reaching any of these towns, you'd have to either rent a car or take a bus. The buses you'd have to take depart from Rodoviária Novo Rio.

If you do decide to just stay in Rio and dive here, I could give the names a some ops, but I have very limited experience with them and could not vouch for any.

 

[lucianaec]

Hey chynaxdawl. I have lived in Florianópolis for a few years in the past and in the summer it's not that cold. Nirvana is right, there is a cold current, but it depends on the site. Even in florianopolis you have places with cold water and warm water. I don't know exactly how it is in reserva do arvoredo where I think you would be diving. You can also search about Bombas and Bombinhas wich are 100km north of Florianopolis and also a destination for divers. If I were you I'd dive in florianopolis, bombinhas and arraial do cabo, near Rio, especially if it's now, in the summer.

 

[chynaxdawl]

Thanks for all the information, Nirvana!

And thanks, lucianaec...so the diving in Florianopolis is pretty good? I don't need to get out of the city for better spots like Rio...? Is there a dive shop that you can recommend?