Diving Madeira vs Faial, Azores , how does it compare?

[tinaCZ]

Hello,

Could someone please advise me if the local diving in Faial, Azores (I mean the local dives around the island, not the dive to Princess Alice) will be similar to the diving in Madeira or much better ?

We have done most of our diving in the Maldives and Seychelles which was simply amazing.

Last year we did five dives in Madeira (Funchal, Garajau National Reserve and Sao Lorenco) and to be honest, it was a little disappointing, there was not so much to see... 2 or 3 dives would have been enough for us. So I am wondering whether the diving near Faial, Azores will be similar , or is there more marine life there than in Madeira ?

We want to make the dive trip to Princess Alice to see the mobulas and mantas (hopefully it will be possible due to weather) , and are wondering how many more regular dives around Faial we actually want to do... We will do one day to check it out for sure, but do we want more?

Many thanks for your input ! We have also other plans in Azores , mtb, trekking, ...., diving is not the main purpose of our trip there...

Second question, the Princess Alice dives, and also the Blue sharks dives, do you just hang by a line for the duration of the dive (not so keen on this ) or are you free to explore in the water ?

Many thanks for your advice!
Tina

 

[David Novo]

I have never done any diving in Madeira so just a few notes:
1) Chilean devilrays (a mobula species) is common in Princess Alice, never heard of any manta sightings;
2) It is possible to see whale sharks there (I saw there my first) but not common;
3) Depending on the current, you can go to the top of the seamount (35m+) and explore but the majority of the action is closer to the surface;
4) I enjoyed my dives around Faial, but I dive all over the world, not just in clear warm water;
5) Blue shark dives are in the blue, the bottom is 300m+ and there are no walls nearby.

 

[JMBL]

I have never done any diving in Madeira so just a few notes:
1) Chilean devilrays (a mobula species) is common in Princess Alice, never heard of any manta sightings;
2) It is possible to see whale sharks there (I saw there my first) but not common;
3) Depending on the current, you can go to the top of the seamount (35m+) and explore but the majority of the action is closer to the surface;
4) I enjoyed my dives around Faial, but I dive all over the world, not just in clear warm water;
5) Blue shark dives are in the blue, the bottom is 300m+ and there are no walls nearby.

Think all the required info has been given above.

Just 2 more details :

- blue whalers are not on speed dial, meaning be ready to wait for a very long time, even with a thorough chumming. I know everybody knows that, but I had the bad luck to be on the boat with a bunch of bozos who decided to abort the dive after 3 hours. When you're alone, it's hard to fight back stupidity.

- wines are great in the Azores, not only fortified ones. Don't leave the Azores without trying them.

 

[tinaCZ]

I have never done any diving in Madeira so just a few notes:
1) Chilean devilrays (a mobula species) is common in Princess Alice, never heard of any manta sightings;
2) It is possible to see whale sharks there (I saw there my first) but not common;
3) Depending on the current, you can go to the top of the seamount (35m+) and explore but the majority of the action is closer to the surface;
4) I enjoyed my dives around Faial, but I dive all over the world, not just in clear warm water;
5) Blue shark dives are in the blue, the bottom is 300m+ and there are no walls nearby.

Thanks for the info and the clarification about mantas! I have actually read it but completely forgoten about it.
Ha ha, I think you are right, I just want to dive in clear warm water. I will check out Faial too.. just not sure how much time to plan for that because it is competing with lot of other possibilities on the island..

 

[tinaCZ]

Think all the required info has been given above.

Just 2 more details :

- blue whalers are not on speed dial, meaning be ready to wait for a very long time, even with a thorough chumming. I know everybody knows that, but I had the bad luck to be on the boat with a bunch of bozos who decided to abort the dive after 3 hours. When you're alone, it's hard to fight back stupidity.

- wines are great in the Azores, not only fortified ones. Don't leave the Azores without trying them.

Wines are on the list - I have already booked an extra suitcase for the wines, just in case

Sharks - I understand, but when you do find them, what do you do ? I have been on two shark dives in the Maldives where you descent to the bottom, hook yourself to a rock in the current, and watch sharks circle you for 20 mins. .. would this be similar, just holding onto a line from the boat?

 

[David Novo]

Wines are on the list - I have already booked an extra suitcase for the wines, just in case

Sharks - I understand, but when you do find them, what do you do ? I have been on two shark dives in the Maldives where you descent to the bottom, hook yourself to a rock in the current, and watch sharks circle you for 20 mins. .. would this be similar, just holding onto a line from the boat?

1) It is not a channel or cleaning station dive as in the Maldives where you use a reef hook;
2) You can be hanging onto a line from the boat;
3) You can stay for a long time and shallow (I did it at 7m for more than an hour);
4) I got no current at all;
5) Sharks were VERY close the whole time (vs my experience in the Maldives), less than half a meter away.