Scuba Diving in/near Sao Paulo, Brazil?

[FauxPas]

G'day all.

I just found out yesterday that I need to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil next weekend (Arrive 23 Sept) for a four day business trip. Since I have both Saturday and Sunday to myself, I was wondering if it is worth trying to find a dive operator in Sao Paulo to do some diving? I did a quick Google search but did not find much and a search on the forums here makes it sound like Sao Paulo is not worth the trouble. I'd really like to make the most of my trip and diving is always the icing on the cake of any business trip!

I'm a certified AOW and Nitrox through SSI and have done almost 50 dives having learned and spent most of my dive life in the colder Southern waters of Australia.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

/Spence

 

[Quero]

Hey Spence
You could try diving the Marine Park off the Sao Paulo coast called 'Laje de Santos' where mantas are reportedly seen from time to time. It's an oceanic rock 22 nm from the coast. Visibility may or may not be good. You can expect to see mostly reef fish like parrot fish, angelfish and damselfish on day dives. Operators that take you to Laje should also have trips to Queimada Grande for just a little more money (it's a bit further to sail), so you could do Laje on one day and Queimada on the next.

You will need to make your way from Sao Paulo (assuming you are in the capital city) to the coast, which you can do on Friday evening, by road. There are buses, but I can't furnish any info in that regard... though you may PM me if you want to talk specifics.

 

[FauxPas]

Thanks heaps, Quero. I appreciate the information and will look into your suggestion!

Cheers!

/Spence