Highlights
- This 5* PADI IDC center has been operating since 2004 and has plenty of insider knowledge to share
- With the blue shark as its mascot, Haliotis Faial Island offers guaranteed encounters with these magnificent creatures
- Dive with large groups of manta rays and enjoy a constant presence of moray eels
- When diving in the Azores, you can expect great visibility and an abundance of underwater life, plus several reserves offering a good variety
Description
Haliotis Dive Center operates around Faial Island in the Azores. The Faial island is part of the central group of islands and it is the western vortice of the so called “Islands of the Triangle”, together with São Jorge and Pico islands beeing arround 3 nautical miles appart.
Faial island is the farmost ocidental island of the central group of islands in the Azores, separated from Pico island by a strait with the lenght of aproximately 4,5 nautical miles know as Faial channel.
Due to its location you will only need light clothing with something warmer for the nights. It is recomended to bring some rainproof clothing because rain is failry frequent specialy in the months from October to April.
It is in the sea that lies the greatest wealth of the Azores with the abundance of hundreds of species of molluscs and fish and large mammals such as whale and dolphin.
In Faial the diving season is only from June to October, due to adverse weather conditions in winter, fall and early spring.
The dive offers very easy dives with lots of life, small caves and some shipwrecks, with the highlights being the dive on the Princess Alice bank, where the sighting of mantas is regular, and the shark dives where the blue shark can be seen.
The water temperature varies between 18ºC and 21ºC and the visibility between 10 and 20 meters. On more remote dives, such as Princess Alice, visibility reaches up to 40 meters and the water temperature can reach 24ºC. A 5mm or 7mm suit is recommended.
The dives are made in semirigid boat ("Lioti" semi-rigid VALIANT Patrol with 12 meters, with two Yamaha off-board 300 horsepower engines, with sounder, d-gps, oxigen kit and first aid kit; and is equipped with travelling seats and access ladders.). Normally, we do not return to the boarding dock between dives, the surface interval being carried on board. To get to the bank Princess Alice the trip is about two and a half hours, for each side.
The dive in the Atlantic Ocean is very dynamic and the conditions vary from day to day, it is recommended to take seasickness pills, especially for those more susceptible to weather conditions..
In Haliotis Dive Center you can find a store, changing rooms with hot shower, scuba dive equipments for rental and a Bauer compressor.
In our dive center we do double dive trips from 8am to 2pm - 2 dives in different spots with surface interval onboard. We also provide single dive trips (1 dive) and night dive trips.
The diving trips includes 12L tanks, weights and belt, dive guide, insurance, boat trips in our searib fast boat, water and snack. For equipment rental, 15L tanks and Nitrox please check the price list.
