Azores in June - recommendations and dive centers?

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Hi all, I have about 2 weeks in June to dive and Azores with Princess Alice is on my list of places to dive so im hoping to get some advice and recommendations.

1) Seasonality: June is in season, but it is a month away from the recommended season of July for princess alice for mobula rays, is it still worth it then? And how has your experience been?

2) Which island should i dive from? Most recommend Santa Maria, Pico, Faial, in that order, with the first 2 being equal.

3) How many davs of diving do people usually do?

Let me know if ive missed anything!

 

[JMBL]

Some years back, I spent one week on Santa Maria (Mantamaria) and one on Faial (Norberto Diver), end of July. Loved it. Had better luck with mobulas on Santa Maria, than while diving Princess Alice banks, because of the weather which can be tricky in the Azores. Enjoyed islas Formigas off Santa Maria very much too.

My guess is water will be colder in June.

Plenty of other stuff to do on the islands when not diving. Be sure to try the local wines.

 

[CarstenS]

I was in Pico (Maddalena) a few years ago (pre-covid) for two weeks in June. Highly recommended, visibility was great, we saw lots of sharks (especially blue sharks, but also one atypical hammerhead), mobulas at Princess Alice, rays, giant groupers (my profile pic is from that vacation), etc. Currents can be significant (often negative entry), and the water is COLD (17/18C surface offshore, down to 13C a little deeper when we were there mid-June). Many interesting dives are below 35m (including Princess Alice), so you can be down there for a bit if you go into deco. I was glad I went dry, most people seem to go in neo 5mm and layer. Not terrible during the dive, but when you get back up on the boat and the sun isn‘t out, that can get very chilly indeed (Princess Alice is 3-4 hrs out depending on conditions). One of my best freediving experiences was a whale/dolphin trip off Pico. We saw 7 kinds of cetaceans in the water (got to keep your distance, of course, which tends not to be an issue because they are somewhat faster than me…). Truly memorable.
Take a day to explore the highlands and sights like the interesting whaling museum. Food is great (surf and turf - the highland cattle is tasty), and especially the white wines would be worth a trip in themselves. Faial harbour is also amazing - I spent a few hours just checking out the sailing boats. We are planning to go back, perhaps to Santa Maria next time.

 

[David Novo]

Never been to the Azores in June, always in September so can't help there.

You can't dive Princess Alice from Santa Maria, just from Faial and Pico. The former is in the eastern group of islands, while the latter in the central group.

Santa Maria has Ambrósio which is closer to the island than Princess Alice from Faial/Pico and that is also a mobula ray cleaning station. Probably June is early for whale sharks there. Dollabarat and Formigas are also nice offshore dives from Santa Maria.

Regarding dive centers for Princess Alice, I would recommend Norberto in Faial or Twin Peaks in Pico. Do the blue shark dive if you go to Faial or Pico. There are none in Santa Maria.

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I was in Pico (Maddalena) a few years ago (pre-covid) for two weeks in June. Highly recommended, visibility was great, we saw lots of sharks (especially blue sharks, but also one atypical hammerhead), mobulas at Princess Alice, rays, giant groupers (my profile pic is from that vacation), etc. Currents can be significant (often negative entry), and the water is COLD (17/18C surface offshore, down to 13C a little deeper when we were there mid-June). Many interesting dives are below 35m (including Princess Alice), so you can be down there for a bit if you go into deco. I was glad I went dry, most people seem to go in neo 5mm and layer. Not terrible during the dive, but when you get back up on the boat and the sun isn‘t out, that can get very chilly indeed (Princess Alice is 3-4 hrs out depending on conditions).

Im already in a 5mm at 25C, might have to reconsider that dry suit cert!