Faial Island is very close to Pico and is in the strait that links the two islands where we can find the most beautiful dives, with great depths that send food to this rich channel.
Faial island diving, with more than 12 spots, is well known for its vertical walls, beautiful canyons and lava flows full of moray eels, octopus, rays, large groupers, Mediterranean parrotfish, barracudas or pollocks.
One of the most popular dives in Faial is the Condor bank, away from the island, which gives you the chance of having one of the most exciting dives not only in Azores but in Europe. Amid the blue you’ll dive with manta rays, sharks, dolphins or even have extraordinary surprises like sperm whales.
In «Baixa da Feteira», south of the island, you’ll have an excellent opportunity to appreciate various dives where large schools of pelagics such as barracudas and Atlantic bonitos or enjoy beautiful rocky landscapes with different species of moray eels or octopus. At this point there are plateaus where rays, red mullets or porcupinefish live.
Another interesting dive spot south of the island is «Boca das Caldeirinhas», located at the mouth of a crater and has the status of natural reserve. One of the most interesting aspects of this dive is the presence of black coral from 35 meters deep that have lots of yellow Ray’s bream and damselfish.
A very interesting dive in Faial is the «Gruta dos Camarões», a 35 meters deep and 25 meters length narrow. After crossing the vertical walls that seem sculpted by hand you’ll get to a cave plagued of prawns that cover the walls and where you can also see good sized moray eels and nudibranchs.
To the west of the island you can also find a wreck, «Pontão 16», sunk in 2003 and, although access is not advisable, it has lots of life around with schools of gray triggerfish, lizard fish, rays or sea breams.
