Scuba diving in Faial Island offers easy yet unforgettable experiences, featuring vibrant marine life, small caves, and intriguing shipwrecks. The highlight is Princess Alice Bank, one of the Azores’ top dive sites, where manta ray encounters are frequent. Divers can also enjoy thrilling blue shark dives, a must for adventurous underwater explorers. Around the island, water temperatures range from 18°C to 21°C, with visibility between 10 and 20 meters—ideal for observing the Azores’ diverse marine ecosystems. A 5mm or 7mm wetsuit is recommended. Thanks to Faial’s mild climate, light clothing is perfect year-round, though rain gear is useful from October to April.
The best time for scuba diving in Faial Island is between June and October, when sea conditions are calm, visibility reaches up to 30 meters, and water temperatures range from 18°C to 23°C. These months offer ideal conditions to experience the island’s famous Princess Alice Bank, where manta rays and pelagic species gather in large numbers. Blue shark dives are also most common in summer, providing unforgettable encounters for experienced divers. Outside this period, diving is still possible but conditions can be less predictable. Overall, summer and early autumn are the prime months for exploring the rich Azores marine life and vibrant Faial dive sites.
By plane flying to Horta airport.
There are direct flights to the city of Horta from Lisbon, but you can also reach the island of Faial from Ponta Delgada (São Miguel), Lajes (Terceira) or the island of Flores. The best option (and the only company that makes internal flights in the Azores) is Azores Airlines by SATA.
However, there are plenty of alternatives with stopovers in other islands. You can fly to the island of Pico from Lisbon and then travel in one of the ATLÂNTICOLINE boats. There are several daily connections and the duration of the trip to the island of Faial is of only 30 minutes.
You can also travel to the island of São Miguel or to the island of Terceira with SATA – Air Azores, TAP Portugal, Air Berlin, Ryanair and EasyJet and then fly to Faial on one of the inter-island connecting flights operated by SATA.
By boat in to Horta Marina.
You can take the ferry boat to cross between islands
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