Espirito Azul

Coastal Dive Spots

• Cozinha - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 18m
• The dive site is located on the East Side of Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo. Huge boulders forming an underwater scene which easy to explore. Impressive Canyons and swim-throughs on your way back. Here, you can expect to have a nice relaxing time, spotting Seabreams, Guinean Pufferfishes, Striped Red Mullet, Groupers, Damsels, Madeira Rockfish, Flounders, Grey Triggerfishes, Morays, Nudibranchs, Barracudas, and maybe a Sting or Eagle Ray if you are lucky!
• Cracas - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 24m
• Located on the South-East part of Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo. The flow of lava formed an interesting underwater landscape. Lots ́s of cracks and holes where you will find various marine life and around in the blue you spot a lot of pelagic fish like Jacks and Barracudas. Seabreams, Grey Triggerfish, Wrasses, Hogfish, Parrotfish, Groupers, and even Rays sometimes will let you enjoy this dive.
• Ilhéu de Vila Franca Oeste - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 20m
• The West Coast of the Islet of Vila Franca do Campo forms a wall with huge canyons leading deep towards the inside of the island. Besides pelagics and several reef fish, you might have the chance to spot huge stingrays down on the sand. This dive is mostly done as a drift dive.
• Âncoras - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 20m
• Come dive into the history of Vila Franca! In the past, there were no harbors in Vila Franca or Ponta Delgada, the big ships had to anchor between Vila Franca and Ilheu because this area was protected from the big waves and wind. But the reef down there is very dense and some boats lost their anchors at the time. There are big broken rocks in a rectangular shape area. And at the end of the area, you will see a few big anchors. Don't be surprised to see huge Dusky Groupers or Hogfish. Some inhabitants of the reef here include also Madeira Rockfishes, Nudibranchs, and Flounders.
• Arcos da Caloura - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 17m
• Situated in front of the beautiful village of Caloura, the dive site is only 300 meters from the coast and 15 minutes by boat to the Marina of Vila Franca. The top of the reef is at about 6 meters and the dive site is composed of amazing big arches, come and enjoy the swim-throughs and little caves. This is the perfect place to improve your buoyancy! You will be able to observe a multitude of moray eels, nudibranch, starfish, and scorpionfishes on the walls and in the halls of the reef. Be aware of triggerfish that will check you out closely.
• Baixa das Castanhetas - Advanced Open Water or higher, max. depth: 40m
• It will take around 15 minutes by boat to arrive at the dive site. This huge underwater seamount starts from 12m where you can observe a great number of damselfish. The reef top is composed of lots of caverns, caves, and tunnels. At 30 meters and more, you might have the chance to find the swallowtail seaperch only found at this depth. You might spot some slipper lobsters and beautiful nudibranch inside them. The reef wall drops to a depth of 40 meters and if you keep an eye into the blue you might see schools of barracudas, jacks, or even devil rays!
• Tufo - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 16m
• 4 massive rock formations are building this dive spot and in between, you will find some canyons to pass through. It is a very beautiful spot with lots of cracks and holes. You will find morays and conger eels sharing their homes with several rockfish. As well huge spider crabs love to hang out in the cracks. As the whole dive spot is surrounded by sand it attracts often huge black stingrays.
• Ship Wreck DORI - All levels from Open Water, max. depth: 20m
• The shallowest parts are the bow and stern at a depth of only 8 -10m. The 134,4-meter-long and 11,3-meter-wide wreck is one of more than 2,750 Liberty Ships built in the United States during World War II to provide assistance to the Allies. It sunk in 1964 while transporting the steel. Because of a leak, the crew decided to go off the ship close to the shore. A lot of different species use this wreck as an artificial reef. You can spot octopus, moray eels, nudibranch, jacks, barracudas, seabreams, and a lot of triggerfish.

Offshore Dive Spots