Scuba Diving Pico

Pico Island (Azores) is a new frontier for recreational scuba divers.

The Gulf Stream and varied seafloor topography create ideal conditions for a rich, abundant and diverse underwater fauna that spans tiny invertebrates to huge pelagic fish and marine mammals.

The more adventurous can venture offshore to dive Princess Alice with the mobulas or in blue water with the magnificent Blue shark and Mako sharks.

We are an authorised PADI Dive Resort (No. 799438) and an SSI Dive Centre (No. 735181).

The CW Azores base is thoroughly equipped to ensure our guests the best safety standards.

Our boats are furnished with an Oxygen Kit and all dives are guided by Divemasters trained in first aid and rescue techniques.

Temperature From 16°C (winter) to 25°C (summer).

Visibility From 15 to 30+ metres.

There are no strong thermoclines and often no thermocline at all in the waters around Pico, apart from a couple of dive spots that we will promptly signal to our divers.

Diving Pico Island - Photo by Jan Reyniers
Diving Pico - Photo by Jan Reyniers

Highlights

Price List

Coastal Dives

(boat or shore)

Price

1 Dive

55

Book
4 Dives

200

Book
6 Dives

297

Book
10 Dives

440

Book

All prices include tanks, weights, divemaster and transporation to/from the dive sites (by boat or land vehicle).

Special Dives

(night, cavern or offshore expeditions)

Price

1 Night Dive

65

Book
1 Cavern Dive

65

Book
1 Princess Alice Expedition (2-tank dive, full day)

250

Book
1 Shark Expedition (up to 70-min dive)

200

Book

All prices include tanks, weights, divemaster and transporation to/from the dive sites (by boat or land vehicle). Princess Alice Expedition also includes pack lunch.

Dive Princess Alice seamount

Located 45 nautical miles (about 83km) south-west of Pico, Princess Alice Bank is a seamount that sits right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and stands out for its biodiversity.

Here, from beginning of July to mid-October, you have the unique opportunity to encounter large groups of friendly mobulas, known as Devil rays ( Mobula tarapacana ), along with a wide range of other large pelagics.

The seamount rises from abyssal depths of more than 1500 metres to about 32 metres below the surface.

Strong currents can occur at any time, so we usually conduct the entire dive from the safety of a descent line. Nonetheless, from here it is possible to witness large shoals of mobulas, barracuda, jacks, tunas, even wahoos and bill-fish like the blue marlin.

Adventure package for divers
(includes Princess Alice, Shark Diving and much more)

Mobulas of Princess Alice - Photo by Jan Reyniers
Mobulas of Princess Alice, Pico Island - Photo by Jan Reyniers

What Our Customers Think

Another beautiful day in the Azores at the amazing Princess Alice Pinnacle with so many giant mobula rays. So much diversity in this unique part of the world. Thanks again to the amazing team CW Azores, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Scott Portelli
Thanks CW Azores for a great week of diving! Wonderful team, friendly, knowledgeable & respectful of the beautiful creatures around. I'll be back soon! Hamid Rad
Big big thanks to a special and super passionate crew never seen anywhere in the world! Giovanni Passerini
A really great crew, very focused on making sure you have great encounters. Big shout out to Martin and Michael, super helpful guys. Absolutely recommend these guys. Nigel Motyer

Shark Diving

Many divers love sharks and have dived with them at popular destinations around the world. Nearly all will have dived with coastal or reef species but few will have ever seen the Blue Shark or Mako? These are animals of the deep ocean and, for many shark aficionados, the most elusive and hard to see.

Join us in Pico and meet our pelagic sharks. You will not be disappointed!

Shark Diving in Pico - Photo by Jan Reyniers
Shark Diving in Pico - Photo by Jan Reyniers

Related resources

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Trip Report: the Ultimate South African Dive Safari

In February 2023, CW Azores organized the first Ultimate South African Dive Safari, a 10-day guided expedition focused on finding and photographing as many animals, big and small both on land and underwater and let us tell you, we found a lot!
Read post

Shark Diving Season 2022 is being a blast

What a great start for shark diving season 2022. Good animals, in good numbers.
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Blue sharks call Pico home earlier in 2021

It is mid-June and Blue sharks are already with us. After a great shark season in 2020 despite the pandemic, what a great start for our 2021 season!
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Why choose Pico as your diving destination in 2021

Pico is a Covid-FREE destination and in 2020 we had a 90% success rate for shark diving, with up to 20 Blue sharks in a single dive and quite a few Makos turning up.
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Gifted by many Whale sharks

In 2020, for the joy of our divers and snorkellers, we had many Whale sharks feeding in our waters. That was a true gift, as Whale sharks are not a common sighting at all here in Pico.
Live Updates

by CW Azores

  • Welcome to the CW Azores Live dashboard!
  • Here you will see real-time whale and dolphin 🐳🐬 sighting updates from our boats, along with other interesting insights 😉
  • Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor biodiversity in the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean. CW Azores is an official partner of the project. Learn more...
  • LIVE TOUR
    Our boat BWA left port at 2024-4-20 2:51 PM (UTC Time) for a Whale Watching tour.
    The Live button will pulse each time a new sighting is recorded by our crew.