Access to location
Known as the Green Island, this is the biggest island of the Azores. It is about 54 miles away from its nearest neighbour, the island of Santa Maria, and about two times that distance from the closest island of the central group, Terceira.
Best time to visit location
São Miguel offers divers a great variety of sites and is easily accessible, with daily nonstop flights and a fascinating city base full of history and interesting monuments. Among the many coastal dive sites the ‘Dori’ shipwreck is undoubtedly the highlight. This Liberty ship from World War II rests on a sandy seafloor at an ideal depth for diving, just a few minutes away from the city of Ponta Delgada.
Between may and september
Information about the site
The protected area of the Vila Franca do Campo Islet is located directly opposite the town after which it is named, less than 500 metres from shore. It offers several excellent dives that are suitable for all experience levels, as well as lots of snorkelling opportunities. Inside the islet you will find a large bay created by the crater of an extinct volcano that rose from the sea more than four thousand years. This is another great spot for snorkelling.
The islet offers various diving options along the major cracks and canyons, which mean you can tailor your dive depending on the direction of the waves. The area is protected, and there is an abundance of Azores chromis (Chromis limbata), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), blacktail combers (Serranus atricauda), parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense), ballan wrasses (Labrus bergylta), barred hogfish, moray eels, common octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) and dusky groupers (Epinephelus marginatus). On the sandy seafloor you are likely to spot common stingrays (Dasyatis pastinaca), and in the water column there are often white trevallies (Pseudocaranx dentex), yellowmouth barracudas (Sphyraena viridensis), Almaco jacks (Seriola rivoliana) and bluefish. (Pomatomus saltator).
Conditions around the site
CURRENTS
Weak
DIVE TYPES
Coastal
IDEAL PLACE FOR
Night dive
Underwater photography
Diving Baptism
Snorkeling
DIVING EXPERIENCE
All Divers
Recommended diver experience level
Open water diver with experienceOpen water diver with experience,Open water diver with up to 30 dives