Azores

Dori seamount off São Miguel island is a hard-coral-encrusted pinnacle famous among Azorean dive guides as the best shark dive in the archipelago away from the famous outer banks. Common blue sharks circle inquisitively at 20–40 m while sperm whale pods occasionally pass deeper below, and the abundant macro life on the seamount top includes large nudibranchs and colourful sea slugs rare elsewhere in the North Atlantic. Best dived from a RIB in calm summer conditions.

Formigas (Ants) is a tiny, remote islet east of Santa Maria in the Azores surrounded by a broad rocky bank rising from 300 m to just 17 m below the surface. Between April and October the bank is reliably visited by whale sharks attracted by the summer plankton blooms, alongside large schools of amberjack, barracuda, and hammerheads. The Azorean sea temperature at 20–23°C and Atlantic clarity combine to make this one of Europe's finest open-ocean dive experiences.

Princess Alice Bank is a mid-Atlantic seamount rising from 2000 m to within 40 m of the surface near Faial in the Azores, considered one of the world's elite big-animal dive sites. Seasonal aggregations of blue sharks, mako sharks, hammerhead sharks, and huge schools of Atlantic amberjack gather above the summit, with blue marlin and whale shark encounters adding to the spectacle in summer. The site is current-swept and remote, demanding open-water confidence and liveaboard access.

Azores Sperm Whale Divers operates from Pico island in the central Azores group, where the deep ocean trench north of the archipelago sustains one of the North Atlantic's last healthy sperm whale populations and regular visits by blue whales, fin whales, and common dolphins. In-water snorkel encounters with sperm whales are permitted under strict Azorean guidelines, while scuba diving focuses on the remarkable volcanic seamounts, submerged lava calderas, and WWII cargo wreck lying within easy boat range. The blue water clarity of the mid-Atlantic, sometimes reaching 50 metres, makes every dive feel like drifting through open ocean glass.

Faial Blue Volcano Dive Centre is based in the marina of Horta on Faial island, a legendary waypoint for transatlantic sailors, and offers diving along the dramatic volcanic coastline where basalt lava flows have created arches, tunnels, and deep fissures colonised by barnacle-encrusted moray eels and Atlantic tuna. The Azores' seasonal richness is unmatched in the North Atlantic — blue sharks and mako sharks circle in summer, oceanic manta rays pass through in autumn, and mobula rays fill the water column in spring. The centre runs PADI courses from Open Water to Divemaster and welcomes divers arriving by yacht with competitive fill-and-hire packages.