Deep Blue Azores

DEEP BLUE Azores Diving Center has run boat dives out of Porto das Pipas marina in Angra do Heroismo since January 2017, when founders Nuno Oliveira and Antonio Silva ("Toni") opened the business under both their names as Founder and Managing Partner. Its course catalogue runs the SSI ladder from Open Water Diver through Advanced Open Water, Specialties and Dive Guide up to Divemaster Pro.

The centre runs trips across Terceira's coastline site by site, all named on its own website: the wrecks and heritage zone of the Underwater Archaeological Park in Angra Bay, the sheltered entries at Cinco Ribeiras and Fradinhos, the Gruta dos Ratoes dive off Ilheu das Cabras, the offshore reef structures at Baixa da Serreta and Abismo Arco, and the priced offshore excursion to the Banco D. João de Castro seamount, sold at a lower per-person rate for larger groups. The centre also runs trips to a longer tail of local spots beyond that list, among them Silveira and a stretch the centre markets as "Coral Valley."

Outside the water, the same base sells non-diving boat tours to Sao Jorge, Pico and Graciosa, and shorter outings closer to home: a Split Rock boat tour and a snorkelling trip, both departing the same marina. The operation runs in English, with no other language stated on its own materials.

Divers name the founders directly and repeatedly: Nuno is described as an attentive, knowledgeable guide, and Toni as a steady hand on the boat. Octopus sightings come up often enough to read as a recurring theme of dives here, and reviewers raise no recurring complaint. One returning family has dived with the centre across several seasons, consistently describing it as reliable and naming trips to the heritage wrecks in Angra Bay among their favourites.