Pico Sport Whale Watching Diving - Wal Beobachtung Tauchen

Snorkeling with Mobula Day Trip

Snorkeling

with giant

Mobula Rays

Giant Mobula Rays are constant visitors of the Azores waters. With our Megalodon tagging project we followed Mobula rays on their journey in the Atlantic Ocean. They travel all the way to Senegal, the Cabo Verde islands and Sao Tome & Principe. During their journey they visit deep sea mountains where they feed with the resident pelagic fish. The most northern stop on their journey are the Azores Island and one of their favourite spots to meet is the famous Princess Alice Bank. We dive and snorkel with Mobula rays at Princess Alice Bank.

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200 €

1 Excursion

Per person

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Whale & Dolphins

Around the island of Pico there are rich feeding grounds for all marine mammals. That is why sperm whales live here all year around hunting the giant squid in the deep. Other species like the large baleen whales are only seasonal guests on their migration. Even the largest animal ever lived on our blue plant is our guest from February to June every year.

This makes Pico one of the no 1 destinations in the world to meet whales and dolphins.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable treatment of the animals is our top priority. Therefore, the experienced skippers also read the behavior of the animals first and decide when or if you are allowed into the water.

With the help of the experienced skippers you can observe the behavior of the whales in peace and learn a lot about their life and migration cycles.

Why Pico Sport

Operating since 1993 we have 30 years of experience with marine mammals. Our skippers work with us since many years and lots of experience in gentle handling of the animals. We find the whales and dolphins because we work with land based spotters. This technique dates back to the days of the old whalers. With strong binoculars the so called VIGIA searches for the whales and dolphins. They tell the boats the positions of the animals. Thus, we never go blindly to the ocean and work with a 99% success rate in sightings.

from 200,- Euro

1 Day Trip 200,- Euro

per person

- Groups on request -

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Travel Dates 2024

27. June - 15. September

The tour starts early in the morning so that we can photograph Pico at sunrise from the open sea. Then it is a leisurely 3-4 hour slow cruise to Princess Alice Bank. Hot drinks, soft drinks and snacks are available on the tour.ithout equipment is not permitted, as we want to disturb the animals as little as possible.

Please bear in mind that you should have an average physical condition to snorkel with dolphins in the open water. If not, please do not hesitate to contact us before booking to discuss this

Mobula rays belong to the megafauna of the Atlantic Ocean and cover enormous distances in the ocean. In our megalodon research project, mobula are also equipped with satellite probes so that in the last few years we have learned a lot of information about the migrations of these graceful animals. They move south of the Azores and visit Madeira, Cape Verde and Sei Tome and Prinzipe up to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. They are always on the lookout for deep-sea mountains where they can cooperate with pelagic fish to form so-called feeding balls where hunting is easier. One of these deep-sea mountains is the Princess Alice Bank, which is located 48 nm south of Pico and can be reached by us. A paradise for divers but also for snorkelers as the mobula come up to the surface and gather in groups of sometimes up to 50 animals.

We offer day tours on our comfortable boats Referat and BlueBay. On such a tour you can often see dolphins and whales, but our goal is snorkeling with mobula rays that swim right up to your mask. It is an impressive experience when such an animal with 4m wingspan passes by.

Since this tour is very weather dependent, planning in advance is very difficult and we need a time window of about 1 week to choose the right day for this tour. Please keep this in mind when planning your trip.

• Sun protection

• If you have your own snorkeling equipment please bring it.

• A towel

• Sun glasses a

• Light rain jacket

• Shoes that can be wet

• Photo / Video equipment

• Tablets against seasickness