Azores For Dolphin Watching
Chisa Hidaka from the USA is experienced in swimming with dolphins. This time she went to Pico Island in the Azores for 8 days in June 2009, and went for 5 dolphin trips. Here is her review.
Based on my experience early June 2009, the waters around the Azores, Pico, in particular are a great place to OBSERVE a variety of dolphins...but not necessarily to SWIM with them.
I stayed at Espaco Talassa, a lovely eco-lodge in Lajes, Pico. The staff, including owner Serge, were uniformly hospitable and knowledgeable (and all spoke English!).
Rooms were small but clean and nice; and the restaurant served good, reasonably priced food.
Pico is a beautiful, lush and unspoiled island with delicious local wine and fish.
Three hour trips were made in zodiacs with excellent skippers who knew how to get close to the dolphins. We saw Common, Bottlenose and Risso dolphins, as well as Sperm whales all common in the area.
The waters were rough, which actually made dolphin watching from the boat quite fun...they were surfing the waves and leaping, having fun.
But not so good for simming...The water was cold...15 - 18°C...even in a full length 2 mm wetsuit, I still finished the trips feeling uncomfortably cold, especially because out of the water, it was very windy.
Also, only 2 people are allowed in the water at a time...ok for couples, I guess...but pretty restrictive for a solo traveler like me, as the 2 people must stay together.
Diving is discouraged. Basically, you swim a short distance from the boat to a spot where the dolphins are cruising by, get a quick look as they swim past...and that's it. The dolphins don't stick around, and you cannot swim after with them.
This dolphin watching is very different from other swim experiences (e.g. Bahamas and New Zealand) where swimmers can really interact with dolphins. Who knows why? Maybe the waters are too rough or deep? Or maybe the species of dolphin there are shy?
I was told that I should come back in July/August when the waters are calmer and warmer, and when the Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, which are much friendlier (they certainly are in the Bahamas) come up to the Azores from the Canary Is.
Based on this recent experience, though, I don't think I'd go back, as the swimming conditions (2 people at a time and no diving) are too restrictive for me.
Still...this may be the best bet (reasonable price and proximity) for people in the UK and the EU...for Americans, I think Bahamas or Hawaii would be a better bet.
P.S. Do not bother with dolphinconnectionexperience.com...for the Azores...they will just send you to Espaco Talassa anyway.
Back to the top of dolphin watching
Also read Chisa's reviews on swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas (2008) and Kaikoura (January 2009).
Learn more about Chisa's passion for dolphins and her project "Dancing with Dolphins"
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