Brazil Scuba Diving

Scuba diving (mergulho) in Brazil is varied with excellent marine life and very interesting wrecks. Good diving can be found at Arraial do Cabo, The Abrolhos Archipelago, Boipeba, Porto Belo in Santa Cararina state, and Joao Pessoa in Paraiba. The most famous dive destination in this huge country is Fernando do Noronha, the gorgeous archipelago in the Northeast.

Booking a dive trip to Brazil can be challenging as it is hard to find operators that speak good english and most website are only in Portugese as well. With a little research however you can make sure you do not miss the best spots. We've highlighted a few below:

Arraial do Cabo
Situated in the Região dos Lagos, this city is well known among Brazilian scuba divers and anybody who loves to be around the sea. White sand beaches and crystal clear waters are an invitation to any diver who also wants to sample the great culture and brazilian beach scene. Arraial is strategically located near Cabo Frio and the sophistication and intense night life of Búzios.

Fernando do Noronha
200 miles off the northeastern coast of Brazil lies a mountainous archipelago made up of 21 islands, the National Marine Sanctuary of Fernando de Noronha. With its crystal-clear water and rich marine life, the archipelago is a heavenly retreat for underwater pleasures. A truly special place for divers. Average visibility is 30 meters. Prolific marine life is found - pelagics such as tuna, jack, albacore, barracuda and others. Gigantic jewfish, groupers and snappers can also be seen.

The Abrolhos Archipelago
This group of islands is a Marine National Park located 45 miles off the mid-eastern coast of Brazil. The archipelago consists of five volcanic islands and harbors the greatest chains of coral reefs in the South Atlantic. The ocean around Abrolhos also covers one of the rarest and most exhuberant coral reef banks in the region. According to scientific knowledge, there is no other place on earth where you can see the type of coral reef pinnacle prevalent in Abrolhos waters. The species looks like a giant mutant mushroom and is overgrown with fans of fire coral and round knobs of brain coral also unique to this archipelago.

Arraial do Cabo
You can find more than 40 dive sites scattered around the small bay formed by the continent and the Cabo Frio Island.

Depths can vary from 12m/40ft to more than 50m/160ft in some spots and the average visibilty is 12 meters/ 40ft. One important characteristic of Arraial do Cabo is that the cold deep waters that are rich in nutrients are responsible for the amazing variety of animals found on every dive. The water temperature in Arraial is a little bit cold (21o C/70 F), but the marine life compensates for the thicker wetsuit and a 5 mm wetsuits are more than enough for most people.

During dives you will be able to observe turtles, sea horses, moray eels, large schools of fish, rays, octopus and much more.
For the experienced diver, the place offers the chance to explore underwater caves, historical shipwrecks and submersed canyons. The rocky bottom is covered by rigid and soft corals, sponges of many different shapes and colors.
For snorkeling, your best choice is Prainha beach, protected from the SW wind or Forno beach, a nice spot that you can reach after a 15 minute walk on a trail. Once you get up on the hill the view is marvelous.

Fernando de Noronha
The dive sites include shipwrecks, caverns, amazing volcanic rock and coral formations, wild dolphins, an array of reef sharks, turtles - schooling baracudas and all kinds of rays, schooling fish of every kind and color. Did we mention dolphins? Dolphins on every dive? That's right! and you will get the chance to snorkle and play in the water with over 600 at one time if you are lucky.

Every day between 2 and 3pm, a pod of over 600 spinner dolphins leaves the Bay of Dolphins to hunt and then they return at about 5am the next day. This is the oldest and largest residential school of dolphins on earth.

You can swim with the juvenile sharks at Lage dos Dies Irmaos. Of the 14 species of sharks in the area, the gray reef sharks have seemingly found and claimed a protected feeding ground and breeding area. The site consists of wo rocky outcroppings on the main island's west side If you descend to the sandy 70-foot bottom next to a field of mountainous star coral, you'll soon encounter, about 20 to 30 gray reef sharks appear and begin to circle around you.

For advanced divers only, the Corvette V17 is a must do for divers who like wrecks. This sunken Portugese frigate is still in pristine condition but quite deep and not for the faint at heart.

She ran aground on Sapata Rocks and sank in 1987. Your max depth on the dive will be 180 feet for 10 to 12 minutes, requiring two decompression stops at 30 and 15 feet. Definitely worth the hang time but again, only for experienced wreck divers and we would say certified tech divers only! Abrolhos

The Avrolhos Archipelago
Abrolhos is home to some of the richest coral in Brazil, and one of the rarest in the world. All the existing species of fish in the South Atlantic can be found in the surroundings of the archipelago.

Between July and November, Abrolhos is visited by Humpback whales, who give their own spectacular performance leaping from the water and emitting a variety of sounds. One of the rarest species of endangered mammals. Abrolhos is the only area in the South Atlantic to which the whales go in order to mate, give birth and escape the Antarctic winters. They are in the archipelago for their entire mating season.

Rosalinda wreck (also known as Rosalina) is also a famous site not to be missed. This Italian cargo ship sank in 1955. It is approximately 330 x 44 feet and its bow reaches up above the water surface at low tide as it is on a higher incline. At the 66 foot bottom, the ship sits on a coral reef bank between two “chapeirão” pinnacles. Today, the ship is completely preserved and integrated into the rich surrounding coral reef ecosystem. There are fish and “chapeirão” everywhere. As you move around the 3 accessible cargo rooms, do not be alarmed if you see a 550 pound jewfish that tends to spend seasons in the machine room. Although it is huge, it does not hurt anybody. Of course, the same is true for the large turtles that also like the area.

http://www.diveglobal.com