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Scuba diving at Banco Condor in Azores
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Banco Condor

POOR
AzoresBoat
About This Site
Banco Condor is a protected offshore seamount about 10 nautical miles (17 km) WSW of Faial and the headline shark dive of the central Azores, far more accessible than Princess Alice. It is a baited blue-water encounter rather than a bottom dive: divers descend only to about 5-15 m above the bank while operators use chum to draw blue sharks (and shortfin makos in season) into open water. The seamount itself rises from over 2,000 m to a summit near 180 m, well below the dive zone, but the abundant pelagic life it concentrates makes the shallow column spectacular. Suited to experienced, comfortable open-water divers only.

Difficulty

Advanced

Max Depth

15m

Type

Boat

Typical Visibility

20m

Conditions Summary

Best time today

10AM - 4PM

GOOD

Best day in forecast

Friday

GOOD

2026-07-17

Community-reported visibility

n/a

Warnings for today

  • High waves expected

An almost fully exposed open-ocean seamount WSW of Faial and Pico, whose bulk lies to the ENE-E and gives the only real shelter, cutting swell from that narrow window (ENE-E factors 0.30-0.35). Everything from the N clockwise through S and back to the WNW is open water, and the dominant and most powerful exposure is the W-NW-N North Atlantic groundswell, which can shut the site down entirely. Trips are strictly weather- and sea-state-dependent and only run in settled summer conditions.

NNEESESSWWNW
Protected
Partially Exposed
Exposed
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Nearby Dive Sites
Cemitério das Âncoras (Anchor Graveyard)Banco Dom João de CastroPrincess Alice BankDori (Liberty Ship Wreck)Formigas & Dollabarat Reef (Ilheus das Formigas)Baixa do Ambrósio (Ambrósio Reef)