Discovering Fernando de Noronha's Marine Ecological Sanctuary:
a Scuba Diving Experience for Certified Divers

  • The Fernando de Noronha archipelago was declared an ecological sanctuary by UNESCO for its marine biodiversity

Prepare for the “slow motion flying” experience, as you scuba dive in one of the most biodiverse diving locations in the world. The pristine island of Fernando de Noronha, a protected marine sanctuary, was declared a Mankind’s Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO for its marine biodiversity. In these waters, which on the best days can have nearly the best visibility of all other diving spots in the world (165 feet/50 meters tops, half of this on average), you may swim among a myriad fish, turtles, sharks, shrimp, sea horses, and the occasional Spinner dolphin or manta ray. With year round warm waters and world-class underwater visibility, Fernando de Noronha is a scuba diver’s paradise and considered to be one of the best diving areas in South America!

You need an entry-level autonomous diver certification to go on this outing (for example, PADI’s Open Water Diver or NAUI’s Scuba Diver certifications), and you’ll be guided during your dive by our professional diving instructors. Divers with entry-level certification will dive to a maximum depth of 60 feet (18 meters). More advanced divers, to up to 99 feet (30 meters). At certain diving points, all participants will dive together at the same depth.

After we navigate for 20 to 30 minutes and reach our diving spot, it’s time to scuba dive! Since the island is a protected ecosystem, the archipelago’s diving spots, about 20 of them, are closely monitored by the local environmental protection agency, which assigns to each diving company different spots each day, for conservation purposes. So the precise spots you’ll visit depend on that day’s assignment. We’ll immerse and explore, surrounded by plenty of colorful creatures, in a terrain that is rich in stone formations and corals. Some sea turtles also feel quite at ease with divers, so you may get lucky enough to have a close encounter with them. After an immersion lasting about 35 minutes, we’ll return to the surface, board our boat, and navigate to a second spot, where we’ll dive again for another 35 minutes approximately. After this, we’ll head back to the port, having had the awesome experience of exploring one of the best diving spots on the planet!

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Difficulty: moderate. Entry-level autonomous diver certification is required (e.g., PADI’s Open Water Diver or NAUI’s Scuba Diver certifications). Divers with more advanced certifications dive separately from the entry-level group, and sometimes deeper.

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Duration: a total of about 3 hours, including 2 dives at different spots lasting about 35 minutes each.

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Guide: group diving instructor.

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Vehicle: group transfer to the pier. Group boat with a capacity of up to 24 people, who will split into smaller groups for diving.

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Includes: diving mask, neoprene wetsuit (short sleeves and legs), fins, diving cylinder (tank), regulator, buoyancy compensator vest and weight belt.

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Photo credits: some of the photos above were provided by @martagranville and @barracudasimagens. Thanks for helping us with some of these awesome photos!