What wildlife can you see on an Azores expedition cruise? Whales, dolphins, seabirds, and world-class diving on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The Azores' wildlife credentials are built on one fact above all others: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This underwater mountain chain runs the length of the Atlantic, and the Azores sit directly on top of it. The Ridge creates deep-water upwellings that bring cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface the base of a food chain that supports some of the highest cetacean diversity and density in the North Atlantic. Here is what you can realistically expect to encounter.
Whales: The Azores' Defining Wildlife Experience
The list of whale species recorded in Azorean waters reads like a textbook index. Sperm whales are year-round residents, the archipelago holds the highest density of Sperm whales in the North Atlantic, and sighting rates on well-run expeditions are high. Blue whales, the largest animals on earth, pass through on migration, primarily in spring. Fin and Sei whales are regularly encountered. Common, Bottlenose, Striped, and Risso's dolphins are present in waters around all nine islands throughout the year.
Seabirds: An Overlooked Highlight
The Azores hold breeding populations of Cory's shearwater, one of the North Atlantic's most spectacular seabirds, which spends most of its life at sea and returns to land only to breed. The islands also hold the Monteiro's storm petrel, a species endemic to the Azores and found nowhere else on earth. For dedicated birders, the Azores offer a target list that includes rare vagrant species from both North America and Europe, carried off course by Atlantic storms and making landfall on these remote islands.
Explore the full Azores expedition voyage itinerary.
Underwater: The World Beneath the Surface
For snorkelers and divers, Azorean waters offer exceptional visibility (often 30+ meters) and a reef ecosystem that combines Atlantic species with occasional tropical visitors carried north by the warm North Atlantic Current. Manta rays, Mobula rays, and even occasional Whale sharks visit Azorean waters in summer. The Princess Alice Bank, an underwater seamount 100 meters below the surface, is a legendary diving site for large pelagic species including tuna, amberjack, and hammerhead sharks.
Land Wildlife: More Than People Expect
The Azores' terrestrial wildlife is modest by expedition standards but includes the Azores bullfinch (Priolo), one of the world's rarest birds, endemic to São Miguel and the subject of an active conservation program, along with endemic subspecies of Chaffinch and Goldcrest found on specific islands. The volcanic landscapes support unique plant communities, and the laurel forest habitats are some of the most intact examples of ancient Macaronesian ecosystems remaining anywhere in the Atlantic.
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