Wildlife swimming in the Azores

The Azores sit alone in the mid-Atlantic, where a deep-water seamount called the Condor bank comes close to the island of Faial, drawing pelagic life to within a boat ride of shore.

In summer, blue sharks — sleek, curious and utterly at ease — gather in the blue, and you slip into open ocean to snorkel or dive among them, sometimes alongside schools of mobula rays wheeling past.

Overhead and all around live the Azores' resident sperm whales, one of the best populations on earth to encounter.

This is big-animal, open-water wildlife swimming at its most serious and rewarding: no reef, no bottom in sight, just blue water and the largest predators of the deep moving calmly around you.

For anyone drawn to sharks and whales rather than coral, few places in Europe — or the world — compare.

Boat-based days heading offshore over deep water to snorkel or dive with blue sharks in the open ocean — no reef and no seabed in sight, just blue water, a safety line, and animals drawn in by the crew.

Sharks are curious and calm, but this is committing, open-water swimming that suits confident swimmers and divers rather than nervous beginners. Mobula rays and, in the surrounding sea, resident sperm whales add to the cast, though sightings of any wild animal are never guaranteed.

Seas can be rough on the run out, and trips depend on weather. Cool Atlantic water means a wetsuit and some tolerance for boat time.

Base on Faial, or nearby Pico, and book with a licensed operator running blue-shark and cetacean trips — the encounters are guided and boat-based, offshore over the Condor seamount.

Come in the season, roughly June to October, when blue sharks are most reliable; sperm whales are present much of the year. Be a confident open-water swimmer or certified diver; this isn't a place to learn.

Bring or hire a wetsuit, and allow spare days, since offshore trips are cancelled readily by weather. Reach the Azores by air via São Miguel or direct seasonal flights, then the inter-island connection to Faial.