Crazy great experience - The dolphins in a group of 30-40 animals were quickly found. We were released several times when the dolphin flock came at us. A wonderful experience that we will remember for a long time. I was surprised that the dolphins were so large, they could grow between 3-4 meters long. Very nice biologist aboard. Had the absolute impression that they took care of / took care of the dolphins despite the fact that this is a tourist magnet. Recommended!

EPIC EXPERIENCE & WORTH EVERY PENNY! - THIS EXPERIENCE IS WORTH EVERY PENNY!! I was expecting to hop into the water and see a few dolphins in the water in the distance but it was soo much better than this. I think it’s important to understand that one day to the next will offer different experiences. We are swimming in the ocean with wild dolphins! You are lowered into the water once they find a pod of dolphins and you swim close to the boat while they swim around you while they pass by. We had 3 chances to be in the water, one of which a couple dolphins were far in the distance, 1 where the dolphins were all around with us and even interacting with us under the water & one where there were tons just swimming by under us. The guides made a great effort to ensure everyone on the boat had at least one great encounter. This by far exceeded my expectations for an open ocean dolphin swimming experience. Very kind and gentle staff! Even showers available for after your swim!

Don’t even think twice about booking this experience!! - This was probably one of the top 3 experiences of my life!! I was hoping to maybe see some dolphins from the boat and then maybe 1 or 2 in the water but holy cow!! We saw SO MANY DOLPHINS while in the water! They were so curious and one got incredibly close to me and looked me in the eyes - it was a moment I will never forget. Even the people working on the boat were freaking out about how cool that was! The boat ride was so fun, the people were incredibly nice and it felt very respectful of the environment and dolphins. I seriously cannot recommend this enough!!

Incredible experience!!! - An amazing experience, guided by Matilda. We search for dolphins and enjoy swimming near them. I totally recommend it. 👏👏👏👏

The guide was great, she... - The guide was great, she explained a lot and took care that every group-member (we were only 6 group-members) had enough time to see the dolphins- we had a great experience

Awesome!! - What a fantastic experience! I definitely recommend this activity to anyone visiting the Azores, and the best part was that the water was actually warm even on a cool day

Extraordinary experience - Very professional support by marine biologists. The animals are not rounded up or fed. You go out to sea in small groups and can enter the water several times. Of course, it is always a matter of luck how big the dolphin groups are. It is then looked where the groups are moving and tries to position the boat so that the animals swim on one.

Dancing With the Dolphins - Everyone on the Picos de Aventura team was friendly and engaging with us the whole excursion. We were taught proper etiquette on riding the boat, and interacting with the dolphins, while still having a fun, exciting experience. I will definitely take any opportunity to swim with dolphins with the help of Picos de Aventura again, on any future trips to São Miguel!

Magical and amazing! - In one word: MAGICAL! This experience was truly amazing. It is pricey yes, but if you can afford it, it is totally worth it. The captain of the boat and the marine biologist are really passionate about the ocean life. However, please note the following: you will be swimming in the open ocean, and the dolphins are wild animals; they do not like humans so they will quickly swim away. During our tour we also saw multiple Sei whales and one hammerhead shark!! That truly added so much fun to our trip. Overall: do it if you like swimming, the ocean and ocean life ;)

Glimpse dolphins for a few seconds under water. Not recommended. Do your research before doing this. - This tour would be better titled - a chance to glimpse wild dolphins underwater from a distance. The idea of seeing a dolphin underwater was far more enticing than the experience turned out to be. Seeing them swim and jump alongside the boat was the best part. The guides find the pods of dolphins who are swimming along with the boat. We saw much more of the dolphins from the boat than from the water and this part was enjoyable (but a bumpy ride and we were freezing). They drive the boat ahead of the dolphins and then drop (push) you into the water at the exact moment that you might catch a glimpse of dolphins passing by underwater. This is tricky because it means you have to time it to be holding your breath right when they drop (push) you into the water so you can catch the glimpse. If you don't have your breath and need to come up for air, you've missed the glimpse. We each had 3 tries so got a little better at it by the third time. I personally felt pushed without warning (from a position they have you assume on the side of the boat) so wasn't holding my breath the way I wanted. The experience is jarring, frantic and chaotic. I agree with another reviewer who wrote that it's anything but relaxing. The photo they show of the dolphins underwater is somewhat accurate because as soon as you land in the water, the dolphins scatter going either around you or more often diving deep underneath you. The dolphins I saw diving underneath me were not as close as those in the photo. And the dolphins are gone in a flash. They all but admitted that they should have canceled on this day but they didn't cancel. You'll have to read the other reviews to see if it's better on other days. When we got out to the dolphins (about 30 min rough boat ride), our leader said that maybe it was too windy but that we would try to 'finish the activity.' Six of the 8 of us on board took 3 turns. 2 people on board took one turn and then didn't go back out. When we got back to land, she said we were very 'brave' to have completed the activity in these conditions. I felt ripped off that they didn't just cancel and give us a chance to do it on another day. They give you a short wetsuit and a heavy raincoat (for wind and spray). You wear both underneath a life vest on the boat ride. When it's your turn, you remove the life vest and rain coat and go in either with just a snorkel mask or mask and tube. Nobody used the tube after their first turn. You're dropping under the surface of the water and theoretically could clear the tube at the surface to keep watching but the tube is too much hassle when you have seconds to get your glimpse. I had very high expectations for this experience. I had booked 3 tours over the course of 5 days in the hopes that I would have a good experience and good weather on one of the 3 trips. After the first experience, I canceled the other two. Even in better weather, I didn't have confidence that the experience would be satisfying. They warn you not to take the trip if you have back problems, which I don't. But my low back and neck were sore for about 24 hours after the trip which I attribute to being pushed off the boat (by the guide's knee in my low back). I wasn't eager to go again. It was a big let down.