Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are a National Park and Marine Sanctuary. Over 90 percent of the land and all of the waters are protected. You’ll be visiting a part of the world which has changed little since the time of Charles Darwin. It’s unique location at the confluence of three major currents make it one of the busiest, fishiest, and magical underwater places on earth.

ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS

• Experience one of nature’s finest spectacles
• Dive with the largest whale sharks in the world
• Be engulfed by a wall of hammerhead sharks
• Spot Galapagos, silky & tiger sharks
• Marvel at gentle manta rays
• Enjoy topside land tours

Liveaboard diving in the Galapagos represents the pinnacle for many experienced divers, offering an incredible mix of thrilling big marine life encounters throughout the year.

Liveaboards depart from either Baltra or Santa Cruz, heading north-west towards Wolf & Darwin Islands, the main focus of most liveaboard itineraries. Cruises return, taking in more exceptional diving around Ferdinand and Isabela Islands, with land tours included in the itinerary as well.

On 7-night itineraries there are typically 17–20 dives offered, with extended ten night itineraries offering up to 30 dives. Diving in the Galapagos can be strenuous due to its currents and surge, varying water temperatures, limited visibility and diving from tenders. Liveaboard itineraries are ideal for intermediate and advanced divers with a minimum of 100 logged dives.

Some of the dive sites you may visit on your liveaboard include:

Wolf Island: One of those magical islands, with several dive sites to choose from. If you want to see sharks, you are at the right spot. This is a place for schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks, large aggregations of Galapagos sharks, and occasionally whale sharks. Seeing dolphins, large schools of tuna, spotted eagle rays, barracudas, sea lions and sea turtles is common. The bottom is littered with hundreds of moray eels, many of them free swimming. Being several degrees warmer than the central islands, you can look for many representatives of the Indo-Pacific underwater fauna. On a night dive here you will also enjoy spotting and watching the Red Lipped bat fish walk along the bottom of the sea!

Darwin Island: Considered by many experienced divers as the very best dive location in the world, Darwin Island honours its reputation. It's warmer by a few degrees than the central islands. In one single dive you can find schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, large pods of dolphins, thick schools of skipjack and yellow fin tuna, big eye jacks, mobula rays, and silky sharks. 

From June to November, it's not uncommon to encounter whale sharks in multiple numbers on one single dive. The presence of occasional tiger sharks, black and blue marlin, and killer whales adds on to this amazing diving experience. If you still have time to look for smaller stuff, you’ll find octopus, flounders, and an enormous variety and abundance of tropical fish. Darwin Island is the biggest jewel on the Galapagos Crown.

Cabo Douglas: On the western side of Fernandina Island, we will do one dive Friday morning. Here you can expect to see Galapagos penguins, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, sea lions, seahorse, sea turtles, horn sharks, red-lipped batfish, and occasional hammerhead sharks and white tip sharks. Also keep an eye out for chevron barracuda, snappers, yellow fin tuna, rainbow runners, and wahoo. There are also a lot of smaller fishes like creole fishes, parrot fishes, scrawled filefishes, pacific box fishes, and tiger snake eels.

Punta Vincente Roca: This site brings cooler waters, but remains a firm favourite. The site is characterised by a steep, deep vertical wall covered in soft coral, sponges, and endemic black coral. Regular sightings of mola mola (oceanic sun fish), sea horses, bullhead sharks, red lipped bat fish, various shrimp and many other marine invertebrates. Keep your eyes open for fly bys from the flightless cormorants, penguins and maybe even a marine iguana.

Cousin’s Rock: One of the most photographically productive dives of the region, Cousin’s Rock is formed of coral covered rock and lava flow. Sea fans, hydroid bushes, red sponges and small hard corals encrust ledges and overhangs, sheltering hawkfish, nudibranchs, frogfish and seahorses. Plenty of larger visitors are also seen including giant manta and mobula rays, spotted eagle rays and hammerhead sharks. The wall drops beyond 30m (100ft) but rises up shallow to just 3m (10ft) providing an ideal spot to end your dive playing with the sea lions.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: You must be an Advanced Open Water diver or equivalent and have logged a minimum of 100 dives to join this safari.