A question about the best time to visit Galapagos

[vkalia]

Folks, am hitting a bit of wall trying to figure out the best time to visit Galapagos and wanted some advice.

My understanding is that the summer season has better vis and warmer waters, while the winter season has colder waters, lower vis due to more plankton but also more marine life. How much of a difference is there in fish life though? Is it massive or just 10-15%? Big enough to be a determining factor, in other words?

Re megafauna:
1). Aug-October is the peak time for whale sharks - is this correct?
2). Mantas are from Dec to April (summer)
3). Hammerheads are present all year long, but according to one source, peak season is Dec-April and here, I have read they migrate away from Feb-April. Which is it? Also, how big a difference in hammerhead sightings are we talking about, when it comes to summer vs winter months?

What would you guys say is a good time to to go to maximise the overall Galapagos experience - see big schools of fish, large numbers of megafauna up close, and ideally, warmer waters (this last is a tiebreaker only - not a primary deciding factor).

TIA!

 

[MizzO]

Check out the Galapagos Aggressor logs as they detail what's seen each week: Galapagos Aggressor III Adventure Logs | Aggressor Adventures™

I booked with a similar understanding as you, and booked end of August thinking "middle of peak whale shark season, I'm sure to see one!" Most people on the boat thought similarly. But there were hardly any whale shark sightings this year in August and we didn't see any. It could have been the La Nina effect (waters were cooling then), or the dive guides mentioned that they don't see them if orcas are around hunting (though we didn't see any orcas, but that doesn't mean they weren't around).

I booked before doing a deep dive in the captains logs, but now know that Aggressor has consistently seen whale sharks on every trip in June every year since 2021, and almost every trip in July (except the last July sailing in 2023).

Yes hammerheads are typically around but the numbers vary. I think the peak is around March. We saw some in late August but I think the biggest congregation was about 6 together. Lots of other species, of course. And we had a lot of mola molas which was a treat.

Apart from the liveaboard (which was great despite not seeing a whale shark), my favourite part was spending a few nights unwinding on Floreana. I was impressed by the snorkelling there -- it was better than the dive sites we did around the central islands on the liveaboard. The biggest surgeon fish (huge), most turtles and sea lions I saw were snorkelling on Floreana, where I had the waters practically to myself. And a colony of Christmas marine iguanas. Was happy to have my 5mm even for snorkelling, and my 7mm was good for the Western dive sites (our lowest bottom temp was 14)

 

[vkalia]

Thanks, I'll check out the Captains Log, and also the Floreana - after coming all that way, we are definitely going to spend a little more time in the area.

I am trying to decide between "summer, warmer, mantas" and "winter, colder, whale sharks".

Other than this, would you or anyone else reading this know if there are any other major differences in the diving between these two periods - overall biomass/fish life on the reef, other interesting sightings, etc?

 

[SC_14_sharkdiver]

Folks, am hitting a bit of wall trying to figure out the best time to visit Galapagos and wanted some advice.

My understanding is that the summer season has better vis and warmer waters, while the winter season has colder waters, lower vis due to more plankton but also more marine life. How much of a difference is there in fish life though? Is it massive or just 10-15%? Big enough to be a determining factor, in other words?

Re megafauna:
1). Aug-October is the peak time for whale sharks - is this correct?
2). Mantas are from Dec to April (summer)
3). Hammerheads are present all year long, but according to one source, peak season is Dec-April and here, I have read they migrate away from Feb-April. Which is it? Also, how big a difference in hammerhead sightings are we talking about, when it comes to summer vs winter months?

What would you guys say is a good time to to go to maximise the overall Galapagos experience - see big schools of fish, large numbers of megafauna up close, and ideally, warmer waters (this last is a tiebreaker only - not a primary deciding factor).

TIA!

HI!
I have been to Galapagos 3 times:

- Sep 2022
- Mar 2023
- Aug 2024

Sep 2022
Saw hammers and whalesharks easily.
Maybe did not see personally massive schools of hammers, but they were around.
Big Galapagos sharks.

Mar 2023
Total disaster. No sharks at Darwin and Wolf, not even one (!!!) for 4 days.
Only 2 dives were good at Elephant rock (20-30 hammers in a wall), but we needed to go in the channel to see them. Normally it is sufficient to go to Shark Bay or Landslide.
Very good sightings of whales and also orcas from the panga and main boat. Sunshine.

Aug 2024
A dream!!!! Non stop sharks on each dive. 3 Whale sharks. Hammers everywhere, no stop. Big schools.
See video below.

I had the same doubt, but given my experiences I would say June-November is best for everything. Maybe not mantas, but you do not go to galapagos for mantas, there are better places for that.
Local panga drivers confirmed August to October as best time for sharks.
Not sure if it is true, but for whalesharks you want to go 1 week after full moon.

In general there was significant difference between the two seasons. For example, in March I have not seen any turtle either. So not only a reduction of sharks, but of everything. Having said this, many people had great dives in January, for example. Here I am just sharing my facts about my trips.

Hope it helps.

VIDEO Aug 2024

 

[CWK]

Nothing wrong with Mar/Apr except no whale sharks. There were certainly lots of hammerheads. See: Galapagos Mar/Apr 2024

 

[vkalia]

HI!
I have been to Galapagos 3 times:

- Sep 2022
- Mar 2023
- Aug 2024

Sep 2022
Saw hammers and whalesharks easily.
Maybe did not see personally massive schools of hammers, but they were around.
Big Galapagos sharks.

Mar 2023
Total disaster. No sharks at Darwin and Wolf, not even one (!!!) for 4 days.
Only 2 dives were good at Elephant rock (20-30 hammers in a wall), but we needed to go in the channel to see them. Normally it is sufficient to go to Shark Bay or Landslide.
Very good sightings of whales and also orcas from the panga and main boat. Sunshine.

Aug 2024
A dream!!!! Non stop sharks on each dive. 3 Whale sharks. Hammers everywhere, no stop. Big schools.
See video below.

I had the same doubt, but given my experiences I would say June-November is best for everything. Maybe not mantas, but you do not go to galapagos for mantas, there are better places for that.
Local panga drivers confirmed August to October as best time for sharks.
Not sure if it is true, but for whalesharks you want to go 1 week after full moon.

In general there was significant difference between the two seasons. For example, in March I have not seen any turtle either. So not only a reduction of sharks, but of everything. Having said this, many people had great dives in January, for example. Here I am just sharing my facts about my trips.

Hope it helps.

VIDEO Aug 2024

Super helpful, thank you. Will plan for Aug, I think - Sep is sold out as far as 2027 with the boats I work with.

And I will make arrangements to send you a beer, wherever you are, if I do see hammerheads like that - that's a promise.