(Actual) hammerheads season in Galapagos—help!

[RealDiver81]

Hi,

I know there have been many posts asking for the same information, but I'm still confused (and, frankly speaking, shocked) by the different – in fact, totally contradictory – information I get from websites as well as posts.

I have booked a liveaboard at the end of August 2025 on Humboldt Explorer and I have two days to make the payment to confirm it, but I'm now panicking and I'm thinking about cancelling.

In short, I'm really interested in the hammerhead shark schools, plus everything else of course. But I can't figure out which season is the best (dry/cold or warm/wet). The one site swearing about June-September being the absolute best season (not only for whale sharks) is Galapagos Shark Diving. (On the other hand, they only run expeditions in July and August, which kind of makes them partial). Most other websites, however, say that the hammerhead shark peak season (bigger schools) is from January to May. This does not quite make sense because the general rule is that hammerheads like colder water, so the June-September season should be the best. Some websites even claim that the sharks migrate to Cocos from February onwards. It's a total mess.

All in all, I'm not really interested in seeing whale sharks—I've already seen quite a lot of them in Indonesia and the Philippines. If one takes into account the fact that off-season, sea temperature seems to be warmer, liveaboards (as well as flights) are cheaper, I am tempted to change my plans, or maybe go to Cocos in August. On the other hand, everyone is saying that in August you get the plankton-rich cold water that brings nutrients in and the biomass (not only sharks) is much more abundant than in the other periods, which is of course nice (who does not like action-packed dives with a lot of fish?). Everyone seems to be wanting to dive in that period, and costs rise consequently. So I assume it is generally really better. Or are those people really mainly interested in the whale sharks?

Or, it's really unpredictable as the conditions can change from day to day? Does the visibility really makes the difference (there may be loads of sharks in August but if you can't see them, what's the point? There may be fewer in other periods, but you can actually see more of them).

Help please?

Regards,

Andrea

 

[rmorgan]

We saw more than 50 together at Kicker Rock in late March

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I've been to Galapagos 3 times: November, January, and August. We saw schooling hammerheads each trip; however, they never got close, and the numbers were always about the same. Based on those 3 trips (only 3 data points so I'm not claiming it to be definitive), we saw no real difference in the hammerheads. But overall, August was the best for everything.

 

[34109411]

Hi,

I know there have been many posts asking for the same information, but I'm still confused (and, frankly speaking, shocked) by the different – in fact, totally contradictory – information I get from websites as well as posts.

I have booked a liveaboard at the end of August 2025 on Humboldt Explorer and I have two days to make the payment to confirm it, but I'm now panicking and I'm thinking about cancelling.

In short, I'm really interested in the hammerhead shark schools, plus everything else of course. But I can't figure out which season is the best (dry/cold or warm/wet). The one site swearing about June-September being the absolute best season (not only for whale sharks) is Galapagos Shark Diving. (On the other hand, they only run expeditions in July and August, which kind of makes them partial). Most other websites, however, say that the hammerhead shark peak season (bigger schools) is from January to May. This does not quite make sense because the general rule is that hammerheads like colder water, so the June-September season should be the best. Some websites even claim that the sharks migrate to Cocos from February onwards. It's a total mess.

All in all, I'm not really interested in seeing whale sharks—I've already seen quite a lot of them in Indonesia and the Philippines. If one takes into account the fact that off-season, sea temperature seems to be warmer, liveaboards (as well as flights) are cheaper, I am tempted to change my plans, or maybe go to Cocos in August. On the other hand, everyone is saying that in August you get the plankton-rich cold water that brings nutrients in and the biomass (not only sharks) is much more abundant than in the other periods, which is of course nice (who does not like action-packed dives with a lot of fish?). Everyone seems to be wanting to dive in that period, and costs rise consequently. So I assume it is generally really better. Or are those people really mainly interested in the whale sharks?

Or, it's really unpredictable as the conditions can change from day to day? Does the visibility really makes the difference (there may be loads of sharks in August but if you can't see them, what's the point? There may be fewer in other periods, but you can actually see more of them).

Help please?

Regards,

Andrea

hammerhead or not season or not for it you should go to galapagos and enjoy it anyway. was there 2010 dove around Puerto Ayoras was great.

 

[Johnoly]

Mid June, Darwin, More hammers than you can count.

 

[Derek of So Cal]

Was there in early March and saw hammerheads in very large numbers.

Regarding August, one thing I heard from a guide down there was that humpbacks can be seen there between June and August.

Hope that helps!