kevreid:
The land based package is showing 2 dives a day. I know you well enough Doc to know that would not keep you happy. How are you handling getting in more dives doing land based?
Contact ScubaIguana and tell them what kind of schedule you want to do. They took us out for 8 and ten hour trips. What you're seeing there are 1/2 day trips.
Here's our trip report:
http://www.geocities.com/johnofrancis/galapagos.htm
We were there with some highly motivated divers. We did three a day, some days four. It wasn't gentle, but it was 30% the cost of liveaboard with some major plusses:
Every evening was spent walking through the Darwin Research station, we ate dinner at a different place in town every night, we night dived once (could have done more), they shuttled us to Baltra in pickup trucks and cabs to meet the day boat when we had seen Academy Bay, Gordon Rocks and such spots nearby, and most importantly, our beds didn't rock.
We also got to see the upland reserve for the tortises (where they are really meant to live) and did
both lava tunnel tours. Well worth the trip!
Personal decision, my call, here, but after doing liveaboards for so long in the G, I know there was more to see, and honestly, for the price and what there is to see versus the lengthy trip to get there.... this is my heartiest recommendation.
I know for most, it will fall upon deaf ears, but I will tell you, it just works great for me. The liveaboards are so overhyped by advertising dollars, this is all we see in the North American publications. If you look at European magazines, the land based ops are featured. These divers are more money concious and they want other things than diving. Usually I want dive-dive-dive, but this is one of a few exceptions.
Galapagos is indeed world class diving, certainly more important in a dive career than the Blue Hole of Belize or saying that you've been to Cuba, but it is so much more than diving. There are many places in the Pacific that all there is may be diving- nothing to see or do on land. Galapagos offers so much more than being on a cramped boat for 5 dyas, 1.5 of which you are making the crossing to Wolf and Darwin.
Would you go to Thailand and
just dive? Not me. There are a few things to see other than what's underwater. When I go to Roatan, I want diving 24/7 because once you've done the 6 hour island tour, sorry to say, there's no more to see. Better have diving by the bucketfull to keep you busy!
Galapagos truly offers other diversions, much more so than will be afforded by any liveaboard. Still not sure? Arrive at ScubaIguana a few days before tour liveaboard sails. Spend three days doing some warm ups and see the local stuff. You might skip the liveaboard the next time around!