Galapagos & Cocos

[TheAvatar]

I dove off of a mainly surface tour live aboard (I was the only diver!!!) I did 5 dives and it was $75 per including gear. I was extremely happy. In those five dives I saw more turtles, sharks, and spotted rays (by many times) than I'd seen in 150 dives previous from liveaboards in the Caribbean! Also, where else can you dive with penguins and sea lions when it's 85F on the surface? We were in the main islands, not Darwin/Wolf. DO NOT SKIP SURFACE EXPLORATION IN THE GALAPAGOS! It is far more unique that what is under the water. Hope that helps!

 

[Klezz]

what is the best livaboard company, to dive Galapagos ?
deep blue ?
or peter hughes ?

someone told me deep blue is the same level as peter hughes

thanks
Stephane

 

[LRobbins]

Hi there,
I'm considering a trip to Galapagos next year, but apparently all liveaboards have been barred by the authorities.
Does anyone know what the land-based diving is like? Is it significantly inferior to Darwin & Wolf, the two remote islands that are supposed to be the most spectacular?
What are the chances of seeing humpbacks and whale sharks on a land-based trip?
Any info gratefully received.

I also looked at doing a liveaboard to Cocos, but the only two I can find (Okeanos Aggressor & Undersea Hunter) are booked up. Anyone know of any other Cocos liveabord options?

Any advice gratefully received!

Cheers,
James (London)

I went to Cocos last year (it was amazing!) but there are just 2 liveaboards (the ones you mentioned). I'm going to the Galapagos on a liveaboard (Agressor) in 2 weeks. I believe that there used to be more liveaboards that went to the Galapagos and now there's just 3 companies, but as far as I know liveaboards still go to the Galapagos.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

There are several live-aboard options in the Galapagos: The 2 Agressors, Peter Huges' Skydancer, Deep Blue, Estrella del Mar and the Alta makes both naturalist and dive cruises and is offering some really low priced deals for early fall...the best time to see whale sharks at Wolf and Darwin. The National Park is in the process of awarding new permits for diving in the Galapagos and will increase the number of live-aboards to 14 total.

Best way to see both what's above and below the water in the Galapagos (and they are both amazing) is to either do an extension before or after your live-aboard OR do a combo land-based dive-naturalist excursions via an island hopping program. I think Isla Isabela offers the most incredible non-dive sites in Galapagos. Sierra Negra Volcano trekking along with Volcan Chico. Los Tuneles is a spot that is NOT to be missed. I wrote about Los Tuneles on my blog: divingthegalapagos.com

Land-based will not afford you the opportunity to dive Wolf/Darwin, something many consider THE reason to dive the Galapagos. They are only accessible by live-aboard. But the sheer abundance below the water and land excursions together are a pretty amazing option.

 

[fairybasslet]

Great advice.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

In case anyone is interested, a truly beautiful sailing yacht, M/S Alta, will be making her final Wolf and Darwin dive trips this fall before she only offers Naturalist cruises. It is a very well appointed 140 ft sailing yacht that is the poshest of the Wolf-Darwin live-aboards. During the height of whale shark season (Sept-Oct 2009), spaces are available beginning at $2800! That is literally 2007 prices. I have more info on my blog: divingthegalapagos.com

She only makes one land visit, but you could easily spend an extra couple of days for land visits while you're there. Most live-aboards only make about 2 land visits and perhaps after this year, the park will finally remove all land visits from permits. It was sort of funny in that a couple weeks ago, I sat in the Park office asking them lots of questions since everything is in the process of changing. They stated as fact that none of the live-aboards are allowed to make land visits, but I challenged that. So we looked up the cupos and indeed, until the end of Jan. 2010, those with land visits on their permits will be allowed to continue. Beyond that, who knows? Word has been that all tur navegable permits had to choose either diving or land visits, but could not do both.