Galapagos diving, Lammer Law vs Nemo

[tlc]

We are two couples planning a trip to Galapagos. The guys are PADI Master divers with 100+ logged dives. We ladies are "serious snorkelers". We sail our own boats and travel together frequently. Here are the questions:

-any first hand experiences to compare these two ships (Lammer Law and Nemo). The itineraries are the same (set by park authorities), but the cost is quite different. What makes the Lammer Law so much better? Especially interested in the quality of dive masters, equipment, etc.

-is February a good or horrid time for this trip?

-any comments on doing a "mixed" (divers & non-divers) trip to the Galapagos. Will either group be bored?

Thanks for any comments to these or additional issues.

 

[BeenThereDoveThat]

-any comments on doing a "mixed" (divers & non-divers) trip to the Galapagos. Will either group be bored? .

Bored might not be the right word, but it rhymes with bored. May be- ignored?

I have done my share of diving there and I can't imagine what they would do with snorkelers at (almost) any dive site in the Galapagos. There are some surface interval places where they go to hide from the wind and waves, but that may be 10% of the day- if that.

There are many live aboards that will cater to snorkelers, there are some that just say they do. If they can put you in a small zodiac whilst the divers are in another- great! I just don't really see it happening to either party's satisfaction.

Again- many operations will tell you that this is not going to be an issue. Select with care. I still go to Ecuador for diving but I do the land based dive operations out of Puerto Galera. It gives me a great Galapagos experience and they also run snorkelers to different sites. Have it all.

 

[chicoval]

I was there in late October 2005, on the Reina Silvia. My sister-in -law was there in late January 2005. Comparing notes, it seems the October weather, water temp and current speed was better. On my trip, we also saw many whale sharks and hammerhead sharks, and she saw none of these animals on her trip. However, the weather varies greatly from year to year, even for the same time of year. My trip went out to Darwin Island,hers did not, and that is probably the biggest reason we saw the big animals. In my opinion, I would not go to the considerable effort to dive in the Galapagos unless the trip included going out to Darwin and Wolf Islands. It is a long crossing and probably costs a lot in diesel fuel. We saw the Lammer Law out there, but not the Nemo, and their website doesn't show that they go out there, so that probably accounts for the price difference.
We had 2 snorklers on our boat, who went out with us in the Zodiacs and snorkled while the divers were in the water. It wouldn't have been my choice, but they both said they enjoyed it.

 

[alijtaylor]

I was on Lammerlaw in late November on a trip that included Woolf and Darwin, and I think snorklers would have been bored apart from the land trips. I wonder if they would let snorklers in the water at Woolf and Darwin? We all did negatively weighted entries so you went straight down and avoided the worst current.

But Lammerlaw also does (at least did) a southern itinerary which didn't do Woolf arnd Darwin but was promoted for diving/non diving couples and would offer more shallow sites suited to snorkkers I think.

Lammerlaw (2004) was an excellent experience, good divemasters, excellent accommodation and food.

Good luck with what you decide.

Alison