Galapagos land based diving and whale shark season

[Thresa]

I am trying to plan a trip to the Galapagos islands during whale shark season. I am wondering if I will have a good opportunity of seeing whale sharks doing land based diving only (daily dive trips from Santa Cruz island)....no liveaboard. Are you only likely to see whale sharks at Darwin and Wolf?

 

[pikeblenny]

You may see whale sharks in places other than Darwin and Wolf - i.e. land based from Santa Cruz - but the sightings are few and far between. The diving you read about i.e. large schools of hammerheads, whale sharks, etc. is the diving at Darwin and Wolf. Whale shark season starts in June and runs to November. Over the past two years the best months have been August and September, If you really want to experience Galapagos diving you need to dive Darwin and Wolf. Its worth it!

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Usually whale shark season at Darwin and Wolf is when whale sharks are not in the central islands. You're more likely to see a whale shark at Enderby (Floreana) in April and Gordon Rocks (Santa Cruz) in May or June. As PikeBlenny says, the odds are few and far between in the central islands at any time of the year whereas the odds are rare that you won't see whale sharks at Darwin between July through November.

Am in the Guayaquil airport on the way back from 11 days of diving in the central islands. We had Hammerheads, Galapagos Sharks, lots of Mantas near Isabela and many other wonders, but no whale sharks. Was out at the beginning of June and there was a whale shark at Gordon Rocks...saw a young one there last in June, but not beyond. What you do get on the land based diving is time spent, err..., on land...something the live-aboards don't offer a lot of and in the future, will be unable to offer at all.

See this post:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/south-america/332542-galapagos-tour.html

Still, Darwin and Wolf is the reason many dive the Galapagos at all and no wonder. Astounding diving. Hundreds of hammerheads, lots of whale sharks and the huge Galapagos sharks at Wolf.

 

[Thresa]

Thanks so for the info, it has been very helpful. From what I have read the conditions are very rough getting to Darwin and Wolf in August and September. Unless I am wrong about the conditions during whale shark season I would have to find a new dive buddy (currently my husband) if I ever want to dive there. He is very prone to motion sickness. He does OK on cruise ships and boat dives with the help of the patch, but I don't think he would be able to tolerate really rough conditions especially for that length of time.

 

[Mossman]

Unfortunately, you're probably right. It would be torture. I'm about 50-50 when it comes to getting seasick, not as bad as some, but I've definitely had my spells. I managed the crossings fine on my last trip (August a few years ago) because I properly prepared myself (Dramamine and lots of wine), but got nailed hard when we hit some unexpected nasty conditions back in the central islands. That was also when our toilet exploded and I was so seasick I couldn't get out of bed to escape.

On the other hand, the diving was so awesome at Wolf and Darwin that is was worth every minute of the torture. Tell your husband to quit whining, be a man, and deal with it. It's only 12 hours or so. Women handle the agony of labor and childbirth, cancer victims suffer endless nausea from chemo, surely your hubbie can tough it out a few hours so you can see whale sharks?

 

[Thresa]

Tell your husband to quit whining, be a man, and deal with it. It's only 12 hours or so. Women handle the agony of labor and childbirth, cancer victims suffer endless nausea from chemo, surely your hubbie can tough it out a few hours so you can see whale sharks?

LOL very true. I have a sister and friend who are interested in doing the trip so may have to leave the hubby behind for this one. The only bad thing is will have to be postponed for a year, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Just thought I'd add that, against all odds, we had a whale shark at Champion in Floreana on Aug. 3.

Viz has been crap and water temps 16-20 in the central islands.