Galapagos live-aboard trip tips?

[oceancat]

Hi.

Our Galapagos trip this July will be our first live-aboard trip. For those that have done this trip, what advice do you suggest? What should I definitely bring/leave out? I know to keep the party dresses at home , and bring sunscreen. How many bathing suits do you recommend? How cold is it at night--should I bring a heavier jacket? We are going to the Andes prior to the trip, so I will already have colder-weather gear in Ecuador, but had planned on stashing it in Quito. Thanks in advance!

 

[fishballer]

nice!!

i have mine galapagos planned for may 09. can't wait for your trip report!

 

[MagicChicken]

I'm going in May if the Deep Blue gets its itinerary approved.

Scuba gear will make up the bulk of my luggage. Clothing, etc. will have to fit in a backpack:

- 1 swimsuit
- 1 tee-shirt
- 1 towel
- underwear
- surfer shorts
- weatherproof jacket : something like this
- a longsleeve shirt
- sunscreen, first aid kit, sea sickness drugs
- contact lenses kit
- antiperspirant, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste
- a book, my iPod... maybe I'll bring my Munchkin game

I'll have to wear everything else I plan to bring : pants.. hat.. sunglasses...

Further advice would be appreciated

 

[ChrisM]

Galapagos is not your typical "tropical equatorial" vacation. Best advice I ever got was bring jeans. On a dive trip???? Yup. Quito gets very cold at night.

For the boat, bring a pair of sweats/long pants and a sweatshirt/comfy jacket.
No towels needed (On aggressor at least)
Bring your favorite DVDs. Crossing to and from Wolf/Darwin is long

 

[NudiHuntrs]

On LOBs, I pack 5 bathing suits, so I can put a dry on one before every dive. It doesn't take up much space and was totally worth it, in my opinion.

I also pack OTC pain relievers, bandaids, vaseline for irritated skin/blister prevention from booties. I pretty much pack a mini-pharmacy

The one item I wished I had: antibiotics
There's nothing like being on a boat in a remote locale with a throbbing ear infection.

 

[Scared Silly]

Galapagos is not your typical "tropical equatorial" vacation. Best advice I ever got was bring jeans. On a dive trip???? Yup. Quito gets very cold at night.

For the boat, bring a pair of sweats/long pants and a sweatshirt/comfy jacket.

Most people forget that Quito is at 3000 meters. So yes it does tend to cool down at night. Also in cities like that people rarely wear shorts so if you want to only mildly stand out wear pants.

So for boats having a sweat shirt or light jacket is always nice to have as evening breezes can kick up and cool things down.

 

[WendySH]

I was in Galapagos last October with Aggressor. This was the best dive trip that I ever had. We saw 6 whalesharks in one dive!!!!! There were also thousands and thousands of hammerheads!! The marine lifes there are very amazing!!! They are more in terms of number and bigger in terms of size than other parts of the world. I really want to go there again if it is not that far and expensive.

You are welcome to see my Galapagos pictures in my blog: Always Looking Forward to Next Journey!!

Even though Galapagos is along the equator, the water is really cold because of the cold current. When the boat was in Wolf and Darwin Island, the water was a little bit warmer. However, the water was layer by layer. Sometimes very warm and sometimes very cold. When the boat was in the main Islands, the water was really really cold and the visibility was not good. I wore 7MM wet suit and 2 hoods, still shaking..... You will know how cold it will be when you jump into the water when you do the check out dive ..... I screamed .....

For me, most of the time when I was on the boat, I wore long sleeve and fleece jacket. Wind is sometimes very strong!! So, don't bring just shorts. Sun lotion is of course a must in South America as you know the ozone hole is there.......

One more thing..... Galapagos is definitely not for beginners. We had 1-2 beginners on our boat. The strong underwater current and waves scared them and they skipped quite a lot of amazing dives.

Anyway, wish you a good trip in Galapagos. I think you will like it very much.


Wendy

 

[oceancat]

Wendy,

Thank you very much for your comments. I am glad you had such an amazing trip and I hope to see lots of hammerheads too! Less than 2 months--I can't wait!!!

 

[aussiejosho]

Just got back from my first Galapagos trip which was great as expected. As already stated the water is colder than expected but also extremely variable so I would recommend lots of different suits that can be layered to suit the conditions. I started with 5mm, then added a 3mm hooded vest, and finally a 3mm hyperstretch and was happy with that.

It is rare to do more than 3 dives per day given the land excursions and crossings (we were on Aggressor II and spent 5 days in Wolf and Darwin on a 10 day trip). so you wont need more than 3 or 4 bathing suits and one warm change of clothes for the evenings.

Quito is pretty chilly but you will be well covered for that with your Andes clothing.

You'll need good shoes that can get wet (Tevas are good) and a good hat that won't blow off.

Camera-wise - leave the macro rigs at home and bring more wide angle stuff - even for land trips, you can get very close to all the critters so won't need your longer lenses.

Have a great trip and don't hesitate to ask for any further details.