Going To Galapagos In May, And Need Advice From Those Who Know!!!

[Doc]

There's rumor that they're trying to get the dive boats to give up all land touring.

I believe there are already licensing and permit laws that prohibit this.

Yes, I know the reality, but....

 

[Mossman]

hey mossman, i remember you since you recalled the situation. the entire time i worked on that liveaboard, it only rained a handful of times, and only once where we wanted to go downtown! glad to know that you are a member on this board. i have gone diving all over the world, but the liveaboards in galapagos seem to be more expensive than any other liveaboard i have ever worked on or took a vacation on. if you have any tips about galapagos, please chime in; other than the land based tip... i'm not traveling all the way down to ecuador, to miss diving wolf and darwin! we are leaning toward the 10 day ph package as well. but 5 grand, excluding airfare down there, a mandatory overnight hotel stay, the flight to san cristabol or the $100 park fee is a little pricey for someone who actually makes their living as a dive instructor. i hope we can work it out, though. it has been a lifelong dream to dive galapagos! keep in touch.

Yeah, I was trying to find a way to differentiate myself from all the rest of the passengers you dealt with that probably all blended into one. If I said I was the guy that stayed up every night until the midnight changing of the watch drinking rum cream and cold coffee, you might not have recognized me since I was usually upstairs smoking with Neil. That photo board on the Nekton was a nice touch, especially for people like me who are terrible remembering names. Fortunately you have a unique name.

The Galapagos boats are expensive, there's no doubt. They're very nice boats, a class above the Nektons, and the islands are pretty remote. But I don't know anyone that's complained they didn't get their money's worth. The combination of land touring and diving is unbeatable. The mainland overnights are a pain, but Ecuador offers great bang for the buck and you can end up getting into a lot more trouble in Quito than you could in Belize City for a great value.

It's probably too late for you now, but I've heard from Aggressor crew members that they're pretty generous about comping their trips on other Aggressor boats. Crewing on the Belize Aggressor, say, might have won you a freebie on one of their Galapagos boats. Unless you can somehow swing a fam trip through a dive shop or otherwise convince them that you deserve a freebie or a break, you're stuck with a big bill for the trip. How are your video or photo skills? A couple on the Komodo liveaboard I was on in July were comped as video pros. Otherwise, the crews tend to be locals, so signing on for a temporary stint probably isn't an option.

Good luck with your dream trip - it's worth it even if you have to beg, borrow, or steal.

 

[Mossman]

I believe there are already licensing and permit laws that prohibit this. Yes, I know the reality, but....

As long as the reality holds up through August . . .

I'm shooting video this time. Even though I was impressed with my photos on the last trip (at least someone was impressed), there's too much action to limit myself to single frames. Discover Channel will be hounding me when I'm done, to be sure.