Nicolas Pottier
Registered
I've been living in Ecuador for the past three years but we are headed back state side this summer, so while we did a bit of diving in the Galapagos on day trips I decided doing a live aboard should be on my bucket list before I leave. I reached out to dom@diveadvice and told him I was down for any last minute deals and sure enough a month later he set me up with a seven day cruise on the Humboldt. To be clear while I had an excellent experience with Dom and the Humboldt, this report is totally unsolicited and I'm not receiving any compensation for it, just thought I'd share.
The Humboldt is definitely nicer than I would normally pick but after having been on it I can recommend it whole heartedly, mostly because the itinerary seems to be focused on Wolf and Darwin and that's where I think the unique diving is.
I did eight dives in the Galapagos previously on day trips through the most excellent Academy Bay, but I have to say that that diving while interesting was both expensive and not exceptional in any way. We were diving in September and we didn't do the most famous day trip dive (Gordon's Rock) but the diving was dark, cold and while we saw a few hammer heads in general the amount of life we saw really didn't make the diving especially notable for us.
Now having done 20 more dives aboard the Humboldt I think I can safely say the key to diving in the Galapagos is getting to Wolf and Darwin Islands, the diving there is completely different and just in a completely different class. While liveaboards are expensive in Galapagos, so is day diving and I just don't think the sites you can reach on day trips are worth it. If you are going to go to the Galapagos to dive, just save up until you can do a liveaboard that gets to Wolf and Darwin, those are the places that make this a diving destination.
Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Arrive in San Cristobal, get on boat, get assigned rooms etc... I lucked out and got a cabin to myself as the boat wasn't booked to capacity but I have to say the boat in general was fantastic. Cabins are of nice size, comfy beds, private bathroom and everything was very clean. Top deck had a nice amount of both shaded and open area and the common areas inside were of ample size as well. Rental gear was sorted quickly (all fairly recent and in good shape, though regulators were basic unbalanced SP R095s) We had one very short check dive to sort out weighting but not much to see, a few parrot fish, some small rays, really this day was just about settling in.
Day 2: This day was really about double checking weights, there were two dives at North Seymour but they were also pretty underwhelming. After those two morning dives we started a long sail to Wolf Island which took over 12 hours. We got to hang out on the sun deck, had some great food and relaxed for the diving ahead.
Day 3: This is when things started getting fun. Wolf is a whole different world compared to the usual day trip diving in Galapagos. Tons of life and tons of hammerheads. On our second dive we hung out and watched hundreds drift by, scatterings of turtles and spotted eagle rays and our dive ended with dolphins spinning around us at our safety spot. (our panga driver bringing them in by going in circles above us) This was bar none one of the most magical dives I've had.
Brief intermission here to talk about the boat staff and schedule. Most days consisted of four dives, starting at 6:00am sharp. There was coffee and toast available before the first dive but really its mostly about just getting up and getting in the water. As soon as you are back you are greeted by a giant breakfast. The food the entire trip was exceptional. I didn't come expecting that much, but the variety and quality of dishes really impressed me and we left every meal stuffed. After breakfast you have 45 minutes to chill out before a 9:00am dive, which is then followed by lunch at noon. Another hour of downtime and you dive at 1pm, another break then final dive around 3:30pm or so. It is a lot of diving, but everybody was on nitrox and the amazing staff and facilities made it as relaxing as it could be.
Day 4: Two more dives at Wolf, similarly filled with hammerheads, then we sailed to Darwin's Arch during lunch and did two more dives there to end the day. Diving at Darwin is a bit different than Wolf, still lots of hammerheads, but not in as big of schools for us, but so much other smaller life and just endless turtles.
Day 5: Four more dives at Darwin, sharks sharks sharks. After the fourth dive we started sailing back to Wolf.
Day 6: We squeeze in three dives at Wolf and are reminded just how many hammerheads there are here. A few dives had veritable walls of them, essentially blocking our entire view into the ocean, more than you could count, just incredible. After our third dive we start cruising back towards Santa Cruz.
Day 7: We do our last two dives at Cousin's Rock. While some on the boat skipped the second dive, I actually found these a nice change for once. No hammerheads (lots of reef sharks though) but sea lions and on our last dive we saw a giant manta above us as well. After the second dive we started the off gassing for the next day's flights and spend an afternoon and evening poking around Santa Cruz.
Day 8: Back in San Cristobal and flight out.
In any case, was a great trip. Can't thank the staff and guides enough. Everything was tip top, from the condition of the boat, their attention to detail, quality of the dives, variety of food, really incredible. While I don't have experience with other Galapagos liveaboards to compare it to, I would definitely make sure that whichever you pick spends most of its time at Wolf and Darwin because that's where the fun is at.
Happy to answer any questions anybody has, hopefully that wasn't too rambly!
The Humboldt is definitely nicer than I would normally pick but after having been on it I can recommend it whole heartedly, mostly because the itinerary seems to be focused on Wolf and Darwin and that's where I think the unique diving is.
I did eight dives in the Galapagos previously on day trips through the most excellent Academy Bay, but I have to say that that diving while interesting was both expensive and not exceptional in any way. We were diving in September and we didn't do the most famous day trip dive (Gordon's Rock) but the diving was dark, cold and while we saw a few hammer heads in general the amount of life we saw really didn't make the diving especially notable for us.
Now having done 20 more dives aboard the Humboldt I think I can safely say the key to diving in the Galapagos is getting to Wolf and Darwin Islands, the diving there is completely different and just in a completely different class. While liveaboards are expensive in Galapagos, so is day diving and I just don't think the sites you can reach on day trips are worth it. If you are going to go to the Galapagos to dive, just save up until you can do a liveaboard that gets to Wolf and Darwin, those are the places that make this a diving destination.
Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Arrive in San Cristobal, get on boat, get assigned rooms etc... I lucked out and got a cabin to myself as the boat wasn't booked to capacity but I have to say the boat in general was fantastic. Cabins are of nice size, comfy beds, private bathroom and everything was very clean. Top deck had a nice amount of both shaded and open area and the common areas inside were of ample size as well. Rental gear was sorted quickly (all fairly recent and in good shape, though regulators were basic unbalanced SP R095s) We had one very short check dive to sort out weighting but not much to see, a few parrot fish, some small rays, really this day was just about settling in.
Day 2: This day was really about double checking weights, there were two dives at North Seymour but they were also pretty underwhelming. After those two morning dives we started a long sail to Wolf Island which took over 12 hours. We got to hang out on the sun deck, had some great food and relaxed for the diving ahead.
Day 3: This is when things started getting fun. Wolf is a whole different world compared to the usual day trip diving in Galapagos. Tons of life and tons of hammerheads. On our second dive we hung out and watched hundreds drift by, scatterings of turtles and spotted eagle rays and our dive ended with dolphins spinning around us at our safety spot. (our panga driver bringing them in by going in circles above us) This was bar none one of the most magical dives I've had.
Brief intermission here to talk about the boat staff and schedule. Most days consisted of four dives, starting at 6:00am sharp. There was coffee and toast available before the first dive but really its mostly about just getting up and getting in the water. As soon as you are back you are greeted by a giant breakfast. The food the entire trip was exceptional. I didn't come expecting that much, but the variety and quality of dishes really impressed me and we left every meal stuffed. After breakfast you have 45 minutes to chill out before a 9:00am dive, which is then followed by lunch at noon. Another hour of downtime and you dive at 1pm, another break then final dive around 3:30pm or so. It is a lot of diving, but everybody was on nitrox and the amazing staff and facilities made it as relaxing as it could be.
Day 4: Two more dives at Wolf, similarly filled with hammerheads, then we sailed to Darwin's Arch during lunch and did two more dives there to end the day. Diving at Darwin is a bit different than Wolf, still lots of hammerheads, but not in as big of schools for us, but so much other smaller life and just endless turtles.
Day 5: Four more dives at Darwin, sharks sharks sharks. After the fourth dive we started sailing back to Wolf.
Day 6: We squeeze in three dives at Wolf and are reminded just how many hammerheads there are here. A few dives had veritable walls of them, essentially blocking our entire view into the ocean, more than you could count, just incredible. After our third dive we start cruising back towards Santa Cruz.
Day 7: We do our last two dives at Cousin's Rock. While some on the boat skipped the second dive, I actually found these a nice change for once. No hammerheads (lots of reef sharks though) but sea lions and on our last dive we saw a giant manta above us as well. After the second dive we started the off gassing for the next day's flights and spend an afternoon and evening poking around Santa Cruz.
Day 8: Back in San Cristobal and flight out.
In any case, was a great trip. Can't thank the staff and guides enough. Everything was tip top, from the condition of the boat, their attention to detail, quality of the dives, variety of food, really incredible. While I don't have experience with other Galapagos liveaboards to compare it to, I would definitely make sure that whichever you pick spends most of its time at Wolf and Darwin because that's where the fun is at.
Happy to answer any questions anybody has, hopefully that wasn't too rambly!
