Who to dive with in Galapagos

[Doc]

The other option is local dive shops doing day trips from Sant Cruz Island or San Cristobal island, but they will not get you up to see "the big boys" in D and W.

But I have seen the "big boys" at Gordon Rocks, all on a day dive op boat from Purto Ayorra, Sta. Cruz.

Land based? Many hundreds of dollars cheaper, plus only 5% of the time at-sea being seasick.

There are trade-offs.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Hi Ralph, Endorse everything said above but especially about this year being a La Nina Year with cooler water temps and more variable viz in Galapagos, Cocos and Malpelo - meaning even more big animals but maybe not the vivid deep blue backgrounds we would like to see in our images. Sep/Oct are perhaps the prime months for whale sharks but almost everything else too. See feedback from a very experienced client whom we sent on a 2 week trip aboard Sky Dancer (now Galapagos Sky and even better) a few years back at end of September. We also arranged a 7 night Machu Picchu and Cuzco trip for them which they loved.

I would like to thank you very much for one of the best trip in our life. Boat was very good and staff very friendly and professional.

Service level was very high. The special intenary gave to us possibility to have 4 full days at Wolf and 7 days at Darwin. 15 days were gone as one night!

Our luck was simply great - during 7 days at Darwin we got 110 sighseing of whale sharks. We had all posible "records"

- 3 whale shark together at once

- 12 spottings during one dive

- spotting one whale shart for almost 20 min

I do not mention

- dolphins huge scools all the time

- sea lions at hunt

- snorkeling with sail fish!!

and many other staff

you will agree that all the above sounds absolutely unreal for single trip!!!!!

Wolf was full of eagle rays, galapagos sharks and hammerheads (at

Darwin nobody even pay attemnetion to them!!!!) - and of course a lot of red lip bat fish which is one of my favorite critter .

so as summary this was absolutely fantastic trip and for sure we will be happy to come back there again at one day.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Hi again Ralph - perhaps I should add that this trip was in 2007 when 14 night itineraries were permitted. Since then new regulations have limited trips to just 7 nights with maximum 3 full days of upto 4 dives per day at Darwin + Wolf, and night diving is no longer permitted in Galapagos. However in 2011, new regulations have allowed us to again book the longer itineraries of 10, 11 and 14 nights, with longer periods at Darwin + Wolf, but I doubt they will allow the whole time at the northern islands. There are currently six boats with permits for Darwin + Wolf and another two are scheduled to join them form September 2011, making 8 total. We do still have space on some 10+11 night trips and you can see our charters and latest availability below. Feel welcome to check with me if you would like more details, rates, itineraries, etc - dom@diveadvice.com


Sep 1-8 7 nights Aggressor II 14 spaces xxx
Sep 3-10 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Sep 5-12 7 nights Deep Blue Brazil Group
Sep 5-12 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Sep 8-19 11 nights Aggressor II 12 spaces xxx Extended Trip
Sep 10-17 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Sep 11-18 7 nights Galapagos Sky 4 spaces in 2 Dlx cabins
Sep 12-19 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Sep 12-22 10 nights Deep Blue xxx FULL
Sep 17-24 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Sep 19-29 10 nights Aggressor II 12 spaces xxx Extended Trip
Sep 22-Oct 3 11 nights Deep Blue xxx FULL
Sep 24-Oct 1 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Sep 26-Oct 3 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Sep 29-Oct 6 7 nights Aggressor II 14 spaces xxx
Oct 1-8 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Oct 2-9 7 nights Galapagos Sky 4 spaces in 1 mstr + 2 dlx shares
Oct 3-10 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Oct 6-13 7 nights Aggressor II 14 spaces xxx
Oct 8-15 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Oct 10-17 7 nights Deep Blue Brazil Group
Oct 10-17 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Oct 13-20 7 nights Aggressor II 14 spaces xxx
Oct 15-22 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Oct 17-28 11 nights Humboldt Explorer xxx 10 spaces Extended Trip
Oct 17-24 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Oct 22-29 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Oct 24-31 7 nights Deep Blue 16 spaces
Oct 24-31 7 nights Estrella del Mar – 16 spaces – available for charter
Oct 28-Nov 7 10 nights Humboldt Explorer xxx 13 spaces Extended Trip
Oct 29-Nov 5 7 nights Darwin Buddy 16 spaces
Oct 31-Nov 7 7 nights Deep Blue Brazil Group

 

[galapagosexpert]

There are definitely plusses to both land based and live aboards! Jumping back in from a few days ago..I meant Whale sharks as "big boys"...I´m definitely jealous if you´ve seen those at Gordons... I´ve been many times, and STILL havent seen one there. WOuldn´t think it is too common...Hammerheads, on the other hand, in my experience: fantastic big boys, too!!!

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

I saw my ever first whale shark at Gordon Rocks, another in May of this year at Gordon Rocks and one at Champion (Floreana) in August! Several Orca sightings this year from the liveaboards. One friend told me last week, they had Orcas eating giant mantas at Cabo Marshall! I am so jealous. Usually the safer bet for Orca sightings is the western side of Isabela -where liveaboards no longer go and temperatures are always colder, so I wonder if the cold water from La Nina factors into Orca sightings this year. As for red-lipped batfish, I'd much rather get tired of seeing so many at Punta Cormorant around 30 ft than search for them at a cold 100ft at the Anchorage.

I've never seen more than 35 hammerheads at one time in the central islands. On the other hand, I've hung out in a bank of hundreds, completely surrounded on all sides with hammerheads at Darwin. I wrote a comparitive look at the difference between land-based trips vs liveaboards. "

Galapagos Expert...you forgot Estrella del Mar. The two new boats now in construction in Guayaquil that are planning to be operational by Sept. 2011 sound exciting...and cost less than everyone except Estrella del Mar, which I do believe has the best safety record of all the Galapagos liveaboards, except the Humboldt which has only been in the water for just over 3 months.

HUGE changes coming soon around land-based dive operations. May happen next week or they may stick to beginning to enforce regulations Feb. 1, 2011. So if you're planning a 2011 land-based dive trip, I'd hold off a minute. Right now, it looks like island hopping dive tours will be impossible except piece meal - no more with one boat for the whole trip. One of the greatest things about taking one boat from island to island was not just the comradery and consistancy of diving with the same group, but it's sure a lot less hassle when you can just leave your dive gear onboard at night. That's a lot of lugging to do on a daily basis, especially when you move between islands with all your luggage, too.

Cousins will be liveaboard only and the legal dive operators will have as rigid an itinerary as the liveaboards have now. Expect land-based prices to get a lot more expensive as their expenses rise. (could also be good to lock in a price now as long as you are doing so with an operator who has a permit to dive like Scuba Iguana). Seems the Park doesn't differentiate much between the regulations for a 30 ft dive boat and a 100 foot liveaboard in terms of who to use for dive guides, insurance, ecological considerations, etc. One friend of mine told me about 1.5 years ago that when all was said and done, he was going to put all the paperwork for his permit into his boat to see if it would sink it.

Too few Park certified Marine Reserve Guides, many of whom don't even dive anymore, but the plan is to only permit RMGs to be dive guides, even on land-based boats. I think the number sits at around 39 RMGs and no new course for new certifications for 7 years now. Seems they needed to change the law to include language about diving before they could offer a new course.

And once the law/regulations are updated, fines for those who don't play nice will be in dollars rather than the current sucre. Why wouldn't someone take a risk knowing the stiffest fine would only be $5 under the law...if you do a sucre to dollar exchange. The regs still have fines in sucre. At one point, $5 was 200,000 sucre. My neighbor has a classic, perfect 64 Mustang. I remember him telling me that he paid the equivalent of $40 for the car when he bought it with sucres.

 

[galapagosexpert]

wow! Now it´s my turn to be jealous! Still waiting for my whale sharks, but did see Orcas a few years back just outside the Santa Cruz Bay! I didn´t realize Estrella was doing Live Aboard operations. The fact that the fines are in sucres, when the country is running on dollars since 2001 definitely needs to be updated! Guides for land based diving should be MR guides as well, as this is the law here. They can bring an assistant with them, who does not need to be a MR guide, but the principal guide for land based AND live aboards must be a MR guide. I agree the Park needs to offer a new course...it´s been a long time!