Galapagos Liveaboard Diving
Remote Liveaboard Diving With Schooling Hammerheads, Whale Sharks & Rays
Liveaboard Diving in Galapagos
The pinnacle of Galapagos liveaboard diving is the the isolated and remote Darwin and Wolf Islands, known for some of the best diving in the world with the famous schooling scalloped hammerheads, Galapagos sharks and whale sharks. Darwin and Wolf Islands are only accessible by liveaboard dive boat.
The Galapagos Islands are world-renowned for excellent diving where you’ll see a spectacular array of sea life and underwater geomorphological formations.
Liveaboard diving in Galapagos is on many diver’s bucket list, is a marine reserve and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, which means it is highly protected.
In the Galápagos Islands, divers experience nature like almost nowhere else on the planet, which ranges from Galapagos penguins to marine iguanas, and massive schools of hammerhead sharks to Galapagos sharks, not to mention the Galapagos sea lions and magnificent whale sharks too.
Then there’s the fact that The Galapagos Islands are famous for inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The archipelago Islands of Galapagos are home to many species of birds and animals that can only be found in Galapagos, which is amazing in itself.
Most scuba divers who visit Galapagos want to visit Darwin and Wolf islands, which are only accessible by liveaboard. These two isolated islands are where divers encounter huge schools of scalloped hammerheads, silky sharks, manta rays and whale sharks.
There are only 9 dive liveaboards in Galapagos designed for small groups of divers. Most Galapagos liveaboards take no more than 16 guests and many score over 9 out of 10 by customers.
Liveaboard trips are year round to the Galapagos, where most liveaboards offer Punta Carrion, Darwin Island and Wolf Island in their itineraries. Cruise itineraries range from 7, 10 and 14 days.
Galapagos Islands Liveaboard Dive Sites
Punta Carrion Diving
Punta Carrion is on the west of Santa Cruz Island and in most case is the first stop for Galapagos dive liveaboards.
Punta Carrion is known for having fun scuba diving with Galapagos sea lions. Galapagos sea lions are known for being playful with divers and you may find your fins being tugged from behind by a mischievous sea lion. Divers may also see eagle rays, white tip reef sharks, with the chance to see hammerhead sharks and even dolphins.
Punta Carrion is for easy diving and perfect for beginner divers, as the current is usually mild. The visibility is normally around 10 meters (33 feet) at Punta Carrion. As the diving in Galapagos is amazing, you’ll want to make your dives last as long as possible (See my 22 tips on conserving your air), but then it’s also recommended to dive with Nitrox too, which will help you extend your dive times.
Galapagos liveaboards offering dives in Punta Carrion include: Galapagos Aggressor, Galapagos Master, Humboldt Explorer and the Nortada.
Wolf and Darwin Island Diving
Galapagos liveaboards bound for Wolf and Darwin islands sail overnight from the nearest liveaboard departure port, which is why the only way to dive there is by dive liveaboard.
Making the trip to these isolated islands of the Galapagos Islands will not disappoint, as this is where you’ll experience the mega schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks, which are en-route to the Cocos Islands.
You will also see silky sharks, Galapagos sharks, manta rays, dolphins, spotted eagle rays, orcas and whale sharks from June to November.
Be prepared to experience rough sea conditions at Wolf and Darwin Islands with high swells. So be mindful if you’re going suffer from seasickness on the liveaboard before you commit booking a Galapagos liveaboard trip.
You will need to have dived at least 50 dives and hold an advanced open water certification to dive Wolf and Darwin, as the currents can be so strong and many of the dives are drift dives. Most of the dives are to 30-meters (100 feet).
Galapagos liveaboards offering dives to Wolf and Darwin Islands include: Galapagos Aggressor, Galapagos Master, Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos Sky, Calipso, Aqua and Nortada.
Cabo Douglas Diving
If it’s the marine iguanas you want to dive with, Cabo Douglas is the place to see them.
Cabo Douglas is on the eastern side of Fernandina Island. In addition to seeing the marine iguanas feeding on the algae growing on the underwater rocks, you also see the flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins and possibly seahorses.
The dives at Cabo Douglas are mostly less than 26 metres (85 feet) deep.
Best time to dive the Galapagos Islands
The diving in Galapagos is year round, but depending on when you dive you will experience two distinct seasons.
The warm season in the Galapagos Islands
The warm season in Galapagos is from December through May. Water temperatures during the warm season range from 23-25°C (75-80°F). If you suffer from seasickness, this is a better time to go as sea conditions are calmer, there are also less currents at this time of year too.
The warm season in Galapagos is the best time to see large numbers hammerheads, silky sharks and Galapagos sharks.
The cool season in the Galapagos Islands
The cool season in Galapagos is from June through November. Water temperatures during the cool season range from 16-18° (60-65°F), so you may want to dive in a drysuit instead of using a wetsuit.
It is at this time of year when sea conditions are at their roughest, and also when you’ll experience strong currents too. This will make the diving more challenging, and is why it’s only suitable for advanced open water divers with 50+ dives.
During cool season is when you are likely too see whale sharks at Darwin and Wolf Islands. Whilst there are less hammerheads in the cool season, you will still likely see large schools of scalloped hammerheads together with silkys and Galapagos sharks too.
How to get to Galapagos Islands
How you get to the Galapagos Islands will depend on where you are beginning your journey. Here are a few popular locations and how to get to the Galapagos Islands:
