Tiburon Explorer liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
If you are planning a dive trip to the Galapagos Islands, you may be wondering; is diving in the Galapagos cold?
Diving in Galapagos is cold, especially June to December when the seas are cooled by the cold Humboldt Current that comes from the Antarctica. But even when the seas in the Galapagos warm, there are still cold thermoclines that make it cold to dive, which is why it’s best to dive in a 5-7mm wetsuit
The best way to experience the scuba diving in Galapagos is on a dive liveaboard (especially if you want to dive Darwin and Wolf Islands), and if you would like to dive Galapagos on a liveaboard you can view these using the following window:
The seas in Galapagos are coldest in the months of July to November when they can drop to 22°C (72°F) in September, which is why you need a 7mm wetsuit or a drysuit to dive. July, August, October and November are only slightly less cold at 23°C (73°F).
Galapagos diving water temperature notes:
1. Average daily max temperature, daily sunshine and sea water temperature are courtesy of https://www.holiday-weather.com/galapagos_islands/averages.
2. To scroll on desktop select table and use arrow keys. On touch screen including mobile devices scroll the table using the screen.
Being cold when diving is a relative term, as some feel the cold more than others.
For example, my wife cold-water swims every Monday with friends in the sea in the UK, and during this winter she didn’t wear a wetsuit. When she first started cold-water swimming she was cold and she did wear a wetsuit when it got colder, but her body acclimatised to the cold.
Another example, is that when I dive in Barbados, I always wear a full 3mm wetsuit. Whereas other divers wear a shorty wetsuit, and others wear a rash vest to dive.
So when you ask; is diving in the Galapagos cold, you need to consider the above table of Galapagos water temperatures, together with what you normally wear in similar water temperatures.
I recommend a drysuit to dive Galapagos and take both light and thick undergarments on your trip, so you can adjust your thermal protection for the temperatures ranges. Divers need to contend with sharp changes in temperature, so you should bring an exposure suit that is suitable for cooler depths.
My preference is a drysuit, because of the cold thermoclines in Galapagos waters. Also, because you dive more than once each day, I never like to put-on a cold wet-wetsuit as you start the dive cold, whereas this doesn’t happen when you dive in a drysuit.
I hope you enjoyed this article about is diving in the Galapagos cold
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about is diving in the Galapagos cold), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
Have fun and be safe!
Is Diving In The Galapagos Cold?
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
