Diving in the Galapagos Islands
The Evolutionary Melting Pot of Marine Life
This legendary Ecuador diving destination is often considered by experienced divers to represent something of a pinnacle in their diving careers. In that sense, many agree that the Galapagos Islands have, quite simply, the best liveaboard diving cruises in the world.
Such is the range of creatures, that it is difficult to avoid lists when discussing Galapagos scuba diving. Imagining a dive holiday involving sea lions, penguins, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, turtles, hammerhead sharks, iguanas, golden rays, seals and whale sharks is a phenomenal experience. These encounters, which are at once educational and exciting, make the appeal of the archipelago obvious.
While many places have superior reefs, sea conditions and ease of accessibility, there is no other island chain here, the area is in a huge protected marine reserve and virtually free of commercial fishing, and the waters are densely populated by a vast and disparate array of marine creatures. Since the Galapagos are volcanic oceanic islands, unconnected to the continent, deep sea upwellings make the waters rich in nutrients and therefore thriving with life.
Learning about evolution by natural selection in a place where the evidence is so compelling and where historically, the islands played such a major role in the development of Darwin's revolutionary thinking is truly a unique experience. To do so in a place where each dive promises extraordinary sightings is nothing short of a ‘must do once in a lifetime’ experience for any semi-serious diver.
Highlights
Liveaboards, without question, represent the best way to dive the Ecuador islands and many of the best sites are inaccessible from land. The diving highlights include:
Wolf and Darwin - the first names in Galapagos Islands diving, lie in the far north west of the archipelago. These are the best dive sites and liveaboard itineraries are all built around diving this area. This is not a beginners destination and conditions here can include choppy seas, low water temperatures and current. Provided those are all elements that you can tolerate, the rewards can be magnificent.
These sites are among the best for hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, turtles, manta rays and more. Diving here tends to be drift dives or else dives where you can observe the action from points of shelter in the lee of the current. Between June and October you also have a reasonably good chance of sighting whale sharks.
Cousin's Rock is a centrally located diving site in the islands, just off the coast of Santiago and approximately 2½ hours from Puerto Ayora. The site is a wall dive recommended for experienced divers and is considered to be one of the most popular Galapagos diving spots.
Home to a big area of sloping rock plates known as a 'Planchonal' that drop from the surface into the deepest depths, it was recently named "one of the most photographically productive dives in the central islands" by Scuba Diving magazine.
Cousin's Rock is full of spectacular endemic young black corals and is where you can find red-lipped batfish, endemic seahorses, frogfish and octopus. The larger marine life likely to be on show here includes eagle and manta rays, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, fur seals and playful Galapagos sea lions.
Scuba travel enquiries
How to Dive Galapagos
While there are some resort options, serious divers cannot come to the Galapagos Islands and fail to dive Darwin and Wolf, therefore we currently only recommend liveaboards here. They offer much more than a land-based stay. The boats are of a high quality so you need not worry about a lack of comfort or service onboard our recommended Galapagos liveaboards.
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Have a look through our Frequently asked questions
Diving Season
There are 2 seasons in the Galapagos Islands: Wet and Dry. They fade into each other so there is no strict dividing line but they can be generally characterised as follows:
January to June is wet season with sunny spells either side of the brief but impressive showers which can occur daily. This period has warmer water temperatures generally fluctuating between 20 - 28°C during this time. Dry season, more or less from July to December, sees less rain but is also cooler above and below the waters. Water temperatures in dry season are usually 16 - 23°C.
The wisest course of action is to come prepared with exposure suits for a range of temperatures. Marine conditions are variable and it is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared when scuba diving here in Ecuador.
Reef Summary
Good for: Large marine animals, on-land wildlife tours, underwater photography
Not so good for: Beginner divers, devoutly warm water divers
Depth: 5 - >20m
Visibility: 5 - >25m
Currents: Medium to strong
Surface conditions: Choppy with currents and surges, can make diving a little tricky
Water temperature: 16 - 28°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: >50
Distance: 960 km west of the Ecuador mainland
Access: Ecuador liveaboards
Recommended length of stay: 1 - 2 weeks
Extra in Ecuador
More detailed information on the best dive sites:
• Galapagos Dive Video Gallery
• Galapagos tourist information
View a map of:
• Galapagos Islands - Ecuador
Send your diving holidays enquiry
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