Central Galapagos, Wolf & Darwin (8 Days / 7 Nights - 21 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, dolphins, manta rays, seals/sea lions, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics, non diving activities
Diving environment: advanced divers, drift diving, off the beaten track
Dive sites and activities: Isla Lobos, Marchena: Punta Espejo and Punta Mejia, Wolf and Darwin, Cabo Marshall (Jan-May) or Cabo Douglas and Punta Vicente Roca (Jun-Dec), Cousins Rock. Wildlife land tour of Santa Cruz Highlands, and Darwin Station Interpretation Center visit.
Day 1
You will be greeted by a Calipso representative at the airport in San Cristobal at around 12:45 pm, who will take care of your luggage for you. You will then be transported to the marina where you will board the yacht at 1 pm. Here you will be welcomed onboard, meet the crew, and be given a safety briefing and additional details about the cruise. During the afternoon and after lunch, you will make a check dive at Isla Lobos, before the yacht sets off for its cruise of the islands. Dinner will be served in the evening.
Days 2-7
The first full day of the cruise will find you at Marchena, which is an exceptional spot for diving as not too many people visit this island. You can find many endemic species, plus some large schools of sharks, fur sea lions, dolphins, turtles, eels, cow-nosed rays, and different types of fish like surgeonfish, scorpionfish, red-lipped batfish. Then it’s on to Wolf and Darwin islands, the center-piece of the safari. This area is famed for its hammerheads, whale and Galapagos sharks, humpback whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions, manta rays, angelfish, tuna and grunts.
Next, from January-May, it’s Cabo Marshall at Isabela Island, with its populations of giant manta rays, mobulas, enormous schools of barracudas, Galapagos sharks, and sea lions. Flightless cormorants can be seen resting on the shores of Cabo Marshall.
Or, from June to December, it’s a dive at Cabo Douglas to observe the gracious marine iguanas feeding on algae, underwater. First, you can observe them in the sun to warm up and later they will go into the sea to feed. Then at Vicente Roca, Isabela Island, its mola mola (the largest bony fish in the sea), turtles galore, Peruvian grunts, octopus, Galapagos bullhead shark, penguins, schools of black striped salemas, dolphins, tunas. What a day!
A typical day on Calipso begins at 5-6: am with a Continental buffet of fruit and pastries prior to your 1st dive at 6:30 am, followed by a full all-you-can-eat breakfast at 8:30 am. There is a snack and hot beverage (usually hot chocolate) after each dive. The 2nd dive of the morning is at around 10:00 am. Relax and refresh over lunch at noon, with a selection of international cuisine and local dishes. Chill out on the sun lounges on the sundeck or in the saloon, and look forward to the 3rd dive 0 pm and the 4th dive at 4 pm. There will be plenty of excited talk around the dinner table at 7 pm in the air-conditioned saloon. Dishes usually comprise international and Ecuadorian dishes, prepared with fresh local produce, meat, seafood, 3 vegetable selections and dessert. There is a snack and hot beverage after each dive. Coffee, tea, fruit, candies and snacks are available all day.
Finally, during the final full day, the liveaboard moves on to Cousins Rock to see sea lions, lots of barracudas, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, nudibranchs, frogfish, and sometimes sea horses.
In the afternoon, you will visit the Santa Cruz Highlands to see some lava formations and visit the famous giant tortoises in their natural habitat.
Day 8
After a final breakfast you will say goodbye to Calipso and its crew at 8:30 am. Guests are free to visit the Darwin Station Interpretation Center in San Cristobal or wander about town. The bus with luggage will leave for the airport at 11 am.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].