Diving in the Galapagos Islands

Posted on July 30, 2008
Filed Under Adventure, Charters, Diving, Islands, South America

The Galapagos Islands lie about 620 miles off the west coast of South America and are spread among nearly 20,000 miles of ocean. Belonging to Ecuador, this group of 19 islands, plus dozens of tiny islets, are some of the most remote and isolated in the world.

Renowned for its unique and fearless wildlife, the Galapagos are popular amongst natural historians, both professional and amateur. Giant tortoises, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and different bird species can all be seen and approached. The landscape of the islands is relatively barren and volcanic, but beautiful nonetheless.

The islands average about 60,000 visitors per year and there are strict controls on tourist access which are maintained in an effort to protect the natural habitats. To this end, all visitors must be accompanied by a national park-certified naturalist tour guide.

For divers, one of the best ways to get in the most diving while visiting the Galapagos, is to do it from a live-aboard dive boat. The problem is that many focus so completely on the diving that no time at all is set aside for viewing the incredible wildlife on land.

One company that provides for both is the Aggressor Fleet. The Galapagos Aggressors I & II have been operating as the premier live-aboard dive yachts in the Galapagos Islands since 1993. These yachts were custom designed, built and equipped to offer a safe and luxury dive operation.

Aggressor was the first live-aboard dive company to offer a permanent itinerary that offers a dive program combined with land visits. They were granted a specific permit for this combined program by the Park authorities in 1994.

Their week-long trips run from Thursday to Thursday, with diving beginning on Friday and ending Wednesday morning. On-board there are multi-lingual guides with in-depth knowledge of these volcanic islands. Three islands will be explored through land tours during the week, plus snorkeling and bird watching excursions are conducted between dives. The trips include thrilling shark dives at remote Wolf and Darwin Islands.

Another company to consider is Peter Hughes Diving’s Dancer Fleet.

The M/V Sky Dancer also offers week-long trips that cruise the Galapagos Islands in search of sea lions, penguins, schooling hammerhead sharks, turtles, stingrays, whale sharks and the magnificent mantas. Included in planned itineraries are visits to the very remote islands of Wolf and Darwin.

The luxuriously constructed Sky Dancer yacht features all the Dancer Fleet amenities including Nitrox fills, private en-suite facilities, spacious lounge areas, fine dining and more.

Sky Dancer is owned by Ecoventura, an Ecuadorian corporation, that was one of the first recipients of the SmartVoyager seal of approval for their entire operation in Galapagos.

Potential visitors should note that the majority of live-aboard diving boats’ licenses have been revoked by the Galapagos National Park director. Currently the yachts mentioned here are the only boats approved for live aboard diving cruises.

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