| In addition to diving the magnificent underwater
sites of the Galapagos Islands your days are filled with island exploration
and discovery. See fur seals and sea lions playing on the sand, marine
iguanas swimming to group gatherings, giant land turtles feeding,
penguins diving from rocks, booby birds performing mating dances,
flightless cormorants courting and scores of other species of flora
& fauna catching your eye during surface intervals.
Most
experienced divers will agree, Wolf and Darwin are the best diving
sites in the world! Sightings of the whale shark is common here.
There are no land visitor sites here, just serious diving. At the
Northern Arch at Darwin, Hammerhead sharks are not uncommon, nor
are bottlenose dolphins. The reef contains many warm water varieties
of fish found nowhere else in the Islands and is the most consistent
place to see Hammerheads.
 Wolf Island
One of those magical islands, with several dive sites to choose
from. If you want to see sharks, you are at the right spot. This
is a place for schooling hammerhead sharks, large aggregations of
Galapagos sharks, and occasionally whale sharks. Seeing dolphins,
large schools of tuna, spotted eagle rays, barracudas, sea lions
and sea turtles is common. The bottom is littered with hundreds
of moray eels, many of them free swimming. Being several degrees
warmer than the central islands, you can look for many representatives
of the Indopacific underwater fauna.
Currents: Normally from southeast, but variable. It goes from
moderate to very strong. Eddies and down drafts associated to
some dive sites. The south side of the island features strong
surge that is potentially dangerous if divers donât surface
out in deep waters. Trust your guide and do as he recommends.
Water temp: Dec - Apr: 76 - 82 / May ö Nov: 74 ö 76°F
Thermo-clines: At around 65 ft, but highly variable |
 Darwin Island
Considered by many experienced divers as the very best dive
site in the world, The Arch at Darwin island honors its reputation.
It is warmer by a few degrees than the central islands. In one single
dive you can find schooling hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks,
large pods of dolphins, thick schools of skipjack and yellow fin
tuna, big eye jacks, mobula rays, and silky sharks. From June to
November, we can almost guarantee whale sharks in numbers of up
to 8 different individuals in one single dive. The presence of occasional
tiger sharks, black and blue marlin and killer whales, adds on to
this amazing diving experience. If you still have time to look for
smaller stuff, youâll find octopus, flounders, and an enormous variety
and abundance of tropical fish. Darwin Island is the biggest jewel
on the Galapagos Crown.
Currents: Normally from southeast, but variable. It
goes from moderate to very strong. Current splits right in front
of The Arch. Drifting south-southeast is potentially dangerous
due to shallow reefs and the difficulty to cover that area for
search. Trust your guide and do as he recommends.
Water temp: Dec - Apr: 76 - 82 / May ö Nov: 72 ö 78°F
Thermo-clines: At around 65 ft but variable. |
Photo by Peter Lange
Cousins Rock - To the North of Bartolome, Cousins is an
interesting wall dive. Visibility is just fair most of the year.
A dive site with a bit of everything for every taste. You can find
white tipped reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea lions hunting,
fur seals, and many sleeping sea turtles. A high light is a resident
school of up to 30 spotted eagle rays. If you are interested in
macro photography, look for sea horses, frogfish, lobster, arrow
crabs, cup coral, blue crabs, long nose hawk fish, coral hawk fish,
nudibranchs, etc. It is superb for night or day diving.
Currents: Prevalently from northeast. It goes from
moderate to strong. Occasionally very strong, coming from the
north.
Water temp: Dec - Apr: 74 –78 / May – Nov:
65 – 72 °F
Thermo-clines: Variable from 65 to 90 ft. |
The Northern Channel
In the south side of Seymour Island and no deeper than 50
feet deep, the northern channel is superb. It features an enormous ăfieldä of garden eels,
stingrays, a school of spotted eagle rays, white tipped reef sharks, and thick schools of
grunts, snappers & goatfish. When Dr. Silvia Earle described Galapagos as ăthe fishiest
place in the worldä, she had probably dived this dive site.
Photo by Peter Lange
Currents: From east. It goes from moderate to strong. When surfacing, water
accelerates on top of the shallow part of the reef causing quick drifts. Make your safety
stop holding to a rock.
Water temp: Dec - Apr: 74 –78 / May – Nov:
68 – 72 °F
Thermo-clines: At about 45 ft. |
Photo by Peter Lange
North Plaza
In our normal itineraries, this dive site
is the best way of ending your trip on board Sky Dancer. It's shallow
waters are home for a rookery of playful young sea lions.
Currents: None, sometimes, water motion associated to tides.
Water temp: Dec - Apr: 74 –78 / May – Nov:
68 – 72 °F
Thermo-clines: None |
Photo by Peter Lange
Gardnerâs Seamount
This place features the biggest biodiversity of the
archipelago. During a dive here, you can see anything from the smallest barnacle blenny to
whale sharks. Common inhabitants of this seamount are large schools of yellow and dog
snappers, Mexican goatfish, moray eels, sting rays, spotted eagle rays, white tipped reef
sharks, pacific burr fish, guinea fowl puffers, bulls eye puffers, box fishes, king angelfish,
three banded butterfly fish, barber fish and 3 species of grunts. If you venture in to the
sandy bottom you may find red lipped batfish.
Currents: Normally from southeast. Variable, but mostly moderate.
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