Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Day 1
Transfer
After arriving at the airport at San Cristóbal, transfer to the harbour to board the Galapagos Sky. When everyone is on board, you will receive an introduction to the boat and mandatory safety briefings.
Isla Lobos
Afternoon: The first dive of the tour will be at the island of Lobos. Here, you will perform a check dive, adjusting the weights and condition of the equipment, accompanied by rays, sharks and sea lions.
Day 2
Bartolomé Island
Morning: An ideal place to start the adventure, the current is moderate and allows diving down to a maximum depth of 20 meters. Deep in the ocean, you can observe whitetip reef sharks, green turtles, various types of rays, tropical fish as well as the red-lipped batfish, which is endemic to the Galapagos. Occasionally you can find hammerhead sharks. At the end of this dive, a delicious breakfast prepared by the chef awaits you.
Cousins Rock
Afternoon: Rocas Cousin. The second dive is at an island located 15 minutes by boat from the Island Bartolomé. Cousins rock has moderate currents and offers excellent opportunities to see seahorses, schools of eagle rays, sea lions and fur seals. The steep slope has many holes and small caves, which offer perfect refuge for eels, octopuses, and lobster. This seascape is framed with black corals and different species of sponges. After lunch, you will dive in this area again before setting sail for the exclusive Wolf Island.
Day 3
El Derrumbe on Wolf Island
Morning: El Derrumbe is the main dive attraction on Wolf Island. It is well-known among divers for its diverse and abundant marine wildlife. Thanks to the cold currents, the great spotted whale shark, various species of whales, and hammerhead, as well as white-tipped, and Galapagos sharks are often seen. While many seabirds frequent the cliffs of the island, the most famous flying resident is the vampire finch.
La Cuevas on Wolf Island
Afternoon: You must carry a personal flashlight with you to dive in La Cuevas. This large underwater tunnel has many entrances to various caves worth exploring. You can observe lobsters, scorpion fish, nudibranchs and more species. The turtles swim through schools of fish, and moray eels wind their way through the tunnel.
Day 4
Darwin's Arch
Morning: If it’s big animals you crave, then Darwin’s Arch is quite possibly the best dive in the world. Massive whale sharks, sea turtles, burly sharks of many varieties, moray eels, eagle rays hammerhead schools thick enough to blot out the sun. Darwin's arch has earned its place at the top of the bucket lists for many divers.
Darwin Island
Afternoon: Darwin Island is the northernmost island in the archipelago. Encounters with whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, and the Galapagos sharks are possible depending on the season. The main diving spot at Darwin Island is Darwin’s arch, nicknamed ‘the theatre’. It is an irregular bridge-like submerged plateau that is around 50 to 78 feet deep. The shape is a result of erosion and it has a ‘viewing’ platform 18 meters deep. It is the most famous dive site in the Galapagos Islands and is recognized as one of the best dive sites in the world! Whale sharks and schools of hammerheads often frequent this area.
Day 5
Darwin Island
Morning: Return for one last dive at the incredible Darwin Arch. From June to November, it is not uncommon to encounter whale sharks in multiple numbers on one single dive. The presence of tiger sharks, black and blue marlin and killer whales add to this amazing diving experience. If you still have time to look for smaller things, you’ll find octopus, flounders, and an enormous variety and abundance of tropical fish.
Day 6
Cape Douglas at Fernandina island
Morning: The highlight in Cape Douglas is the underwater feeding of sea-snakes as well as the encounter with red-lipped batfish, horn sharks and mola-mola-fish, as well as various other kinds of fish.
Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island
Afternoon: The first dive starts very early. At the sandy bottom by the corals, you will look for large sea horses which live as couples scattered over the dive spot. You also find the catfish, red-lipped batfish and the highlight of the day the Sunfish. This area is home of many marine turtles. All of the species above stay in the area the whole year. After the dive, you will do a rubber boat trip to the shoreline to observe penguins, flightless cormorants, and marine iguanas.
Day 7
Pinzón Island
Morning: At this small island located in the center of the Archipelago, you will have your last dives of the trip. You can see the red-lipped batfish, giant manta rays between three to six meters long, marble rays, eagle rays and a large number of marine turtles.
Highlands of Santa Cruz Island
Afternoon: As you venture into Santa Cruz's higher altitude areas, you will notice the changes in the vegetation as the climate becomes wetter and warmer. The earth in the upper altitudes is rich in minerals. Coffee plantations and fruit orchards line the streets and giant tortoises roam around at ease in their natural environment.
The Scalesia forests in this area offer the opportunity to discover endemic species of the Galapagos Islands, as well as giant cacti and a variety of deciduous trees and edible fruits.
Here you can also visit the twin 'craters' Los Gemelos. While they are not craters in the technical sense, these 70-meter vertical gullies with a carpet of lush vegetation are an impressive sight to behold.
Day 8
National Park Interpretation Center, San Cristóbal island
Moning: The National Park Interpretation Center, located on San Cristóbal, was built in collaboration with the Spanish Science Center. The tour offered by the Center for Interpretation's staff gives guests a good overview of the Galapagos Islands. The tour takes us through the history of the islands in the context of nature, humankind, and conservation. It also tells the story of the first settlers on the islands.
Transfer
You will conclude in the harbor of San Cristóbal. From there, transfer to Baltra Airport in time for your return flight to the mainland, or continue with your planned route through the Galapagos.