Destinations  /  The eastern Pacific  /  Galapagos Islands
Destination

Galapagos Islands

Ecuador

Cold upwelling on the equator. Hammerhead schools at the northern islands, sea lions and the red-lipped batfish in the south. Current-driven and demanding.

Season
Year-round; Dec–May calmer, Jun–Nov cooler
Water
16–27 °C
Visibility
10–25 m
Typical depth
5–30 m
Species recorded
93 of 1316
Sites
14 named
DE-01
galapagos islands · cool blue water · rock reef · schooling fish · wide
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What the diving is like

Cold, exposed and current-driven, and unlike anywhere else on this site. Three currents meet at the archipelago — the cold Humboldt from the south-east, the warm Panama from the north-east, and the Equatorial Undercurrent upwelling against the western islands — which is why an archipelago on the equator supports penguins, fur seals and sunfish alongside tropical reef fish. The diving splits in two. The central and southern islands are done on day boats from Santa Cruz or San Cristóbal: rocky reef, sea lions, turtles, rays, white-tip reef sharks and the red-lipped batfish on sand. Darwin and Wolf, in the far north, are liveaboard-only and are where the hammerhead schools and the whale sharks are. The two experiences share a species list but very little else. Water temperature runs from about 16 °C in the western upwelling to 27 °C in the warm season, and a thermocline of several degrees within one dive is normal. Visibility is variable and often poor where the upwelling is strongest, which is also where the most interesting animals are. This is not easy diving. Surge, downcurrent and negative entries are routine at the northern islands, and most operators set a minimum experience level.

The shape of a day

Day-boat diving from the inhabited islands is two dives with a surface interval ashore or on board, back by mid-afternoon. Liveaboard itineraries to Darwin and Wolf run three to four dives a day with long crossings between island groups, often overnight. Park rules govern much of the day: a licensed naturalist guide is required, group sizes are capped, and touching or pursuing animals is prohibited. Landings and sites are allocated in advance and cannot be changed on the day.

Getting there

International arrivals come through Quito or Guayaquil on the mainland, then a domestic flight to Baltra (GPS) for Santa Cruz or to San Cristóbal (SCY). A night on the mainland before the island flight is usual and is worth building in. Every visitor passes a biosecurity inspection on departure from the mainland and pays the national park entrance fee on arrival. Liveaboards depart from Baltra or San Cristóbal.

When to come

Two seasons rather than four. The warm, wetter season runs roughly December to May: calmer water, better visibility, 24–27 °C, and the best conditions for general diving. The cool, dry season runs roughly June to November: rougher surface conditions, more upwelling, water down to the mid-teens in the west, and the season for whale sharks at Darwin. Hammerheads are present year-round at the northern islands. Sunfish and penguins are more reliable in the cool season, when the upwelling is strongest. Strong El Niño years suppress the upwelling, raise water temperature and reduce productivity. Marine iguana and penguin populations fall sharply, and the diving changes character for a season or more.

Fees and what is not included

The national park entrance fee and the transit control card are payable on arrival and both have been revised in recent years, so check the current rates rather than quoting an old figure. Liveaboards to Darwin and Wolf are among the most expensive dive itineraries anywhere and berths are commonly booked a year ahead; day-boat diving from Santa Cruz is a fraction of that. Nitrox, gear rental and the guide are usually charged separately. The currency is the US dollar.

Named sites

14 sites, described by ground and depth. What is found on each one is not published — naming the exact spot a rare animal sits on is how it gets crowded and moved on. The species recorded at this destination are listed below, and the reasoning is set out in the editorial policy.

  1. Darwin Island (El Arco)

    Darwin Island · Boat · Rock · 15–25 m

    A submerged rock platform on the southeast side of the island, marked at the surface by the two stone pillars left after the arch collapsed in 2021. The platform sits at about 15 to 20 metres, is strewn with large boulders and patches of sand, and steps down before falling away into open water.

    Current normally sets from the southeast and splits in front of the rock, regularly exceeding three knots with down-currents and strong surge at safety-stop depth, so a negative entry and a reef hook are standard. The island is reached only by liveaboard.

  2. Wolf Island (Isla Wolf)

    Wolf Island · Boat · Wall · 10–30 m

    Rock cliffs that continue below the surface as steep walls and detached pinnacles around the island. On the east side part of the wall has slid away and large boulders form a rock slope that bottoms out near 50 metres, while the north and west faces are cut with caves and swim-throughs.

    Current runs at roughly one to three knots and changes direction around the island, with eddies and down-currents; most dives are drifts using a reef hook. Water is 19 to 25 degrees Celsius depending on season. Liveaboard only.

  3. Cousin's Rock

    Santiago · Boat · Rock · 10–30 m

    A small triangular rock off the southeast coast of Santiago. The north and west faces are steep; the east face descends as a series of ledges and terraces of layered volcanic rock separated by short slopes and overhangs, reaching sand at about 30 metres. A separate rock to the south is divided from the main body by a narrow channel with a long overhang.

    Current is usually mild to moderate but strengthens around the southern end and near the channel, which makes this one of the more forgiving sites in the central islands.

  4. Gordon Rocks

    Santa Cruz · Boat · Rock · 10–30 m

    The eroded remains of a submerged tuff cone about 100 metres across, with two crescent-shaped rocks and one smaller rock breaking the surface as the crater rim. Inside the crater the rock walls run down to a sand floor at about 30 metres and four pinnacles rise from the floor to as shallow as 8 metres. The outer walls drop almost vertically into deep water.

    Current is often strong with eddies, down-currents and heavy surge inside the caldera, and most operators require an advanced certificate and about 25 logged dives.

  5. Punta Vicente Roca

    Isabela · Boat · Wall · 12–25 m

    The eroded remnant of a tuff cone at the northwest tip of Isabela, where a shallow shelf breaks into a steep wall cut with crevices, grooves, narrow shelves and small caves. The wall continues below 50 metres with sand at its base.

    Water is cold, commonly 16 to 18 degrees Celsius with a sharp thermocline. Current ranges from moderate to very strong and the dive is normally run as a drift along the wall. Visibility drops during upwelling.

  6. Cabo Marshall (Cape Marshall)

    Isabela · Boat · Wall · 10–30 m

    A lava flow from Volcan Wolf ends abruptly at the northeast coast of Isabela. A rocky shelf at about 10 metres breaks into a very steep slope of boulders and lava ridges that continues past 30 metres.

    Current is moderate to heavy and the site is always dived as a drift along the coast. Little surge; visibility varies between roughly 6 and 21 metres by season.

  7. Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido)

    San Cristobal · Boat · Wall · 12–25 m

    The eroded remains of a tuff cone standing about 145 metres above the sea and split into two blocks by a narrow channel. The near-vertical ash walls continue below the surface, the channel floor is rock and sand, and a plateau lies off the outer western side.

    Current through the channel is moderate to strong and the dive is usually a drift. Visibility is often only 5 to 15 metres. Reached on day trips of about two hours from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

  8. Bartolome (Pinnacle Rock)

    Bartolome · Boat · Mixed · 10–25 m

    An eroded spatter cone at the southern tip of Bartolome whose pinnacle continues underwater as a rock tower rising from the seabed. Around it lava has formed arches, tunnels, caverns and swim-throughs, with rock slopes and small walls giving way to sand.

    Current is usually mild to moderate and the dive is commonly run as a gentle drift, with good visibility by local standards.

  9. North Seymour (Seymour Norte)

    Seymour Norte · Boat · Mixed · 10–25 m

    A low uplifted island north of Baltra. The ocean side is a gradual rocky slope with small platforms and shallow caves running down from the shoreline; the channel side is a rock plateau that ends in a large flat sand area at about 15 metres.

    Current is moderate on the outside and can be strong in the channel. Water runs 20 to 26 degrees Celsius from December to May and 18 to 23 degrees from June to November, with lower visibility and a choppier surface in the cooler months.

  10. Enderby

    Floreana · Boat · Rock · 15–25 m

    A small eroded volcanic cone northeast of Floreana whose crater can be entered. The outer sides are steep rock walls, and on the sheltered side a sand slope carries scattered large rocks and boulders.

    Current is generally moderate but runs strongly off the tip of the islet, and down-currents are possible. Published depth figures differ between sources; the range given here is the conservative reading.

  11. Cabo Douglas (Cape Douglas)

    Fernandina · Boat · Rock · 5–18 m

    A shallow rocky coastline at the northwest end of Fernandina where recent lava flows enter the sea. The bottom is low volcanic ledges, broken rock and boulder fields on a shallow profile close to shore.

    Water is cold all year because of the Cromwell upwelling. Surge along this exposed shoreline is strong and varies with tide and swell, so the site is not always diveable. Visibility averages about 15 metres.

  12. Roca Redonda

    Isabela · Boat · Rock · 10–30 m

    The exposed summit of a submarine volcano that rises roughly 3,000 metres from the seafloor about 25 kilometres north of Isabela. Below the surface several rock pinnacles and steep faces drop into deep water, with gas venting from fumaroles in rock and gravel at about 12 to 18 metres.

    Current is strong and unpredictable with down-currents, eddies and heavy surge. Water is cold and can fall to 13 to 15 degrees Celsius. Conditions frequently prevent diving. The depth range here is the least well supported in this list.

  13. Punta Carrion

    Santa Cruz · Boat · Mixed · 12–18 m

    A point at the northeast corner of Santa Cruz at the mouth of the Itabaca Channel. The inner part is a sheltered sand and rock bottom; further out the ground becomes a boulder-strewn rock reef with sand patches leading into an exposed gorge.

    The inner section is calm with no current; the outer gorge takes moderate to strong current and swell. About ten minutes by boat from the pier and widely used for training.

  14. Daphne Minor

    Daphne, north of Santa Cruz · Boat · Wall · 5–25 m

    A small eroded tuff cone northwest of the Itabaca Channel. One side is a set of even rock platforms containing small caves; the other is a steep wall that drops well below recreational depth, with a shallower plateau used for the safety stop.

    Current is usually mild but can be strong at some times of year. About 40 minutes by boat from Santa Cruz.

Site names are as the operators and guides here use them. Descriptions are drafted and need correcting by someone who dives them. Tell us what is wrong and it will be corrected.

Recorded here

93 of the 1316 species in the index have a confirmed record at Galapagos Islands, ordered by how hard each is to find here.

Salp
Salpida
Open water, seasonal blooms · 0–30 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up

The other 92, recorded here but not yet photographed

Every one has a page and a record at Galapagos Islands. They are listed rather than shown because nothing has been photographed or logged for them yet.

Also in The eastern Pacific

Cold upwelling on the equator, and a fauna cut off from the Indo-Pacific by five thousand kilometres of open ocean, so almost nothing here is on the other lists. Current-driven, often cold, frequently not clear, and dived for large animals rather than for coral.

Cocos Island Costa Rica Liveaboard only, 550 km offshore. Hammerhead schools at fixed cleaning stations, and the white-tip reef shark night dive. Islas Revillagigedo Mexico Four volcanic islands 400 km out in the open Pacific, dived from liveaboards out of Los Cabos. Bare rock, seamounts and vertical walls, with almost no coral reef.