Galapagos Diving -
Dive Sites of the Galapagos

There is some excellent diving in the Galapagos at sites within range of a land base.  This is a description of some of the dive sites we most often visit in the Galapagos.  For information about diving at Wolf Rock and Darwin's Arch, please visit our Galapagos Dive Liveaboard page by clicking Here.  Our dive liveaboard trips will also reach some of the sites listed below, but a few days of land based diving either side of a liveaboard trip can enable you to see even more of underwater Galapagos.

For those keen to incorporate diving into a Galapagos yacht safari or adventure trip, land based diving to some of the sites below is a wonderful way to combine the best of what the islands have to offer above and below the water.  There are also plenty of opportunities to incorporate extensive snorkeling into our yacht safaris, adventure and liveaboard trips.  For marine life such as sea lions, this can often be more effective as diving.

Beagle Rock
These are 3 exposed rocks located south of Santiago Island which is north of Santa Cruz.  This is a beginner to intermediate level dive where hammerheads, Galapagos sharks and rays can be seen as well as mantas during the warmer water season from late November to May.  You will also find black corals on the rock walls.

Cousins Rock
Cousins Rock is an islet which by boat ride is just beyond the famous island of Bartolome.  It is characterized by steep walls and rock plates known as "Planchonal".  Currents here can be strong. The dive site is rich in endemic black corals and underwater sightings may include frogfish, fur seals, sea turtles, sea horses, and hopefully, hammerhead sharks.

Daphne
Daphne is situated between the twin bays of Bartolome and North Seymour.  Diving here is characterised by vertical walls surrounding an isolated offshore tuff cone. The main dive site is a shelf of boulders at about 60 feet.  Diving can be difficult depending on the currents and surge. This is often a good place to see Galapagos sharks, schools of pelagic fish, and multicoloured sponges on the rock wall.

Floreana Island
Floreana is one of the southern most islands of the Galapagos.  There are nine dive sites on Floreana so actual dive spots will be selected according to prevailing winds and currents.  One of the best features about Floreana is the opportunity to see significant colonies of corals including pebble corals and endemic black coral.  Of the fish life, barber fish are often seen here cleaning parasites from turtles.  This is also one of the best places in the Galapagos to dive with sea lions.

Santa Fe
This island is a solid structure of basaltic lava rocks about an hour away from southern Santa Cruz island by boat. There are four main dive sites which generally have good visibility and mild currents, making these sites ideal for novices. At the same time, the animals and topography (including a spectacular arch) make them interesting for intermediates and experts. We can hope to see stingrays, eagle rays, garden eels, turtles, sea lion colonies, moray eels, pelagic fish, and perhaps white tip reef sharks and hammerhead sharks.

Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes is located on the northwest side of Santa Cruz Island, about 80 minutes from the Itabaca channel. In general the ocean bottom descends in slopes, some almost vertical. The walls of the islets are eroded, full of cavities in some parts, and large rocks covered in black coral in others. At this intermediate site divers can observe pelagic species such as Galapagos sharks, white tip reef sharks, turtles, and a wide variety of reef fish and sea lions.

Pinzon
The small island of Pinzon is located on the west side of Santa Cruz Island. This is a dive site suitable for beginners and intermediate divers.  We usually dive on the east side where two tower-shaped rocks emerge. A wall covered in black coral drops to 10 meters and from there is a sandy slope that drops to more than 50 meters. Species commonly observed include the red lipped bat fish, sea horses, sting rays, turtles and white tip reef sharks.

North Seymour Island
North Seymour is an uplifted island of lava flow lying just to the north of Santa Cruz Island. There are five dive sites here suitable for all levels of divers, although sometimes the currents can be strong. There is a considerable variety of species here.  We can see cleaning behaviour, a large garden eel colony, sea turtles, sea lions, fur seals, eagle rays, yellow-tailed grunts, big-eyed jack, and frequently white tip reef sharks. Occasionally, Hammerheads and Galapagos Sharks can also be seen here.  Beautiful blue nudibranchs can be found on some rocks in great abundance.  Don't be surprised if a sealion appears before you beneath the water.  Better still, we often anchor in a bay between dives where snorkelling with sealions often excellent, with long and playful encounters.  All this whilst beside us is a rocky cliff covered in sea birds such as blue footed boobies.

Gordon's Rock
Gordon's Rock is probably the most technical dive in the Galapagos, for which reason we usually demand a minimum of 30 previously logged dives.  The rock is a submerged tuff cone situated about an hour by speed boat from the south of Santa Cruz.  There are 4 dive sites in the area, of which two can be suitable for novices. The other two sites are for intermediates and experts because there can be strong currents and surge. By the nature of its structure, dive sites at Gordon's Rocks are mainly wall dives with a deep bottom. You may be blessed with a hammerhead sighting here which is one of the main attractions of coming to this site.  It is also often filled with fish, small and large, and visited by golden rays, stingrays, eagle rays and turtles.

Academy Bay
Academy Bay is just beyond Puerto Ayora and is used as a training ground or special arrangement dive location.  Three of the dive sites are generally calm with little current; ideal for students or novices. At another site, the dives can be a little more complicated if there is a current so they are suitable for intermediate or expert divers. Sea lions are often seen here and you can also hope to see marine iguanas, rays, and even the odd shark.

Los Lobos
Los Lobos is an isolated rock just off the coast of San Cristobal Island in south eastern Galapagos.  It is often the site for check out dives on our dive liveaboard trips and often provides your first encounters with playful sea lions.  Rays are another likely sighting.

Mosquera

Mosquera is a small island located between North Seymour and Baltra (also known as South Seymour). It consists of a flat narrow stretch of white sand, rocks and tidal pools. The island runs approximately north - south. Diving on the east side consists of one large vertical wall with large boulders and other mini walls on your descent to reach it at just over 15 metres. Schools of snappers and grunts enjoy this side of the island which often faces currents coming in from the east which pass rapidly over the north and south ends of the island. A large colony of sealions resides on the more sheltered western side.

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