Diving the Galapagos

Diving in the Galapagos is advanced due to strong currents, varying visibility and cold water. We recommend 50 dives between Dec and May and 100 dives between June and Nov. You need Nitrox certification especially if you are on the lower end of dive experience.

We recommend a 7mm wetsuit and 5mm booties. Hoods are a personal choice, but most need at least a beanie at the western sites. While Darwin can often be a warmer site, you spend a lot of the dive stationary, watching Hammerheads pass by in front of you. You don’t get as warm as you would in motion, so 7mm feels right.

Gloves are mandatory, for protection, not warmth. In Galapagos, you often grab rocks covered in sharp barnacles which will cut your hands if you’re not wearing gloves. We recommend 1.5-2mm gloves with reinforced palms. Bring those as they are not available to rent or buy in Galapagos.

We do recommend dive skins. Not only does it make putting on a wet wetsuit much easier and prevent wetsuit rash, but they are great sun protection when you're not diving.  If you don't have a dive skin and need a lubricant to assist in getting into your wetsuit, we recommend KY Jelly because it's water soluble and it works.

We recommend you bring your own mask so it fits your face properly. We also recommend you bring your own mask defogger. In Galapagos, we do not dive with snorkels. Strong currents can catch them and cause mask leak. We recommend pocket snorkels if you wish to have one while diving.

Dive computers are mandatory equipment and available to rent if you don’t have one.

We provide the following:

• We provide Dive alerts and surface marker buoys (SMBs) which are mandatory as per the National Park regulations. Basic SMBs are available though you are encouraged to bring your own. We provide the standard dive alert which does not fit all BCDs. Please check your BC model prior to arrival and bring your own dive alert if a standard won’t fit.
• We provide Nautilus Lifelines.
• We provide tanks, weights and weight belts. Tanks are AL80 (11.1 litre - Catalina S80) with INT/yoke valve. Each tank is convertible to DIN. 2 AL100s (13.2 litres - Catalina C100) are available to rent at $60 per week with advance notification. No soft /pellet weights are available. Each weight (plomo in Ecuador) weighs approximately 2 kilos/4.5 pounds.
• We provide Nitrox Analyzers for shared use. Our mix is 32%. You must analyze your tank before each dive and sign off on our Nitrox sheet to confirm your analysis.
• We provide a slender  underwater aluminum noisemaker as a piece of safety equipment. The size easily fits inside your wetsuit sleeve and has a wrist lanyard. It is only to be used should you require assistance underwater. It is not to be used for sightings. A noisemaker for sighting purposes is only to be used by the dive guides. Because it is only used by guides, everyone does seek out the sound which is why it's a useful safety device.
• Please note that while we do provide the equipment list above gratis, if you lose or damage any of our gear, there will be a replacement fee imposed. You can find the list of prices under rental gear in the FAQs.

Please note that while we will have some tools and replacement parts onboard, we cannot guarantee that we will have parts that work with all equipment. Please bring your own replacement parts: spare computer batteries, extra masks/straps, O rings, etc.

If you have questions about specific gear, we're happy to answer.

Yes, we do.  A full kit rental is $250. Rental includes BC, Regulator, Wetsuit, Fins & Booties, Mask. Computer rental is $75.

We provide DA1 Dive Alerts, basic SMBs and Nautilus Lifeline at no charge. Diver will be responsible for replacement costs if equipment is lost or damaged.

Yes, bring your torch! There are 2 sites where night dives are permitted. One is at Wolf July - December and the other is at Cabo Marshall January - June. We also have a small swim through at Wolf which is so much more beautiful with a torch. 

1 dive guide for 8 divers. We have 2 dive guides and 16 divers.

Yes you can. We can arrange this for you with advance notification. The cost is $1750 for the week.