8 days cruise yacht Calipso diving

Morning – Arrival at San Cristobal Airport: At the mainland airport, you have purchased your TCC or Ingala card and a luggage inspection has already been conducted to ensure that no foreign plant or animal species are introduced. Upon your arrival at the San Cristobal airport, your TCC (Transit Control Card) will be stamped. This must be kept in a safe place during your trip, as it must be presented again on your return flight. In addition, the Galapagos National Park entrance fee is due upon entry (US$100), if not already paid. Your guide will meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage and take you to the ship.
After greeting the crew and captain, you will be assigned your cabins and then have your first lunch together.

Afternoon – Lobos Island: This island is one of the many islands in the archipelago and gets its name from the large number of sea lions that reside in the area. Lobos Island is often used as a check out dive site and is a great dive where you can see star fish, rays, various fish, turtles, eagle rays and some-times marine iguanas.

Highlights: Sea lions by the dozens!
Experience: Open water diver, with a minimum of 10 dives
Depth: 3-10 m
Light currents
Water temperature: 17C-23° C depending on season and special conditions
Thermocline: Generally not
Level of difficulty: Beginner
Visibility: 6-12 m
Unique animals: Galapagos garden eels, many endemic fishes
Interesting Facts: Sea lions here welcome you to Galapagos with cheerful underwater games of hide and seek, catch me and “Pull the fin!”

Meals: Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Carrion Point: Carrion Point forms a protected lagoon with beautiful turquoise waters. On this visit you can snorkel and see a variety of fish, rays and perhaps the harmless whitetip reef sharks. The point is located on the north coast of Santa Cruz Island at the entrance to the Itabaca Channel.

Highlights: Fish, rays, whitetip reef sharks.
Possible activities:Panga trip
Type of landing:None
Level of difficulty:Easy

Afternoon – North East Seymour: North Seymour is located north of Baltra Island. Here you can observe many colonies of frigate birds. Underwater there are many steep cliffs as well as ledges where various marine life such as whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, moray eels and reef fish rest or hide. Stingrays can be observed in the sandy bottom.
As the current can be quite strong at times, you should never dive alone.

Water temperature: 18 °c – 29°c
Depth: 15 m – 25 m
Level of difficulty: beginner to advanced
Current: sometimes quite strong
Visibility: 10 m – 20 m

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning-  Ventana Islet and La Banana: Wolf Island is located in the extreme north of the archipelago. This island cannot be visited from land and is only visited by dive boats. This is a dive site for experienced divers only. The waves are heavy, the currents can be very strong, and visibility is often limited. Some very impressive and large animals such as whale sharks, hammerheads and dolphins are spotted here.
The famous dive site La Ventana near Wolf Island is characterized by a shallow lagoon. The underwater world here is very diverse. Thus, red-lipped batfish, barracudas, dolphins and hammerhead and whitetip reef sharks can be spotted. On the mainland you can observe various tropical birds
Near Wolf Island there is also the island “La Banana”, which is more of a rock wall. While diving you can explore its tunnels and caves. However, pay attention to the sometimes very strong current.

Afternoon – Shark Bay Point and El Derrumbe: As the name suggests, Shark Bay Point is one of the best points in the Galapagos Islands to observe Galapagos sharks and hammerheads. Also, tropical fish, rays, dolphins and turtles can be seen during the dive. The current can be strong.
El Derrumbe – “the landslide” is also a popular place to observe Galapagos sharks and hammerheads. Watch out for the sometimes sharp rocks when swimming underwater!

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Darwin’s Arch: Darwin’s Arch is an impressive 15 m (50 ft) high lava arch. You will descend quickly in the cur-rent, where you will then cling to the rocks below and be a spectator at the bottom to the underwater world passing by. This is the most famous dive site in the Galapagos and is considered one of the best dive sites in the world! The waters are alive with whale sharks and schools of hammerhead sharks and dolphins. Darwin Island is only accessible by liveaboard and is a true underwater Disneyland.

Highlights: Whale sharks, hammerhead shark cleaning station, turtles, schools of dol-phins, countless schools of fish, Galapagos sharks, silky sharks.
Required experience: At least 50 dives and experience with currents, cold water and waves
Depth: 9-40 m
Currents: moderate to very strong water
Temperature: Dec – April: 24- 28 C / May – Nov: 22- 26 C.
Thermocline: variable, but generally around 20 m
Level of difficulty: advanced
Visibility: 12-24 m

Afternoon – El Arenal / Darwin’s Arch: El Arenal is a sloping “underwater sand drift” of Darwin’s Arch teeming with amazing marine life. Stay with your expert guide who can show you the safest and best routes through the currents.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

In the morning, you will again explore the Darwin Island dive sites from the previous day and in the afternoon you will return to Wolf Island to dive again at La Banana and Shark Bay Point.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Isabela Island: Coka Port (Jan. – May) / Fernandina Island: Cape Douglas (Jun – Dec.): Coka Port is a dive site on Isabela Island, the largest island in the archipelago and one of the most popular. Here you can find a variety of fascinating marine life and a breathtaking volcanic landscape. It is a great place to see sea turtles, sea lions, rays, white tip sharks and even sea-horses.
Cape Douglas is sure to provide you with amazing opportunities to observe a wide variety of marine life above and below the water! As you prepare for your dive, you may see Galapagos penguins, Galapagos flightless cormorants, and Galapagos marine iguanas – which swim and feed on the rocks below the surface- animals found only on the islands. Some marine life you may see is: Darwin’s sea bat, horn sharks, mola mola and possibly baleen whales!

Afternoon – Cape Marshall (Jan – May) / Vicente Roca Point (Jun – Dec.): The Cape Marshall dive site is an almost vertical wall of volcanic rock that drops to the seabed. It has everything a diver’s heart desires: manta rays, hammerhead sharks, sunfish (mola mola) and sometimes huge schools of the endemic saleme.

Highlights: Not only is the topography of this dive site unique and fascinating, but so is the marine life! The “usual” sea turtles and sea lions swim with you along with chevron barracuda, yellowfin tuna, marble rays, mobula rays, snappers and more!

Experience:
Minimum advanced open water and 30 dives. Experience with currents, walls and good buoyancy required.
Depth: 33-98 feet (10-35 meters).
Strong currents
Water Temperature: 17C-23C, depending on time of year and special conditions.
Thermocline: Widespread at about 14 m
Level of difficulty: Advanced
Visibility: 3 – 10 m
Unique animals: The Galapagos black-striped salema
Interesting Facts: The red-lipped batfish can be found here, although night diving is not allowed in Galapagos, so spotting them will be difficult!

Punta Vicente Roca is a paradise for octopus, seahorses, red-lipped batfish, frogfish and nudi-branchs. The Mola Mola, the sunfish, has also been spotted here.

Highlights: Get a close-up look at many invertebrates, including sponges and flatworms, on this drift dive along the steep wall. Keep your eyes open for the endemic Camotillo and the occasional Port Jackson shark!

Experience:
Minimum open water diver with good buoyancy control.
Dive depth: Average dive depth 20 m
Currents: Low to none
Water temperature: 17-24 C, depending on time of year and special conditions
Thermocline: Variable; often below 20 m
Level of difficulty: Beginner
Visibility: 8-15 m
Unique animals: Camotillo

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning: Cousins Rock: One of the many small islands that make up the archipelago, this dive site has much to offer the advanced diver. With sloping ledges and a wall that drops farther than the eye can see, divers will encounter hidden seahorses and octopuses, black Galapagos coral, frogfish, and hammerhead and Galapagos sharks!
Highlights: Green sea turtles and sea lions accompany the diver in search of hammerhead and Galapagos sharks.

Experience:
Minimum advanced open water diver and 30 logged dives. Divers must have good buoyancy control.
Depth: 2 m-30 m maximum dive depth (one side has a rock slab as a drop-off).
Currents: Moderate, with surges in shallower waters.
Water temperature: 17C-23C, depending on time of year and special conditions
Thermocline: Often at about 25 meters
Level of difficulty: Moderate to advanced
Visibility: 10-20 meters
Unique animals: Juvenile Galapagos black coral
Interesting Facts: This dive site offers divers an abundance of sights: Giant manta rays below, sea turtles above, seahorses in the coral and sea lions playing with the bubbles.

Afternoon – El Chato Reserve, Fausto Llerena Breeding Center (Santa Cruz):
The native Scalesia Forest of El Chato Turtle Reserve is the best place to observe Galapagos giant tortoises in their most authentic environment! Besides the interesting breeding centres – where you are guaranteed to find turtles in their enclosures – there is nothing better than observing them in their natural environment. It can get quite wet and muddy as you embark on an adventurous search for the turtles once they have silently left their favourite pond.
At the Fausto Llerena breeding center you will have the opportunity to take amazing photos of the turtles! The tour starts at the GNP information booth. The path continues to the Van Straelen Interpretation Centre, the Breeding Centre, and from there a trail leads you to see the Española Island turtles, ending at the turtle exhibition enclosure. The turtles in this enclosure are used to people; it is an excellent place to have your photo taken with them!

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Today you will navigate to San Cristobal and together with your luggage you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to the mainland.

Meals: Breakfast