Built of steel, the Galapagos Master is set to be the most eco-friendly dive liveaboard cruising the Galapagos Islands. She has 8 well-appointed modern cabins. A spacious interior and generous outside space for relaxation and dive gear preparation… Overview Continued
Master Liveaboards have priority on flight availability from mainland Ecuador to San Cristobal. We would advise booking your return flights with our partners via us to take advantage of the additional weight allowance for the flights. Let us know and we can add the additional cost to your invoice. All visitors to the Galapagos are subject to a Marine Park entrance fee payable upon arrival – currently, it is USD100.
Diving conditions in the Galapagos
Specifically designed with the scuba diver in mind, the Galapagos Master offers superior comfort, the highest of professional service, and fine foods. The spacious dive deck has a large area for kitting up and an allocated area specifically for camera preparation.
When to dive
The Galapagos can be dived all year round but the aquatic life does vary dependant on the season, or more accurately where one of the three currents acting in the region is the more dominant. During our 2019 visit to the Galapagos we had the opportunity to meet quite a few local dive guides and when asked the question ‘When is the best time of year to dive?’ the response was a solid “mid-September to start of November.”
There is a very good reason for this; Many divers visit the Galapagos to witness schooling Hammerheads, Dolphins or Whalesharks and Mantas, Marine Iguanas, Seals and Sealions, diving birds etc. As we mentioned earlier, you have more chance of seeing a particular species at a particular time of year, but there is only one time of year when you have the chance to see them all at once! You guessed it, Sept-Oct.
In this highly variable climate, the hot and rainy season is from December to June, with high humidity and average temperatures of 26-30°C/79-86°F.
From June to November you can expect cool winds and an occasional light misty drizzle. Temperatures average 20-24°C/68-75°F during the day and are lower at night.
Diving is possible all year. Although 30 metre/100 foot visibility is not unheard of, it’s usually 10-20 meters/30-70 feet.
The Galapagos is subjected to 3 global currents and as such, we would advise that anyone wishing to dive in this location should be comfortable diving in current, performing negative entry descents and be a minimum of Advanced diver having logged over 50 dives.
Expedition Schedule
The Galapagos Master operates from the island of San Cristobal. Flights from mainland Ecuador via Quito and/or Guayaquil arrive at San Cristobal where the crew of the Galapagos Master await there guests for transfer to the harbour.
We will sail north, diving at various sites and ultimately arriving at Darwin’s arch a few days into the expedition. Darwin’s arch is probably the most famous of all the Galapagos islands and for good reason. It is for this reason that we spend two days around Darwin’s and Wolf Island with each diving day containing a minimum of 4 dives per day.
In general, liveaboards in the Galapagos work on a guest to dive guide ratio of 8:1. To get the very best out of the diving and allow flexibility, Nomadic Scuba is hiring an additional dive guide for our trip to dramatically reduce these ratios and maximise our time in the water.
