Itinerary
Day 01
San Cristobal-Galapagos
- AM: Fly from Ecuador mainland (Quito/Guayaquil) to San Cristobal Airport (SCY) via Avianca Airlines (Flight AV1630). Calipso guides greet and escort you to the liveaboard yacht.
- PM: Settle in, enjoy lunch and dive briefings, then a check dive at Isla Lobos (spot sea lions—lobo del mar in Spanish). Sail overnight to Marchena Island.
Day 02
Galapagos Islands - Punta Carrion (Santa Cruz) & Seymour Island
AM: Baltra NE. This morning you will have a check dive in Baltra NE where you will have ideal conditions to feel comfortable with the equipment and get ready for diving in Wolf and Darwin areas. You may see some white tip sharks, Galapagos sharks, hammer head sharks, school of reef fish, rays, eels, and barracudas.
PM: Bartolome Island. From the distance you can see the famous Pinnacle Rock, one of the top iconic sites in the Galapagos Islands. While diving, you may see Galapagos sharks, white tip reef sharks, reef fish, barracudas, turtles, mobula rays, and sting rays. This is one of the few places in the Galapagos Islands where you can dive in a coral reef which makes such a colorful topography underwater!
Day 03-05
Galapagos Islands - Diving Wolf and Darwin
DAY 3 (Wolf Island)
- All Day: Dive at Wolf Island (115 miles north of central Galapagos), the world’s most shark-dense site (17.5 tons of sharks per hectare). 4 daytime dives + optional night dive (sandy bottom: garden eels, red-lipped batfish).
- Key sightings: Massive Hammerhead schools, Galapagos sharks, Silky sharks, Whale sharks (in season), Eagle Rays, Mantas, sea lions, fur seals, and turtles.
- Dive sites: Shark Bay, The Landslide, La Banana, Islote La Ventana (coral reefs with tropical fish).
- Bonus: Hundreds of thousands of seabirds on the island (3 booby species, frigates, pelicans, lava gulls).
No land visits, no shark chumming—sharks gather naturally.
Day 4 (Darwin Island)
- All Day: Dive at Darwin Island (142 miles north of central Galapagos), home to the iconic Darwin’s Arch (symbol of Galapagos diving) and the warmest dive sites in the Galapagos (Panama Current).
- Key experience: Stationary dives on a platform to watch Hammerheads swim against the current ("Hammerhead highway"); swim through Hammerhead schools if Whale sharks are spotted.
- Key sightings: Massive Hammerhead schools, pregnant Whale sharks (in season), and all major pelagic species found at Wolf Island.
Day 5 (AM : Darwin Island, PM : Wolf Island)
- AM: 2 additional dives at Darwin Island to explore remaining sites.
- PM: 1-2 dives at Wolf Island (return to top shark sites).
- Evening: Optional night dive at Anchorage site (sandy bottom: garden eels, red-lipped batfish).
Day 06
Galapagos Islands - Fernandina (Western Sites) - Cabo Douglas (Fernandina) + Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela)
Western site dives change based on visibility—4 dives total for the day:
- AM: Cabo Douglas (Fernandina)—the westernmost Galapagos island (active volcano). The only liveaboard dive site to see marine iguanas feeding underwater, plus penguins (feeding on sardines), abundant turtles, and rare Orca sightings.
- PM: Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela)—a Mola Mola (Sunfish) cleaning station with the most coral in the Galapagos. Key sightings: endemic Galapagos Bullhead sharks, penguins, seahorses, Flightless Cormorants, and unique fish species found only here.
Day 7
Galapagos Islands - Cousins Rock & Santa Cruz
- AM: Cousins Rock (central Galapagos)—1-2 dives (flexible based on divers’ preference) at an eroded crater with bright green black coral ledges.
- Key sightings: Seahorses, frogfish, octopus, turtles, Longnose Hawkfish, plus pelagics (Mantas, Eagle Rays, Mobulas, rare Hammerheads) and sea lions/fur seals.
- PM:
- Disembark and visit Santa Cruz Highlands Reserve to see Galapagos Tortoises in their natural habitat.
- Explore Puerto Ayora (Galapagos’ largest town)—optional visit to the Charles Darwin Research Center (Galapagos National Park).
- Farewell dinner at a local Puerto Ayora restaurant.
- Return to Calipso and sail overnight back to San Cristobal.
Day 08
Disembark-San Cristobal
- AM: Disembark the yacht, free time to visit the Interpretation Center or wander the San Cristobal port.
- Midday: Fly back to Ecuador mainland via Avianca Airlines (Flight AV1631) to Guayaquil/Quito.
