Galapagos Experience Every Diver’s Dream

Galapagos is sealife heaven and a must-visit for nature lovers.

Galapagos: An Unforgettable Experience

Day 1: All aboard a Galapagos liveaboard

I had already been on Santa Cruz, the main island of the Galapagos, for some days completing my advanced PADI certification with Academy Bay diving school before starting my Galapagos liveaboard experience on the Danubio Azul. 

Note: the only way to reach the islands of Darwin and Wolf is through a liveaboard. If whale shark spotting is part of your bucket list, the Galapagos is one of the best places to dive with these gentle giants!

Day 2: Visit Bartholomew Peninsula

We took a small boat to see the peninsula of Bartholomew up close. This island is the one featured on most Galapagos postcards. Here we also spotted the Galapagos penguins, which are the second smallest in the world!

After Galapagos find out what I experienced in Ecuador!

Day 3: Abundance of Sea Life

After 14 hours of navigating through the night, we finally made it to Wolf Island. On our first morning dive, we immediately sunk down to 25 meters. We hung out by some rocks to observe multiple groups of hammerheads and Galapagos sharks patrolling the waters.

For the second dive, there were lots of sleeping sea turtles and moray eels hiding between the rocks. At a distance, I could also see groups of sea lions and dolphins swimming around. There was a lot of activity going on all at once!

For the third dive that day we saw more sharks, turtles, eagle rays, and schools of fish. The best part of the dive was this curious sea lion that kept trying to play with us. He was grabbing our attention, trying to steal our regulators and nibbling on our flippers.

Day 4: Birdwatching

In the afternoon we went to do some birdwatching near the rocks of the Darwin dive site. We saw the red-footed boobies, as well, as the famous finches, that Darwin based his theory on. We also spotted the vampire finch, which uses its sharp beak to peck at other birds and suck their blood.

There were also a couple of sea lions sleeping on the rocks and seals bathing in the water. The day ended with dolphins swimming and jumping around the boat at sunset.

Day 5: Galapagos Whale Shark Season

We woke up early to make sure we had enough time for our 4 dives. It had rained all night and kept drizzling through the day. At the first dive spot, we saw our first whale shark swimming below us when we were leaving! We knew we had to get back into the water as soon as possible.

For the second dive, we saw the same whale shark as soon as we descended to 27 meters. We did a stationary dive, where we held onto rocks and waited for her to return. Lucky for us we got to see her four times. She was enormous, pregnant, and had several smaller fish swimming next to her.

During one of the dives, I spotted a whale shark in the distance before the rest of the group did. I quickly let the others know and then swam as fast as I could to catch up to her. For more than a minute and a half, I kept swimming next to her. I must have used loads of my air because I had never swum so fast in my life. The rest of the group was able to get amazing videos and photos of this incredible moment too.

Day 6: Galapagos = Turtle Heaven

We went diving on a reef full of turtles, sharks, and starfish near Darwin Island. Spotting so many turtles at once felt like being in turtle heaven. This is also where sharks hunt during the night. At one point I was taking a photo of a starfish when suddenly I was startled by a Galápagos shark casually swimming right next to me.

Day 7: Caves and Pinnacles of Wolf Island

For today’s dives, we went back to Wolf Island, there had been some days ago. The first dive was a stationary dive on the landslides of Wolf Island.

For our second dive, we did some drift diving around the corals of Shark Bay on Wolf Island. Drift diving entails diving into an area with a current and holding onto rocks at times and “drifting” at others. In other words, you let yourself be dragged by the currents to cover lots of ground with little effort.

We explored three underwater caves by the pinnacle of Wolf’s Island on our third and final dive of the day. There was a really strong current, so we had to hold tight to the rocks and swim closely together. When we returned to the boat, we realized how far the current had dragged us, almost to the other side of the island.

With only two days left on the liveaboard, we started to make our way back. Our last dive spot was Cape Marshall, where we saw giant manta rays. Seeing giant manta rays swim always feels otherworldly because of how they seem to fly through the water. There was also a school of barracudas with rows of sharp teeth.

Day 8: Hiking on Seymour Island

Our last day on the liveaboard consisted of a hike around Seymour Island before catching our flight back to mainland Ecuador. Here we saw many of the species unique to the Galápagos, such as the blue-footed boobies and baby frigate birds, as well as, seeing some fur seals and baby sea lions.

Did you Know

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Final Thoughts

I couldn’t believe my time in the Galapagos was over. I really didn’t want to leave, and you won’t either. Since I was a little girl I always read about the famous islands, but it sounded like one of those far-flung destinations visited only by scientists and explorers. When I got the chance to join a group traveling to the islands to live on a boat and dive for 8 days I did not hesitate to sign myself up.

In the months leading up to the trip I was exhilarated reading about all the wildlife I might encounter, but I thought to myself that the chances of spotting all those animals in one visit were low. How wrong I was. The amount of life under the waves is astonishing, There is a reason why the Galapagos is considered one of the best dive spots in the world. It is almost impossible NOT to see all the animals you want. For the longest time I had dreamt of swimming next to hammerheads, dolphins, and turtles and now I had done it. How lucky did I get to be able to experience this? I swam next to a whale shark for almost two minutes and I am still pinching myself about it. 

If you like animals and the ocean as much as I do the Galapagos Islands should be on your bucket list of travel experiences.

Lots of love,
Julie