MV Humbolt Explorer

The liveaboard Humboldt Explorer offers incredible diving in the Galapagos all year round. The high season is from July to November, when conditions are colder, currents are stronger and visibility is lower, but this is the best chance to see whale sharks while diving at Darwin and Wolf. The low season is from December to June, when the currents are not as strong, visibility is clearer and the water is warmer. Hammerhead sharks, eagle rays, sea lions, Galapagos and silky sharks and huge schools of fish are generally present all year round.

Central Archipelago, Darwin and Wolf Islands (Baltra - Baltra) 8D/7N

Day 1, Monday: Baltra

Guests fly from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands, arriving in the late morning. Our dive guides will meet guests at the airport between 11am and 12pm and accompany them to the Galapagos liveaboard. Guests will board the boat, have lunch, organise equipment and listen to safety briefings.

Day 2, Tuesday: Baltra North (2 dives)

• Equipment check.
• 7 and 10 am dives
• Sightings include rays and schools of fish.
• Afternoon shore visit to North Seymour. Walk around North Seymour Island to see the large colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigate birds. Sightings of sea lions and marine iguanas are also common.
• Departure to the northern islands (long transit).

Day 3, Wednesday: Wolf Island (3-4 dives)

• Dives at 10.30 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. Night dive possible.
• Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, eagle rays, sea lions, Galapagos and silky sharks.
• Night anchor on Wolf Island.

Day 4, Thursday: Wolf Island (2 dives)

• 6:30 am and 9:30 am dives
• Crossing to Darwin Island (2 dives)
• 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm dives
• Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, red-lipped batfish, eagle rays, sea lions, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

Day 5, Friday: Darwin Island (4 dives)

• 6:30, 10:30 am, 2 and 4:30 pm dives
• Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.
• Crossing to Wolf Island

Day 6, Saturday: Wolf Island (3 dives)

• 6:30, 9:00 and 11:00 am dives
• Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.
• Long transit to Cousin's Rock (20+ hours)

Day 7, Sunday: Cousin's Rock (1-2 dives)

• 6:30 and 9:30 am, dives (number of dives depending on travelling time from Wolf Island)
• This is a great macro dive with an excellent chance of seeing seahorses, sea lions and eagle rays. Lunch will be served on the way to Santa Cruz (3 hours). Travel by bus to the Santa Cruz Highlands to visit the giant tortoises in their natural habitat.
• Visit the town of Puerto Ayora and the Darwin Centre on your own. Dinner on your own in Puerto Ayora.
• Return to the Humboldt Explorer at 20:30 pm

Day 8, Monday: Baltra

Disembark the ship at 9 am. Transfer to the airport.

Marine life: The Galapagos Islands are home to the world's only marine iguanas and the northernmost living penguin. Coral reefs share the same waters as fur seals. The Galapagos Islands are one of the few places where pelagic species such as tuna, manta rays and hammerhead sharks can be observed close to shore. No other place in the world has such a diversity of marine life.

In addition, the geological and biological processes of the Galapagos Islands have helped to create a wide variety of habitats compared to other marine areas in the eastern Pacific. Coastal areas include vertical cliffs, sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangroves, coral reefs, lagoons and hypersaline pan habitats. Submarine mountains, plateaus, ridges and valleys provide habitat for a range of marine communities, while the open oceans attract populations of pelagic fish.

Please note that these Galapagos dive itineraries are examples only and are subject to change at the captain's discretion depending on local regulations, weather and logistics. Currently, the itinerary includes the same islands each week. However, the order of island visits is dictated by the Galapagos National Park and may vary weekly.

Galapagos Special Itinerary B - Extended Specialty Itinerary (Baltra - Baltra) 11D/10N

Day 1: Baltra

Guests fly from the Ecuadorian mainland to the Galapagos Islands and arrive in the late morning. The dive guides meet the guests at the airport and accompany them to the Humboldt Explorer. The guests board the ship, have lunch and listen to the briefings.

Day 2: Baltra North (2 dives)

6:30 and 9:30 dives.
Sightings include rays and schools of fish.
Afternoon visit to North Seymour: Walk around North Seymour Island to see the large colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigate birds. Sightings of sea lions and marine iguanas are also common.
Departure to the northern islands (long transit).

Day 3: Cabo Marshall (3-4 dives)

Sightings often include manta rays, barracudas and many more.

Day 4: Punta Vincente Roca & Cabo Douglas (2-3 dives)

1 dive in the morning in Punta Vicente Roca. Sightings often include mola-mola, turtles and macro life.
1 or 2 afternoon dives in Cabo Douglas. Sightings also include marine iguanas.

Day 5: Darwin Island (3 dives)

10:30, 2:00 and 4:30 dives.
Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

Day 6: Wolf Island (4 dives)

6:30, 10:30, 2:00 and 4:30 dives.
Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, sea lions, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

Day 7: Wolf & Darwin Islands 2 dives

6:30, 10:30 dives in Wolf. Crossing to Darwin.
2:00 and 4:30 dives in Darwin.
Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

Day 8: Darwin Island (4 dives)

6:30, 10:30, 2:00 and 4:30 dives.
Sightings often include hammerhead sharks, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks.

Day 9: Wolf Island (3 dives)

6:30, 10:30, 2:00 dives.
Sightings often include hammerheads, whale sharks (in season), eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and silky sharks. Long transit to Cousin's Rock.

Day 10: Cousin's Rock (1-2 dives)

6:30 and 9:30 dives (number of dives depending on travelling time from Wolf Island).
This is a great macro dive with an excellent chance of seeing seahorses, sea lions and eagle rays. Lunch will be served on the way to Santa Cruz (3 hours).
In the afternoon, you will travel by bus to the Santa Cruz Highlands to visit the giant tortoises in their natural habitat.
Transfer to the town of Puerto Ayora. Dinner on your own in Puerto Ayora. Return to the Humboldt Explorer at 20:30 hrs

Day 11: Baltra

Price on request

Leave the ship at 8.30 am. Transfer to the airport.

Your Galapagos liveaboards include everything from sharks to nudibranchs and more. The islands are best known for amazing shark dives around the Wolf and Darwin Islands. These small and remote islands are best reached by liveaboard dive boats. Your diving experience here usually includes Galapagos sharks, silky sharks and many schools of hammerhead sharks cleaned by king angelfish. Sea turtles, schools of tuna, eagle rays and sea lions are very common, and from June to November it is very possible to see a whale shark. All the islands you travel to are amazing locations for underwater photography.

Macro photographers will get their fill of seahorses, barnacles, coral shoals and many others. At many dive sites there is an abundance of rays (including spotted rays, marble rays, golden rays and stingrays) along with sea lions, sea turtles, schools of grunts and snappers. The diversity of life in these waters is unrivalled anywhere else, with thick schools of the native brown striped salema, snappers, groupers, chevron barracudas and giant sea turtles.

The last dive takes place on the last day of the trip. Divers are advised to wait 24 hours after the last dive before flying.

Sample itineraries and maps are for illustrative purposes only. The exact route and locations visited may change depending on local regulations, guest experience, weather and logistics and are at the captain's discretion.