Diving or snorkeling is very adventures and exciting activity. If you are fascinated to know about the world underwater, planning a Galapagos tour is surely a great option to explore some of the most vibrant marine utopias. While snorkeling gives travelers an opportunity to explore the stunning and vibrant reefs, scuba diving gives them a great chance to spend some quality time around the fascinating marine creatures. But, before planning Galapagos tours for diving, it would be great to have a sound knowledge about the best time and destinations for diving in Galapagos.
Best Time for Diving
There is never a bad time for diving in Galapagos. You can plan your trip whenever you want to explore some stunning views of the rich flora and fauna of this beautiful archipelago. From June to December, the weather is little chiller in Galapagos and this is the time when a lot of marine creatures usually come on the surface of the sea water. Planning a trip during these months will surely come as a great opportunity to explore a wide range of marine species. If you are considering to plan your trip around these months, it is recommended to come with cold water dive equipment for exposure protection.
Top Galapagos Diving Sites
There are countless sites in Galapagos where you can go to have a wonderful diving experience. Some of the popular ones are listed below:
- Darwin Island: The warm water species usually enjoy the weather during June to October. If you visit the Darwin Island also known as Santa Cruz Island during these months, you will have a great chance to have a close encounter with parrotfish, trumpetfish, angelfish, sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, wales, barracuda, and varieties of ray species.
- Wolf Island: Located many miles away from the San Cristobal Island, the Wolf Island is very popular among the diving enthusiasts. Having three distinctive diving sites i.e Landslide, Shark Bay, and The Caves, here you will get an opportunity to have an encounter with numerous rare, unique, vibrant, and colorful marine species. If you are an experienced and trained diver, there is nothing which cannot leave you speechless. Here, you can dive around sea lions, swim with green turtles, and have an encounter with dolphins and all manners of sharks and rays. Besides marine species, here you can explore some of the most fascinating underwater caves, reef covered coral walls and sub-marine boulder fields.
- Gordon's Rock: Located near the heart of the Galapagos archipelago, Gordon's Rock is known throughout the world for its flourishing marine life. It is one of the best destinations to have an encounter with different species of rays, hammerhead sharks, and other Galapagos shark species which swim with green turtles, eels, barracuda, and different tropical fishes. The colonies of sea lions and fur seal are also one of the major centers of attraction of this beautiful island.
- Cousin's Rock: Located off the eastern coast of Santiago Island, this volcanic rock is one of the best destinations to explore octopus, frogfish, seahorse and other marine creatures. If you venture into the moderate current open water, you will have the great opportunity to explore different species of sharks like hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, and Galapagos sharks.
These are only a few popular diving destinations which you can explore during your Galapagos tours. When it comes to planning for a tour, you need to hire an experienced and specialized local tour operator to plan out the best possible trip for yourself.
Martin Wynn
