TRULY ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME
14 stunning nights in Darwin’s Magic Islands
May 11-25, 2023 (DIVE ADVICE EXCLUSIVE)
4 lucky divers have the opportunity to join our exclusive charter for 14 glorious nights in the Galapagos Islands as we have spaces remaining on this exhilarating adventure. Dive with the entire cast of underwater characters … visit the islands to see Darwin’s colorful boobies & centuries-old tortoises !
7 NIGHTS IS GREAT … 10 IS FABULOUS … FOR A 14-NIGHT ODYSSEY, THERE ARE NO WORDS
The extended trips offer added time at Darwin & Wolf … every diver’s dream come true. They take in all the best of the Galapagos – including more of the spectacular diving at Darwin and Wolf Islands – with up to 4 dives per day, night dives & land visits.
A 14-night trip comes along only “once in a blue moon” so if you have cash burning a hole in your pocket after being grounded during much of the Pandemic … you couldn’t possibly find a better trip for a splurge !
The custom itineraries will include everything you’ve always longed to see … or to see again. You’ll dive amongst hundreds of hammerheads and if you’re lucky look up to see a whale shark cruising along. Add silky sharks, enormous Galapagos sharks, eagle rays, manta rays & mola-mola …. sea turtles, giant morays and schooling fish in the thousands … Then, too, you’ve got black coral with plenty of macro life -seahorses, blennies, nudibranchs, hawkfish and frogfish. Everyone loves the enigmatic sea iguanas, the penguins racing around at full speed and playful sea lions.
CALIPSO
The Calipso is a 100-foot (33-meter) yacht, which has recently completed a full refit & her operation started in August 2019. She is a spacious boat with capacity for 16 divers diving Galapagos.
Long a favorite for naturalist cruises in Galapagos, Calipso (formerly the Flamingo) is beginning a new life as a scuba diving vessel following a complete make-over: new motors, new generators, new compressors and Nitrox system, plus a total rebuild on the interior and the sundeck, with the addition of a Jacuzzi. The dive deck is all new and has camera tables, rinse tanks, hot showers and a head.
Sun lovers and those who wish to enjoy the scenery will enjoy the large sun deck, which has covered & uncovered options, the hot tub, a bar & barbecue. On the upper deck, behind the bridge, are 6 of the cabins, all with large windows. The main deck houses 2 forward cabins, a huge lounge and dining area with flat screen TV. At the stern, on this level, is the new 450 square-foot dive platform. The last 2 cabins are located on the lower deck and will be used for single divers with no single supplement.
DATES, RATES AND GENERAL ITINERARY
{slider Dive Advice Exclusive 14 night charter with 6-7 dive days at Darwin & Wolf. 4 final spaces are available … click to read more ….|dest|closed}
DATE :
MAY 11 – 25, 2023
14 nights aboard Calipso
SPECIAL RATE :
$11,398 per person
Contact us with questions or to book
DIVE SITE DESCRIPTIONS
{slider We’ve included here a description of each site you’re likely to dive and the cast of characters you’re likely to meet. You will have all the usual dive sites with more time at Darwin and Wolf and a customized itinerary which may include dive sites which are not often visited. As always, this is subject to weather & sea conditions and remains at the discretion of the captain. The following itinerary is for 7 nights. On the 14-night voyage, you can count on more time at all of the sites which offer the most thrilling diving … click to read more ….|dest|closed}
ITINERARY :
Departures are from San Cristobal on Thursday
Thursday
AM: This morning, you will fly from the mainland of Ecuador to San Cristobal, Galapagos and boat representatives will be there to greet you and escort you to the yacht.
PM: After getting settled in, you will have lunch and briefings, followed by a check-out dive at Isla Lobos. Lobo is Spanish for wolf and sea lion is lobo del mar in Spanish. Expect to see sea lions. Sail overnight
Friday
AM: Punta Carrion is located on the island of Santa Cruz. Sometimes you get lucky and see mola mola here. It’s a good first dive to acclimatize to Galapagos diving
PM: Seymour is an island known for having great dives. Sightings include mobulas, white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks, sometimes Hammerheads and many fish species.
Saturday
AM: Wolf & Darwin are known for having the largest biomass of sharks on the planet. Wolf is located 115 miles north of the central islands. Although no land visits are allowed, you’re likely to see all or most of the birds which flock to this island including all 3 types of boobies: Red footed, blue footed and Nazca, boobies … plus frigates, pelicans, lava gulls and red billed tropic birds.
PM: Sightings include huge schools of hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, whale sharks (in season), silky sharks, eagle rays, sea lions, fur seals, mantas, turtles, jacks, trumpet fish, butterfly fish, Moorish idols, moray eels and dolphins. Some sites at Wolf are covered in coral sport a variety of tropical fish species. Dive sites include Shark Bay, The Landslide, La Banana and Islote La Ventana.
Sunday
AM & PM dives at Darwin. Darwin’s Arch is an icon, the symbol of diving the Galapagos. As in the waters surrounding Wolf, here you’ll find massive schools of Hammerheads. In the later months of the year, huge, pregnant whale sharks pass through this area. Also, Darwin is the warmest dive site in Galapagos due to the tropical Panama current. You will spend a lot of the dive at a platform that drops into the blue. Here you’ll see hammerheads swim against the current. It’s like being on the side of a Hammerhead highway watching traffic pass. You leave the platform to swim out into the blue when a whale shark is spotted. That sometimes means swimming through the Hammerheads, a truly magnificent experience you will never forget.
Monday
AM: You have 2 more dives at Darwin in the morning.
PM: You have 1-2 more dives at Wolf in the afternoon. There is an optional night dive at the Anchorage site where you’ll find a sandy bottom and may see garden eels and the red-lipped batfish
Tuesday
January – June: Cabo Marshall (Isabela Island)
AM & PM: Cabo Marshall is located on the eastern side of Isabela Island. You’ll have 4 dives at 2 Cabo Marshall dive sites. Giant mantas, large schools of barracudas, Galapagos sharks, sea lions, flightless cormorants and enormous schools of black striped salemas are your likely companions here.
July – December: Fernandina Island is an active volcano. It has erupted twice in the last decade and is the ‘hot spot’ in Galapagos.
AM: Cabo Douglas, Fernandina. This is the only site on liveaboard itineraries where you can see diving marine Iguanas feeding underwater. You also see penguins feeding on tiny silver sardines using schools of black striped salemas as cover. Turtles are especially abundant at Cabo Douglas.
PM: Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela Island). Punta Vicente Roca is a mola mola (sunfish) cleaning station, has large turtle populations, the endemic Galapagos bullhead shark, penguins, sea horses, sea lions and many species of fish not found elsewhere in Galapagos. It is not uncommon to find yourself diving with an endemic flightless cormorant.
Wednesday
AM: Cousins Rock. Cousins is a small rock, the remains of an eroded crater sticking up out of the sea. On the eastern side, the rock cascades down in a series of recessed ledges strewn with black coral, which is bright green under the water. Taking cover in the coral, you may find seahorses, frog fish, octopus, turtles and the elusive longnose hawkfish. It’s not unusual to spot pelagics from Cousins including mantas, eagle rays, mobulas and hammerhead. 1-2 dives here.
PM: You disembark and head for a reserve in the Santa Cruz Highlands to see the iconic Galapagos Tortoise in its natural habitat. After the Highlands, you descend into the largest town in Galapagos, Puerto Ayora. You may opt to visit the Charles Darwin Research Center in the Galapagos National Park or wander about town. Dinner will be at a restaurant in Puerto Ayora. You then return to Calipso and sail to San Cristobal overnight.
Thursday
AM: You will disembark and are free to visit the Interpretation Center or wander around port before to the airport for your departure.
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REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING GALAPAGOS ….
Galapagos has very specific requirements for entry. This is due to the effort to manage the impact of both residents and visitors on the islands and their wildlife.
Prior to entry into Galapagos – ALL visitors MUST have the following:
- round-trip ticket
- reservations in a hotel or on a cruise which correspond EXACTLY to the dates of your airline tickets
- (or) an invitation letter to remain as a guest of a permanent or temporary resident in Galapagos for no more than 60 days in a year
- immigration card (known as the Ingala card) issued by the Galápagos Special Regime Governing Council.
* The requirements must be presented to & accepted by the Governing Council at Quito or Guayaquil airport upon entry. You will then receive your Ingala (immigration) card.
If you are on a dive liveaboard (or liveaboard naturalist cruise) you will NOT be allowed to spend time on the islands before or after your cruise UNLESS you have made prior reservations. We will be happy to advise you regarding accommodation on the islands.