The best dive sites have strong currents.

 

Sometimes there is a strong surge.

 

The water in Galapagos is cold.

Divers in Galapagos usually wear a full 6 mm wetsuits with a hood. This much wetsuit requires quite a bit of lead weight in order to sink. It is not unusual for a diver to require between 30 to 40 pounds of lead in order to sink. Of course as the diver descends, the wetsuit compresses and the diver becomes negatively buoyant and must add air to the BC. As the diver ascents, the air in the BC expands and the wetsuit uncompresses causing the diver to become positively buoyant. The diver must dump air from the BC. Therefore a diver should be experience enough to have good control over their buoyancy.

 

Diving in Galapagos is done from pangas.

The currents in Galapagos are strong. The majority of dive sites are small islands that break the surface of the water, then taper down.  It is important that the divers enter the water right next to the cliff. The further from the cliff, the stronger the current. Due to this situation, it is impossible to bring the dive yacht directly over the dive site. Therefore all dive operators in Galapagos dive from small boats called pangas (usually zodiacs).

The diver will suit up on the main yacht then step over to the panga where they must put on their fins. The panga will approach the dive site and the divers back roll into the water.

 

The visibility is often limited.

Large numbers of big animals need lots of food. To have lots of food requires lots of nutrients and high nutrient water is low in visibility. Visibility can be as low as 10 feet and as high as 100 feet but 40 feet is more typical. It varies between dive sites and with the time of day. It can even change during a dive. The visibility up at Darwin/Wolf tends to be higher than in the south.

 

The diving in Galapagos is not for novice divers. Before attempting to dive in Galapagos you should be completely comfortable in the water and comfortable with all aspects of your equipment. Having experience diving in cold water with a thick wetsuit with a hood and/or diving in strong currents is very helpful. Most dive operators require a minimum of 25 dives prior to diving in Galapagos.  If you don't think you are ready - you're not!

 

Sound like a lot of work ? It is.

Is it worth the effort ? You better believe it.

Why else would Galapagos rank as the best dive destination in the world?