A land of creatures beyond your imagination!
| 2008 Itinerary | 2008 vessel layout | 2008 permit |
| 2008 FAQ | Additional Information |
Days aboard the Estrella del Mar generally involve a 6:30 a.m. dive followed by breakfast, a dive at 9:30, lunch at 12:00, and afternoon dives at dive at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. Dinner is served at approximately 7:00 p.m. Under current National Parks guidelines no night dives are allowed.
Please note that these itineraries are examples only, and will change depending on local regulation, weather and logistics at the Captain’s discretion. Currently each week the itinerary includes the same islands. The order of the islands, however, is dictated by the National Parks Foundation and may vary weekly.
San Cristobal/BALTRA Departures
All departures are expected to be out of Baltra, Galapagos Islands for 2008. A guide will meet you upon exiting the baggage claim area for transfer to the vessel. If the departure island changes, your airlines tickets from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands will automatically be changed to San Cristobal (so long as the tickets have been purchased through our partners).
Monday: Baltra/North Seymour
Guests fly to the Galapagos Islands from Mainland Ecuador, arriving in the late morning. Guests are met at the airport and taken to the Estrella del Mar. Boarding the vessel after 1:00pm, guests will depart for a short crossing to North Seymour for a check out dive and safety orientation briefing Lunch will be served during the crossing and dinner will be served after the check out dive. The vessel will make a late day departure to the next destination.
Tuesday: North Seymour
6:30, 9:30, dives. Sightings include turtles, hammerheads, sea lions. Afternoon/overnight transit to Darwin (20 hours).
Wednesday: Darwin
6:30, 9:30, 1:30 and 4:00 dives. Sightings often include hammerheads, whale sharks, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, and silky sharks. Night at anchor.
Thursday: Darwin Island
6:30, 9:30, 1:30 and 4:00 dives. Sightings often include hammerheads, whale sharks, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, and silky sharks. Evening crossing to Wolf Island (2.5 hrs).
Friday: Wolf Island
6:30, 9:30, 1:30 and 4:00 dives. Sightings often include hammerheads, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks, turtles and silky sharks. Overnight transit to Isabela Island (15 hours).
Saturday: Isabela Island – Cabo Marshall
6:30, 9:30, 11:30 and 3:00 dives. Sightings include giant manta rays, mobula rays, turtles, hammerheads, black-striped salema. Overnight transit Cousins Rock (8 hours).
Sunday: Cousin’s Rock
6:30 dive – macro diving with excellent chance of seeing sea horses, frog fish, sea lions, eagle rays. Lunch and transit back to Santa Cruz (3 hrs). Land trip to see the giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz and possible visit to the town of Puerto Ayora. Possible dinner ashore.
Monday: Baltra
Early morning panga ride in the mangroves of Black Turtle Cove. Breakfast; depart the vessel by 9 am . Transfer back to the airport for flight back to Quito or Guayaquil.
The expectation is that for 2009 departures and beyond the Galapagos Eco Explorer I or an equivalent vessel will hold the diving permit.
