Scuba diving at Wolf and Darwin Islands in the Galapagos

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
0
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
10
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
10
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
5
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
10
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
100 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
1st/454
Top 1%
continent
South America
country
Ecuador
Length of time
Around a week
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$820 ($4,500-$5,500 in 2019 prices)
Time of year visited
February
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Isolation Scuba diving Wildlife - Sharks
All Tags
Adrenaline rush Adventure Boat trip Cliffs Islands Sailing Sunsets UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Boobies Wildlife - Frigate Birds Wildlife - Manta Rays Wildlife - Marine Iguanas Wildlife - Sea Lions Wildlife - Sea Turtles
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

8 days / 7 nights on one of the liveaboard dive boats sailing around the Galapagos Islands was an experience I’ll never forget. Whilst visiting the nesting sites of the Frigate Birds, Marine Iguanas and Blue Footed Boobies was super cool, it was the trip up to Darwin and Wolf Islands (to the north of the main Galapagos Islands) that was the highlight. The sheer number of Hammerhead Sharks we saw was mind-boggling, along with Manta Rays, Devil Rays, Sea Lions and Turtles. To add to the experience, spending time next to the sheer cliffs of these dramatic and isolated islands makes for a true feeling of adventure.

 

Yes its expensive, but so are most trips of a lifetime.  Maximum Wow-factor score of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ and the only experience out of the 500+ on this site to get the perfect TE score of 100.  Blown away.

 

Galapagos Islands diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands - marine iguana on white sand beach

 

Table of Contents

Highlights

Galapagos Wolf and Darwin Islands - #1 Diving with hundreds . . . and hundreds of Hammerhead Sharks. Its a ludicrously offhand comment, but you get a bit bored of them

#1 Diving with hundreds and hundreds of Hammerhead Sharks. Its a ludicrously show-off comment, but you get a bit bored of them

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #2 Diving with a host of different species of rays, turtles and sea lions. In this case an Eagle Ray

#2 Diving with a host of different species of rays, turtles and sea lions. In this case an Eagle Ray of Darwin Island

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #3 Seeing the remote, isolated and super cool Darwin & Wolf Islands. An experience on their own

#3 Seeing the remote, isolated and super cool Darwin & Wolf Islands. An experience on their own

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #4 That moment when one of the Hammerheads comes up close for a look, and you can see just how sharp the teeth are

#4 That moment when one of the Hammerheads comes up close for a look, and you can see just how sharp the teeth are

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #5 Visiting the nesting bird colonies on the protected islands all along the Galapagos chain

#5 Visiting the nesting bird colonies on the protected islands all along the Galapagos chain, such as these Frigate Birds

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #6 Getting to dive with the Galapagos Shark. Broadly considered to be one of the most beautiful and "sharky" shark (not that that makes any sense)

#6 Getting to dive with the Galapagos Shark. Broadly considered to be one of the most beautiful and "sharky" shark (not that that makes any sense)

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #7 Getting a live performance of the Blue Footed Boobies' dances to show off their blue feet to prospective mates

#7 Getting a live performance of the Blue Footed Boobies' dances to show off their blue feet to prospective mates. Surprisngly funny the watch!

Galapagos - diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. #8 Visiting the Giant Tortoises in the Sanctuary to see these ancient and wonderful animals

#8 Visiting the Giant Tortoises in their Sanctuary to see these ancient and wonderful animals. Some were there when Darwin was there!

Galapagos Background

 

The Galapagos has some factors that make them pretty unique:

  • The Galapagos Islands’ history through Charles Darwin’s famous trip in 1835.  This was the place that really cemented his Theory of Evolution that we use as a building block of thinking today.
  • The location is around a thousand miles off the shore of Ecuador.  It is super isolated.
  • The sheer level of wildlife, just how isolated it is from the rest of the world, and how unique.

But . . . Wolf and Darwin Islands take this to another level through their even greater isolation and in registering the highest biomass in the world.  To put this into perspective, that is 10 times the Great Barrier Reef.  Insane.

 

 

Rough Itinerary

  • The boats typically set off from either Isla de San Cristobal or Isla Santa Cruz – these are the two islands with the airports and you will likely find your liveaboard company flexible as to where they pick you up and drop you off. For example, we flew in to Isla de San Cristobal and flew out of Island Santa Cruz.
  • Once on the boat, you’ll do (not necessarily in this order):
    • Some diving around the main Galapagos Islands
    • Visit one of the islands to see the nesting Blue Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds and Marine Iguanas. Very likely you’ll also see some sea lions
    • Head up overnight for Wolf and Darwin Islands, spend 3 days or so of diving here, plus checking out the cliffs
    • Head back to Isla Santa Cruz for a day to check out the Tortoise Sanctuary and possibly spend the evening on land
  • I’d also really recommend taking the time to explore the Galapagos Islands themselves. We took a week after the diving trip to island hop between Isla Santa Cruz and Isla Isabella, where we saw world-class beaches, baby sharks by the shore, swam with the sea lions and penguins, and did things like cycle around parts of the island.  For more details on this experience, see Island hoping through the main Galapagos Islands

The Diving

 

Standard of diving level needed

 

  • This is the first question that comes to mind when planning a Galapagos trip.  Because everyone learns at different speeds and different confidence levels, there isn’t a hard and fast rule.  But I would suggest you need your Advanced Padi (or equivalent) and have something in the region of at least 30 dives to feel comfortable. The main issues you’ll find will be the current – it really can pull you along and you’ll need the confidence / experience not to get freaked out if you get caught in the very cold water current or get pulled along further than the others . . . or  get lost and suddenly see 20 hammerheads dart towards you.
  • The Galapagos Islands are influenced by three ocean currents which are one of the key reasons for the abundance of wildlife but, for divers, this means you need to be aware of changes in visibility, strong currents and often cold water temperatures.  So having a suitable level of diving experience is recommended.

 

Galapagos Islands diving - sea turtles next to Wolf and Darwin Islands

 

Who to go with

 

  • There are heaps and heaps of options.  The best bet is to scan on Liveaboards.com – Galapagos which has them all listed.
  • We went with Humboldt Explorer, which we’d thoroughly recommend. Few points:
    • The crew couldn’t have been more friendly and the dive instructors were superb. Their attitude made a big difference
    • The boat was spacious, with an upper deck allowing you to see the Galápagos Islands go by (plus a jacuzzi which was nice). We saw the photos and videos of the other luxury boats and, even though I like my space and am becoming a bit of a princess, I never found myself needing that extra space / luxury
    • Food was surprisingly good and varied
    • Equipment and safety measures etc were top notch
    • Free soft drinks and alcohol
    • WiFi for WhatsApp messages, no more

 

Galapagos Islands - stone fish in the Wolf and Darwin Islands

 

Prices for the Galapagos Diving

 

  • Flexible deals – for many trips around the Galapagos, you can often just turn up with a bit of flexibility and arrange multi-day boat trips for a fraction of the cost.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find this when it came to liveaboard trips as there are only so many licenses and they tend to be booked up months in advance.  So, paying top dollar 🤑
  • The remoteness and the exclusivity make this trip expensive.  In 2019, we paid per person: US$4,500 for the liveaboard, but with quite a few hidden charges to be aware of. Renting gear US$250, Nitrox US$150, dive computer US$100, fuel surcharge US$100, Galapagos National Park tax US$100, Transit card U$20.  Yes, it may be a bit like that scene from Cliffhanger when Sylvester Stallone is burning the money to stay warm, but the experience more than makes up for it.
  • Bring cash – you’ll need cash for renting the gear, nitrox, fuel surcharge etc.  Although you pass by an ATM on the final night so can use that

Extra Diving Tips

  • This is a diving trip – you get to take a 2 hour walk across one of the islands to see the boobies, frigates and iguanas, and are taken to to tortoise park on Santa Cruz on the penultimate day, but you’re there for the diving.
  • Consider asking for a shallower dive for some variety – it’s the definition of first world problems when you’re bored of seeing hundreds of hammerheads, but it was a nice change!
  • Nitrox – you will very likely need to use enhanced air (Nitrox).  Its no problem if you don’t already have the certification as you can do this as part of the trip – the instructors will be more than happy to make some extra cash!

 

General Tips for the Galapagos

 

  • When to visit – there isn’t really a “wrong time” to visit the Galapagos. January to June is wet season, so it’ll mainly be sunny, hot and with a short sharp torrential downpour some days. This is the best time for hammerheads and rays.  July to December is the dry season, so less rain and cooler temperatures, but reduced visibility.  July to November is the best chance to see Whale Sharks so is high season.  I visited in February and it was fantastic.

 

  • You’ll fly in from either Quito or Guayaquil (often flights from Quito fly via Guayaquil), but be prepared not to necessarily land first time.  Or, potentially, not be able to land and return to the mainland because of the weather.  This happened to us and is quite regular from what we were told.

 

  • Its not all about the diving.  There are a variety of things for the non divers in the broader Galapagos, many world-class experiences in their own right. Swimming with sea lions and the sensational Tortuga Bay were my highlights.  Have a look at the travel entry for Island hopping through the main Galapagos Islands for some of the tips.

 

Galapagos islands - playing with the sea lions on the beach

 

Experiences Nearby

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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