Galapagos Diving – San Cristobal & Santa Cruz

Arrival - Interpretation Centre Visit, Tijeretas Hill & Tijereta Bay
Upon arrival to San Cristobal Island, our representative will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. After checking in, your first visit will be to the San Cristobal Interpretation Centre where you will have the chance to learn about the origin of the archipelago, its fauna and flora, as well as the history and its first inhabitants.

Afterwards, head out on a hike for about 2 hours to Tijeretas Hill where you will enjoy the endemic vegetation and a beautiful view of the island and its surroundings. The main attraction here is the frigate birds. At the end of the day, you will visit Tijereta Bay and do some snorkelling before returning to the hotel.

Lunch included.

Tijeretas Hill Diving
Today you will head out to Tijeretas Hill, a dive site off of San Cristobal Island. It has great visibility and is a perfect site for beginners and more experienced divers alike. This wall dive features green sea turtles, Galapagos garden eels, rays and great schools of fish including angelfish and grunts. With all this said, possibly the best part of this dive will be swimming with the playful sea lions.

Lunch included.

Explore Santa Cruz Highlands
After breakfast, we’ll take a speedboat for about 2 hours to go to Santa Cruz Island, situated in the center of the archipelago, the second largest island after Isabela. Upon arrival you will transfer to your hotel.

In the afternoon you will meet with your guide and transfer El Chato located in the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island, a place where giant tortoises are living and where we can spot them close up, allowing you to take amazing pictures. You will be served lunch while enjoying the landscape before returning to the hotel.

Lunch included.

Full Day Diving at Gordon Rocks
North-east of Santa Cruz island lie the famous Gordon Rocks. Sometimes called ‘The Washing Machine’ it is a popular site where intermediate and advanced divers go due to challenging currents and upwellings. It is these very currents that bring the plankton to the surface attracting large pelagics from across the sea in numbers. One of the best places to find Hammerhead sharks and the weird and wonderful Oceanic Sunfish (Mola Mola). Also here are Galapagos sharks, white tip reef sharks, lots of giant sea turtles, mobula rays, sting rays, eagle rays, panamic green morays, Galapagos eels, barracudas and various reef fish.

General Conditions
Moderate to strong currents and surge
Diver Level Certified – minimum 25 logged dives or evaluation by our guides at another site.

Lunch included.

Day at Leisure
Spend your second last day relaxing in the Galapagos Islands or alternatively there are a variety of optional excursions for you to choose from (additional expense):

Tortuga Bay beach
Boat excursion to Santa Fe, South Plazas or North Seymour
Cooking class and lunch at Silberstein Hotel
Bay Tour

Lunch included.

Charles Darwin Research Station & Airport Transfer
This morning you will visit Charles Darwin Station before transferring back to Baltra airport for your flight to Quito or Guayaquil.

Charles Darwin Station is a reservoir of information on habitats and local conservation, as well as other fascinating relevant statistics. The most striking attraction of this station is certainly the Tortoise Breeding Centre, where it is possible to view tortoises of varied sizes and shapes.

Breakfast included.