Dive Review of Calipso in
Galapagos Islands/All major islands

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Calipso: "Great experience on a wonderful vessel with a great crew", May, 2021, by William T Davin Jr, GA, US ( 1 report). Report 11791.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Galapagos is one of those “Bucket List” dive trips and the week spent on the Calipso lived up to all expectations. We were greeted at the Baltra Airport and taken by bus down the hill to the waiting pangas for the short trip out to the vessel. Our luggage was delivered to the rooms, which were the nicest I have experience on a live aboard. The beds could be set up as either as twins or a king and there was plenty of room on both sides of the bed with storage underneath. There was also a large closet, tv, and a good-sized private bathroom. The Calipso has eight rooms for guests, which limits the group size to a maximum of sixteen divers. The divers were split into two groups of eight; with each group assigned to a panga. The dive masters alternated groups each day and we typically did three or four dive per day, except day one which was our checkout dive. After our checkout dive, we met the crew and settled in for dinner. All meals were served buffet style, with multiple options that seemed to satisfy everyone. A typical day started with a quick cold breakfast and coffee, followed by the first dive. After the first dive, we returned for a hot breakfast; then a second dive. Lunch would then be followed by a couple of dives unless we were moving to a new location in which case we just did one. The water was warmest up a Darwin and Wolf Islands (mid 70’s), but the currents were strong. While we didn’t encounter any whale sharks (it was May), we did see tons of hammerheads, dolphins, large jacks, and numerous other species of tropical fishes. Divers needed to be aware of our surroundings, as scorpion fish were plentiful. We were the last group of divers at the Darwin Arch. The Arch collapsed as we were departing the area (we didn’t do it!). After leaving Wolf and Darwin, we headed south to dive Isabela, Fernandina, and Santiago Islands. The water was colder, so a 7 mm was the wetsuit of choice and the visibility was reduced. The fauna changed to Sea Lions, Galapagos Sharks, numerous of Moray Eels, squadrons of rays, dolphins, and even a penguin or two. The entire crew was wonderful and extremely helpful. Getting into a 7 mm wetsuit (especially wet) is not easy, but all hands were on deck to help with the gearing up process. Tanks and weights were lifted into the panga prior to boarding so getting out after a dive was a breeze. Once back at the boat, there was a warm towel and hot chocolate waiting on the dive deck. Our last day of the trip was highlighted by a land trip to see Galapagos Tortoises and shopping and dinner ashore.
Websites	Calipso
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Sea of Cortez, Roatan, Caymans (all three), Bonaire, GBR, BVI, St. Croix, Costa Rica, Belize, Cozumel, and Lake Michigan
Closest Airport	Baltra	Getting There	Atlanta to Quito and the Quito to Baltra. No flight difficulties at all
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	currents
Water Temp	68-78°F / 20-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Due to strong currents and limited visibility the group stayed with dive master.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The dive deck had a large rinse tank dedicated to cameras and a table with air to dry and change batteries. All recharging of batteries was done outside on the dedicated table located on the dive deck. Most everyone had a camera, but there was plenty of room.

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Dive Review of Calipso in Galapagos Islands/All major islands

Calipso: "Great experience on a wonderful vessel with a great crew", May, 2021,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Calipso in
Galapagos Islands/All major islands