Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/Estrella del Mar in
Galapagos Islands

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Explorer Ventures/Estrella del Mar, Aug, 2008, by Jeff Daniels, MI, United States ( 2 reports). Report 4390.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Great diving for large animals. Many small reef fish but hard to focus on them with the large guys around. Nothing like swimming with a whale shark in the open ocean. Occasional strong currents. Bring good gloves. Buoyancy control important. Water warmer than expected. Excellent divemasters. Estrella del Mar small for 16 divers. Supposed to be replaced with larger, newer Eco-Explorer on 2009. Make sure to buy travel insurance. Night dives and shore excursions no longer allowed. But with panga rides, the only thing we didn't see was the penguins. We dove Wolf and Darwin as well as central islands. Recommended. Make sure to check the permit for your outfitter. Expensive, especially when all fees are counted. $110 to go to Islands. $100 for large tanks. $150 for Nitrox. $30 for chamber fee. $150 fuel surcharge. Departure fee $40. Then there is the tips. We gave $200 pp for the week. I think most gave about that. Get your guide to have Aerogal/Tame waive excess baggage fee otherwise you are in for more sizable fees. Ecuador lovely country. Mountains, lowlands, jungle, Amazon, coast, cities, volcanoes, whitewater all within a few hours. Great birding. Friendly people. Mediocre food. US dollar is official currency. Change is scarce. You can't have enough small ($1, $5) bills.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Great Lakes, Florida, Australia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	73-79°F / 23-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Start to surface at 700 psi. Nitrox depth limits. 60 minutes.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
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	Separate table, rinse tank and storage for cameras.

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Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/Estrella del Mar in Galapagos Islands

Explorer Ventures/Estrella del Mar, Aug, 2008,

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 Explorer Ventures/Estrella del Mar in
Galapagos Islands