Dive Review of Galapagos Master in
Galapagos Islands

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Galapagos Master: "Very Good Diving Despite Catching Covid", Feb, 2022, by David Marchese, PA, US ( Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 28 Helpful votes). Report 11863 has 2 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our 3rd Galapagos liveaboard trip, but the first outside of "whale shark season." We were hoping to see more hammerheads, more manta, and have better visibility. We figured that seeing all that would make up for the lack of whale sharks. December through June is also supposed to be the warmer-wetter season. In our 15 days there (5 on a nature cruise and 10 on the Galapagos Master), we didn't have one day of rain, and the water was colder than it was on our prior visits (August and November). While this trip was excellent, it was similar to our other trips except that we didn't see any whale sharks this time. We saw many hammerheads, but no more than we did previously. Also, the visibility was no better, and we didn't see any manta. Therefore, we didn't experience any of the "benefits" of the "warmer-wetter season." The water at Darwin and Wolf was 78F but it was 58-61 at the southern islands. A 7 mm was more than enough at Darwin/Wolf, but even with a 5/3 hooded vest under a 7, anything below 61F was barely tolerable for my old, lean body. After about 30 minutes, my core temperature would drop rapidly and my air consumption would increase significantly as I'd start to shiver so 40 minutes was about all we could take. My fingers and toes would just start to get warm when it was time for the next dive. It was turtle breeding season so we saw between 5 and 20 green turtles on every dive. We saw hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, black tips, white tips, tuna, eagle rays (up to 9 in formation), sting rays, mobula rays, golden rays, and rays that I've never seen before and can't name. We also saw the ruby lipped batfish, sea horses, a frog fish, mola mola, dolphins, and many sea lions. The only things we didn't see were whale sharks and silkies. Silkies hung out along side the boat, but we didn't see any underwater. The Galapagos Master was clean and functional, but perhaps a bit basic. The layout is good, but the dive deck is a bit cramped. The 14 guests (of a possible 16) were divided into two groups, and we rarely saw each other underwater. We didn't see divers from other boats underwater either, and only only saw one or two other boats moored in our vicinity (most of the time, it was only us). Our last dive was at Cousins Rock. It was one of our best dives (frog fish, sea horses, eagle rays, sea lions, mobula rays, sting rays, white tips) and everyone wished that we could have done more dives there. We had not seen iguanas underwater on our prior trips so seeing them this trip was great. We also had much better mola mola encounters. We saw 1 or 2 on each dive at Punta Vicente Roca, but the visibility is in the 25' range and the water is cold! I was only able to get grainy photos of them. Despite Ecuador requiring everyone to show a negative PCR test and proof of being vaccinated, several guest got sore throats within a couple of days of boarding. One guest said he had the "worst sore throat of his life" and was unable to dive. He brought a covid test kit and tested positive. He volunteered to self quarantine for the rest of the trip. No one else got tested. Afterwards, all the US passengers were required to test negative before being allowed to return home (the Europeans - half the guests - weren't required to be tested to return home). 4 out of 7 Americans tested positive and were forced to quarantine in Quito. Fortunately they all tested negative after 6 days and were finally able to return home. We were also fortunate that we didn't have to miss any dives (except for the poor guy who self-quarantined) and that no one had any serious or lingering symptoms. Since everyone flew a US domestic flight before boarding their flight to Ecuador, we suspect that one of us caught covid on a US domestic flight where neither proof of vaccination nor a negative test result is required.
Websites	Galapagos Master
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caymans, Turks & Caicos, Bay Islands, Bahamas, Fiji, Saba, Maldives, California, Revillagigedo, Cozumel, Midway, Kona, Galapagos, Panama, Palau, Tahiti, Cocos, Malpelo, Tonga, PNG, Komodo, Sulawesi, Holbox, Solomon Islands, Belize, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Wakitobi, Alor, Marquesas, GBR
Closest Airport	Quito	Getting There	Overnight in Quito or Guayaquil then to Galapagos
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	58-78°F / 14-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	25-50 Ft/ 8-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The dive Masters were very strict about staying in your group and with a guide. Dives were limited to 50 minutes.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	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	There was lots to photograph, but the low viz, appreciable currents, and shy animals made it challenging.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Ellen Marie Smith in MN, US at Apr 01, 2022 13:23 EST

Hi - glad you had a great trip despite COVID. Did you book thru and agency or directly with Galapagos Master? Thank you.

By report author: David Marchese in PA, US at Apr 03, 2022 12:31 EST

Hi, We booked through Equator Diving: equatordiving.com We've used them for our last 10 or so trips. They treat us well.

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Dive Review of Galapagos Master in Galapagos Islands

Galapagos Master: "Very Good Diving Despite Catching Covid", Feb, 2022,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Galapagos Master in
Galapagos Islands