Humboldt Explorer
Fifteen dives in eight days, four of them straight at Darwin. A 106-foot dive boat with nine crew for sixteen divers and no sightseeing filler in the schedule.
Four days north
Wolf and Darwin get four full days of the eight, not a rushed overnight visit.
Ratio
Seven crew and two instructors for sixteen divers. Tanks and fills are handled for you.
All in
Tanks, weights, air fills, transfers, meals and even the local alcohol sit inside the fare.
Fifteen dives, no filler
The Humboldt Explorer runs the itinerary divers actually want: check dives on day two, then straight north to spend four days working Wolf and Darwin before turning back. Fifteen dives across the week, up to four a day when the sea allows, and the only land time is a single afternoon in the Santa Cruz highlands near the end.
She is 32 metres with a 6.5-metre beam, which matters on the long open crossing to Darwin. Sixteen divers, seven crew and two instructors, so tanks, weights and fills stop being your problem the moment you climb the ladder. What sits inside the fare is unusually broad for the Galapagos: all air fills, towels and linens, inter-island transfers on arrival and departure day, and the drinks — local alcohol included.
At a glance
Eight days, seven nights
Arrival
Fly into Baltra, transfer to the boat, settle in. No diving on day one — the week starts properly tomorrow morning.
Baltra North East and North Seymour
Two check dives in calm water to sort weighting and gear, then North Seymour in the afternoon before the overnight run north.
Wolf Island
Cleaning stations and walls all day: hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, silkies, and schools of jacks thick enough to dim the light.
Wolf, then the crossing
One more morning at Wolf before the run to Darwin and the first dive there in the afternoon.
Darwin Island
The day the whole trip is built around. You hook in, stay low, and let the traffic come to you. Whale sharks pass through in season, roughly June to November.
Back at Wolf
Two more dives at Wolf on the way south. By now you know the sites and the current, which is when the week gets good.
Cousins Rock and the highlands
Last dives of the week at Cousins Rock — sea lions, seahorses, reef fish — then ashore in the Santa Cruz highlands. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Transfer to Baltra
Dive fifteen in the morning if the schedule allows, then the transfer to Baltra airport and the flight to the mainland.
Nothing in the water is guaranteed, and the crew moves the plan around the sea rather than the brochure. Four dives a day is the ceiling, not a promise.
What is and is not included
Included
- Seven nights and eight days on board
- Up to four dives daily, weather permitting
- Tanks, weights and weight belts
- All air fills
- Three meals a day, except Sunday dinner
- Snacks between dives
- Towels and linens
- Transfers within the Galapagos on arrival and departure day
- Local alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks
Not included
- Single supplement — 80% for a cabin to yourself
- Sunday evening meal ashore
- Personal dive gear rental
- Nitrox
- National Park entrance and transit card
- Crew gratuities
Travelling alone? The 80% supplement is steep, so ask us about sharing — on a sixteen-diver boat there is usually someone else in the same position.
Where you sleep
Cabins for sixteen divers, each with a private bathroom, and towels and linens on board. Built around the diving rather than around the photos: somewhere to warm up, dry off and sleep between four dives a day.
Meals on board
Three meals a day, plus snacks between dives, all timed around the schedule rather than a fixed dining hour. Drinks are covered too — water, coffee, juice and local alcohol. The one exception is Sunday evening, when you eat ashore on Santa Cruz and pay for that meal yourself.
Is this your boat?
Book it if
- You want four days at Wolf and Darwin, not a token visit
- Fifteen dives in a week sounds like the right number
- You would rather have the extras inside the price than itemised
- You are comfortable in current and cold water
Choose another cruise if
- You are new to diving or coming back after a long break
- Part of your group does not dive — there is almost no land time
- You are travelling solo and the 80% supplement does not work
- You want landings, snorkeling and wildlife walks in the mix
Worth comparing: the Tiburon Explorer, built for diving in 2020. Prefer landings and snorkeling over tanks? We arrange naturalist cruises across the archipelago.
Tell us your dates
Departures run Monday to Monday. Send the week you have in mind and we come back with the cabins still open on the Humboldt Explorer and what they cost.