Aqua
Nineteen dives on the schedule, six of them at Darwin, and a personal rescue GPS on every diver. A 2023 refit at a fare that sits well under the boats it dives alongside.
Nineteen dives
Six at Darwin, five at Wolf, and the western sites on the way back. Very little idle water time.
Rescue GPS
A personal marine rescue GPS for every diver, inside the fare. Not standard at this price.
Refit 2023
A 1998 hull brought up to date, with nine cabins of ten square metres each.
More dives than the fare suggests
Aqua sits in an unusual spot: superior class, refitted in 2023, and running an itinerary as heavy as boats charging half again as much. Nineteen dives across the week when conditions cooperate — four at Darwin on the Thursday alone — with Cape Marshall and the City of the Mantas on the way north instead of a token check dive and a long crossing.
Sixteen guests in nine cabins spread across three decks, each around ten square metres with private facilities. Eight crew plus two dive guides, at one guide per eight divers. What stands out at this price is the safety kit: every diver carries a personal marine rescue GPS, included, along with two radars, AIS, emergency oxygen and a full trauma kit on board.
At a glance
Eight days, seven nights
Arrival and check dive
Fly into Baltra, board, and get in the water the same afternoon at Baltra Northeast to sort weighting and gear.
Cape Marshall and the City of the Mantas
Two dives on the wall at Cape Marshall, then the manta site in the afternoon. A real diving day before the run north, not a filler.
Darwin, four times
The day the trip is built around. You hook in below the Arch, stay low, and let the schooling hammerheads come to you. Whale sharks pass through in season, roughly June to November.
Two more at each
A second morning at Darwin, then south to Wolf for the afternoon. Six dives at Darwin across the two days.
A full day at Wolf
Cleaning stations and current lines: Galapagos sharks, silkies, and schools of jacks thick enough to dim the light. By now you know the sites.
Vicente Roca Point and Cape Douglas
Cold western water and its oddities: mola mola and turtles at Vicente Roca, then marine iguanas grazing on the bottom at Cape Douglas.
Cousin’s Rock and the highlands
Last two dives at Cousin’s Rock — sea lions, seahorses, reef fish — then ashore in the Santa Cruz highlands for the giant tortoises.
Transfer to Baltra
Off the boat and across to Baltra airport for the flight back to the mainland.
Nothing in the water is guaranteed, and the crew moves the plan around the sea rather than the brochure. Nineteen dives is the schedule, not a promise — conditions decide.
Who can join
- Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent
- A minimum of 50 logged dives
- Dive accident insurance, required to board
- Single supplement 50%, up to two single cabins per departure
- A third single cabin can be booked at a 100% surcharge
What she carries
- Personal marine rescue GPS for each diver
- Emergency oxygen tanks and a full first aid and trauma kit
- Life raft and life jackets in every cabin
- Two radars plus AIS radar
- VHF and HF radios, satellite and mobile phones
- Two GPS units with alarm and depth sounder
- Bilge and fire pumps, three CO2 banks
- Fire extinguishers throughout the yacht
What is and is not included
Included
- Cabin with private facilities for seven nights
- All the diving on the itinerary
- 12 l tanks, weights and belts
- Personal marine rescue GPS
- One English-speaking certified dive guide per eight guests
- Three meals a day, plus unlimited water, coffee and tea
- Towels
- Airport transfers on embarkation and disembarkation day
Not included
- National Park entrance fee — USD 100
- Transit control card — USD 20
- Nitrox — USD 150
- Full gear rental: BCD, regulator, mask, fins, 7 mm wetsuit, hood, gloves, boots, torch
- Soft and alcoholic drinks
- Flights to the Galapagos
- Travel, cancellation and dive accident insurance
- Gratuities and personal expenses
Bring your own regulator, BCD and wetsuit and you skip the rental entirely. Add USD 120 in park fees to every fare you compare — that part is the same on every boat in the fleet.
Where you sleep
Nine cabins of ten square metres each, all with private facilities: five on the upper deck, one on the main and three on the lower. Upper gets the light; lower sits closer to the waterline and moves less. Between dives there is a solarium, a shaded deck and a dive platform at the stern.
Meals on board
Three meals a day on full days, with water, coffee and tea without limit and without a bill. Soft drinks and alcohol are charged separately, so budget for the bar if that matters to you. Tell us about dietary needs when you book so the galley can plan.
Is this your boat?
Book it if
- You want the most dives per dollar in the fleet
- You have Advanced Open Water and at least 50 logged dives
- Six dives at Darwin is what decides the trip
- You own your gear, or do not mind renting it
Choose another cruise if
- You are short of the 50-dive minimum
- Part of your group does not dive
- You want the drinks and the gear inside one price
- Nineteen dives in a week sounds like too much water
Want more comfort at the top end? Compare the Galaxy Diver II or the Galapagos Sky. Cheaper still? The Nortada. Prefer landings and snorkeling? We arrange naturalist cruises across the archipelago.
Tell us your dates
Departures run Tuesday to Tuesday from Baltra. Send the week you have in mind and we come back with the cabins still open on the Aqua and the full cost with park fees and gear included.