Galapagos Diving - Santa Cruz & Surroundings
Academy Bay
The bay of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz features 5 dive sites. All are reachable within 20 minutes. Three of the Academy Bay sites are generally calm with little current. These sites are excellent for learning to dive. The other two sites are a bit more complicated and are best suited to intermediate or advanced divers. Highlights of Academy Bay include seeing marine iguanas, rays, and sharks all just moments away.
Roca Sin Nombre
The remains of a tuft cone off the west coast of Santa Cruz provides a combination of wall and shoal diving. This advanced dive has strong currents and deep water making it an infrequent site. Those who dive here will see silvertip, blacktip and Galapagos sharks, sea horses and a variety of fish.
Guy Fawkes
These 4 islets are located on the northwest side of Santa Cruz Island a little more than an hour from the channel side of Santa Cruz. Created from the remains of two adjacent tuft cones that the crescent edge faces the current creating a protected leeward side. The ocean bottom descends in slopes, some almost vertical. The walls of the islets are eroded, full of cavities in some parts, and big rocks covered in black coral in others. At this intermediate site divers can observe pelagic species such as Galapagos sharks, whitetip reef sharks, turtles,sea horses, slenderjaw morays,a wide variety of reef fish and sea lions.
Gordon Rocks
This volcanic crater located an hour from port has become a world famous dive site. The 4 dive sites visit all sides of the crescent shaped rocks. Two of the dives here are suitable for beginners while the strong currents and surges keep the other two for intermediate and advanced divers only. The highlight of Gordon Rocks is hammerheads, but the wildlife is plenty as you will also see reef fish, lobsters, large pelagic fish, giant mantas, stingrays, spotted eagle rays, turtles, magnificent and zebra morays.
Pinzon
A small island located between Santa Cruz and Isabela approximately 1 1/2 hours from Puerto Ayora. With wall dives for novice and intermediate divers, the deep side of the rock drops off more than 100 feet. Common sites include red-lipped batfish, sea horses, spotted eagle rays, stingrays, turtles, eels, whitetips and lobsters.
Santa Fe
Visible from Puerto Ayora, Santa Fe is the 11th largest island in the Galapagos and is comprised of an extinct volcano. Home to 3 different dive sites, with mild currents and excellent visibility it is perfect for divers of all levels. The spectacular arch and variety of species including stingrays, spotted eagle rays, Galapagos garden eels, turtles, sea lions, morays, pelagic fish, whitetip reef sharks and occasionally hammerheads.
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