The dive sites were already brilliant, but the crew took the experience to the next level with their tireless efforts. Great attention was always paid to safety. The food was excellent and varied without exception. Again in a heartbeat!

(Automatically translated from German)

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Arrival and departure:
On arrival in mainland Ecuador (Quito or Guayaquil), you must first pass through passport control and then collect your checked baggage, which must be checked in again before the domestic flight. Before this, it is x-rayed and sealed with a cable tie. Before departure from the mainland, a USD 20 administration fee must be paid. TCT Galapagos Transit Control Card. Many flights land in Guayaquil before going to Baltra (Galapagos). I can recommend the direct flight from Quito.

On arrival in Baltra, you are greeted on the apron by iguanas, which run around freely everywhere. After walking across an epidemic carpet, you go through immigration control. Foreigners have to pay USD 100 to enter the Galapagos National Park. (Children up to the age of 12 pay half). From 1.8.24 this fee will be doubled!

Attention: Only cash is accepted! Old USD dollar bills and larger bills (anything over USD 20 will not be accepted!)

Luggage will be checked again on arrival.

Baltra Airport is very small, but there are ATMs and a small café in the reception hall.

I was informed by Explorer Ventures that I should choose my flight so that I arrive before 11:30 a.m., as the boarding of the ship takes place at 12 noon. I therefore arrived at 10:20 a.m. - unfortunately I then had to wait 3 hours for the other guests, who only arrived late at 1:00 p.m. (planned 12:30 p.m.). We were therefore only able to take the bus from the airport to the Balta Ferry Terminal at around 1:30 pm. Travel time: 10 minutes.

Two Zodiacs then took us to the Humbolt Explorer in another 10-15 minutes. A steel ship that was renovated in 2023. The ship offers space for 16 guests, but we were lucky enough to be only 11 of us. So I was able to use cabin 4 on my own for most of the time. The first night I shared the cabin with another guest, as they were still trying to sell the remaining places. As there were no other guests on Tuesday, my roommate and dive buddy moved into the neighboring cabin. Cabins 3 & 4 are only available as twins. All other cabins are available as both twin and queen. There are two cabins above deck. All others are below deck.

On the day of arrival there was a late lunch at 3pm and a welcome cocktail and dinner at 6:30pm. This was followed by the first briefing about the itinerary for the week.


Normal daily routine:
06:00 Wake up
06:15 Dive briefing
07:00 First dive
08:00 Breakfast
09:30 Dive briefing
10:00 second dive
11:30 Lunch
13:15 Dive briefing
13:40 third dive
15:45 Dive briefing
16:15 fourth dive
18:30 Dinner

Exception for this daily schedule was Monday (arrival day), Tuesday (shore excursion to North Seymour in the afternoon), Saturday (only 3 dives) and Sunday (shore excursion to Santa Cruz with giant tortoises & city tour of Puerto Ayora)


Dive sites: Baltra, Mosquera Island, Wolf Island (Coral Reef, Shark Bay, Landslide, Secret Cave), Darwin Island (Darwin Pillars), Santiago Island (Cousins Rocks)

A total of 19 dives were offered. There were no night dives.

Catering: Coffee was served before the first dive. And if you were hungry, you could have buttered toast or fruit. The main meals were served as a buffet. Exception: For breakfast, you could order your breakfast egg from the chef in all possible forms. Special dietary requirements are taken into consideration. Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, are always available and included.


Dive sightings: Hammerhead sharks (up to 200 at a time), Galapagos sharks, blacktip sharks, whale sharks, dolphins, eagle rays (up to 20 at a time), manta rays, mamora rays, sea lions, turtles, schools of barracuda and mackerel, starfish, moray eels and much more.

The diversity of species is also present above water. Blue-footed boobies, giant tortoiseshells, iguanas (water and land iguanas), pelicans, red-bellied frigates, red rock crabs, etc.


My conclusion:
The Explorer Ventures crew really did their best. Our dive guides Kevin & Ronny were understandable and very helpful. The rest of the crew always helped when you needed help. Be it putting on diving equipment, washing equipment, turning over and hanging up wetsuits, etc. The rooms were cleaned daily and the bed was made up to twice a day.

Extra costs: USD 150 fuel surcharge, tip for crew, USD 35 chamber support fee was not charged, USD 150 for Nitrox

Minor shortcomings that can easily be remedied:

The shower head in cabin 4 is very low. Therefore, showering for people over 1.80 m (like me) is only possible with the hand shower. There was also no toilet brush available.

The dive briefings can be done with a little more vigor. And since the prerequisite for participation is at least 100 logged dives, you don't have to repeat the hand signals before every dive. These should already be in place.

All in all, a very successful trip that I can only recommend to everyone. I hope I can go again and explore the rest of the Galapagos.

Kind regards,


(Automatically translated from German)

Ship and crew were super. Because of El Niño we had less big animals than usual at Darwin and Wolf.
Too bad. But the water was warmer than usual with 27 degrees.

(Automatically translated from German)

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We were satisfied all around, the service and the food deserve one star more. The dive spots are seasonal sometimes with colder sometimes with warmer current, also the visibility can be different. There were plenty of sharks! With pleasure we come again.

(Automatically translated from German)

The service from airport pickup, on board and diving was excellent. The dive guides and also the crew are super attentive and were very friendly. The cabins are very clean and the sanitary area is big enough. I like to come back.

(Automatically translated from German)

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