Snorkeling in the Galapagos - how cold is it?

[KeithG]

We are doing a Galopagos expedition cruise next month that includes a bunch of snorkeling adventures. Vaguely defined by the cruise ship line. Lots of hand waving. How thick of a wet suit do I need for a happy hour of snorkeling? Or really, how cold is the water!

We have no desire to scuba since we are warm water wimps. This is a cruise not a dive trip

 

[northernone]

Water around 72°F (22.0°C) - 76°F not sure this year. Personal comfort really depended on the weather from day to day. Sun makes a dramatic difference near the equator. I did 5-7 hrs in the water daily for 2 weeks in a full 3mm. Cold a few days when it was cloudy and added a shorty.

 

[KeithG]

Water around 72°F (22.0°C) - 76°F not sure this year. Personal comfort really depended on the weather from day to day. Sun makes a dramatic difference near the equator. I did 5-7 hrs in the water daily for 2 weeks in a full 3mm. Cold a few days when it was cloudy and added a shorty.

That's balmy. We are thinking 70 air temps and 50ish water temps. I believe we will only get a few chances to snorkel each day for less than an hour. This is not to be confused with swimming with big nasty sharks in deep water. We may just squeeze into their pissy wetsuits?

 

[northernone]

It would depend what the Humboldt Current is up to this year. From my reading online it seems the temperatures can vary tons. Maybe check how thick the piss suits provided are? I doubt your cruise wants frozen snorkelers complaining but that's only an assumption on my part.

All the best with the trip.
Cameron

 

[Altamira]

Did a Silverseas Galapagos cruise last year in late November/early December to the Western Galapagos islands. We snorkeled comfortably on 3 of the 7 days using a full Henderson lycra skin and a 3mm shorty and beanie. Being a warm water lover, I took my 3mm full suit, but never wore it, using the ship's shorty instead. I think the water was about 75 F, a bit warmer than normal last year according to the ship's crew.

You will love the trip, but snorkeling will just be icing on the cake. Just don't expect GC reef quality snorkeling, but you will be seeing seals, and penquins in the water which is pretty neat.

 

[Cali_diver]

I wore a lavacore long sleeve and bathing suit. Was never cold ... FYI I wear a 5mm in 84F for diving!

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

It also depends on where you will be snorkeling. The western side of Isabela can be quite cold water, much cooler than further east. Punta Vicente Roca, for example, is locally known as the freezer (in Spanish). It can be 65F at the surface, but as someone posted, 72F will be a normal surface temp. It can also be colder at Bartolome.

A 3mm should be fine and less expensive than lavacore / sharkskin trilaminates/fleece lined tops and bottoms. I'm a big fan of sharkskin for kayaking 54F rivers though. The nice thing about spending the money is that they can be used in other settings. I remember when I bought my sharkskins, the LDS told me local postmen used them in winter.

 

[Cali_diver]

Just remember you are more buoyant with a wetsuit on so if you were planning on doing any freediving then you will need a weight belt. I had to show my dive cert an experience before they would give me a weight belt on the boat (natgeo) I was on. That being said no one had more than a rash guard on other than me with the lavacore. Most of the time you are playing with sea lions so no time to be cold.

 

[Delcarmen]

end of August 2017 water temp was around San Cristobal 68-72F, and up north near Wolf and Darwin 75-77F but windy. I started diving in 7mm semidry with a hood and quickly switched to 3mm wetsuit no hood. Same temp. down to 130 ft.