Beginner Diving in Galapagos?

[galapagosexpert]

There is lots to keep you busy in Galapagos without having to suffer through more nightmares! Snorkeling is wonderful, hundreds of things to do and places to see, and wildlife to wonder at! If you really want to take a stab at diving, you could check with Scuba Iguana if they have a course going on, and if you could tag along for their open water dives...when people are just beginning, they tend to do their first OW dives in the bay, but don´t necessarily advertise these sites.
Good luck and I am looking forward to reading your trip report...NO accident reports!

 

[angelacatz]

Yeah, I think the rescue diver course sounds like a great idea-- something for us to work towards! We will finish our AOW cert this year, and do some SoCal dives, seeking out cold and current if it can be found.

 

[angelacatz]

Yeah, I pretty much have ONLY been in contact with Scuba Iguana, and they do seem to be a great operation. They were very patient with me as I was deciding what to do. They've informed me they no longer do dives in Academy Bay due to "lack of bio-diversity," so I think that's a no-go. We will be able to dive with the company Sub-Aqua one day at Santa Fe, which should be pretty great and easy dive, based on everything I read. So, it's not a total loss!

It may be 20 years before we dive to seek out a whale shark, but I'll be prepared by then

 

[newyorkdiver]

My daughter and I went to the Galapagos last year, both newbies. If I'd known then.....
Academy Bay in Santa Cruz Island, by the town Puerto Ayora is pretty mellow. That's where they take students to do their open water. Not much to see, though. We went to North and South Seymour. We were OK, but one day the currents were pretty bad. To quote another scubaboard member: Mr Toad's Wild Ride. We did get to see hammerheads, turtles, schools of fish by the hundreds, a kaleiscope. But, it was dangerous for us. We clung to the dive master for dear life.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Hello,
I dive out there very often and we have a dive resort out there. It is a shame that Galapagos has a reputation for being only for experienced divers. I can tell you there are many-many dive sites, and they are all different. I suspect that the reason for this reputation is that the market has been dominated by Live Aboard's while land based is relatively unknown until recently. And if you are diving a Live Aboard then you do what a good amount of experience out there.

I don't know who you are diving with but I can say that we require the clients to send us an information form that gives us an idea of the experience levels of the divers so we can put them in dive sites that are appropriate. to the other responders points, many of the dive sites (especially the more famous ones) do have heavy currents but there are many more that have little to no current and are appropriate for beginner divers. The best thing you can do is to be honest with your dive operator and dive master about your experience level to ensure you are in a site that is appropriate.
I hope that helps, have a great trip!
CH