Aggressor III Galapagos Diving Cruise

Aggessor Diving Cruise Was Great

Diving on a live aboard in the Galapagos should be considered to be on everyone's bucket list. I returned here after a decade away.

The boat is great and the accommodations are comfortable but not lavish. My son and I had plenty of room for sleeping and storing our clothes. Room care was great. The food was very good. In the top quartile of liveaboards that I have been on. They had great snacks after diving which is always appreciated.

Diving is now very restricted so liveaboards cannot dive in the central islands, only the north. The north includes Bartolme, northern Isabella, Fernandina, Wolf, and Darwin. We started out with a couple of days in the Bartolme area which is famous for its view. The diving in that are is full of fish and turtles. Of course, the core of the trip was in Wolf and Darwin. The Wolf conditions were quite harsh and challenging. Even at 60 foot depth, the surge was upwards of 10 feet so it was very hard to hold on. Hammers were in abundance though, so it was worth the effort.

The highlight was Darwin. We saw a pair of orcas which came right along side our boat. We saw hundreds of dolphins surrounding the boat. And we got to see whale sharks underwater. And then of course we saw hundreds of hammers above and below us as well as Galapagos sharks and silky sharks. The silkies can be a little scary as they circle you whir waiting for the boat.

In general, the water temperatures and visibility are not too bad. The exception are the dive sites on the NW corner of Isabela where it is freezer cold and visibility is very low. Fortunately you see lots of cool things like giant seahorses. The picture I have of the seahorse there is the most popular photp I have every taken.

This is just an incredible experience for anyone who likes to dive and loves nature. From the moment you arrive and get on the boat you will have fun. It really does not get any better than this.

Source: shorturl.at/noBCK

Medas2005, Minneapolis, MN, 8th October 2019

Great Diving Experience

The Aggressor III sails from Baltra, which is a small island located north of Santa Cruz. We were greeted at Baltra airport by Walter and Ruben who would be our dive guides for the week. The yacht was anchored a short drive from the airport.

The dive deck was clean and spacious. It has 2 fresh water showers for after dives, separate rinse tanks for cameras, storage area under each divers' station for your dive equipments and sufficient space for all divers to kit up at the same time. Adjacent to the dive deck, there are camera tables, battery charging stations, warm towels and tea/ coffee making facility. Very handy for some of the shorter surface intervals.

There is a library of books, DVDs and Blu-rays in the air-conditioned lounge. There are Galapagos wildlife and marine ID reference books which were very helpful.

The guest rooms are sufficient but not luxurious in terms of space. The rooms and toilets are clean, hot water shower works and beds were comfortable. Our large suitcases were stored elsewhere on the boat and there is a small wardrobe in the room for clothes etc. Basic toiletries, robes, bath and hand towels, drinking water bottle were provided. The crew leave chocolates and biscuits in our room everyday!

There are fresh fruit juice, cereals, muesli and fruits that you can help yourself to for breakfast. Pancakes, french toast, bacon and eggs are available as well. Lunch comprise of a starter, a selection of local and international dishes served buffet style and dessert. Dinner is a sit-down 3 course affair, starter, main and dessert. Some of the highlights were a BBQ, roast turkey, grilled slipper lobster and some popular Ecuadorian dishes. There are light snacks and warm drinks after each dive. The food were delicious and the portions generous. There are fresh fruits, chocolates, candies and various snacks available in the lounge at all times. Did I mention that sodas, beer and wine are available at no extra cost?

Each diver was issued a dive flag, air horn and ENOS GPS diver locator. There are 2 dive guides for all 15 of us on this trip. One guide would lead and the other follow at the end. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive at first but there was not one dive where I felt unsafe. When we surfaced after each dive, the panga was never far. Most of the 9 men crew would always be on deck to help us get in and out of the pangas and help with our cameras and equipments. Both our guides, Walter and Ruben were attentive and were always ready to answer any questions we may have. All crew were very knowledgeable of the area and are the friendliest and warmest lot i've met on a liveaboard so far.

Some of the best dives we had on this trip were at Wolf Island, Cabo Marshall and Punta Vicenta Roca. There were a lot of hammerheads and galapagos sharks at Wolf and Cabo Marshall. We saw lots of mantas, eagle rays, large schools of salemas, barracudas, sea lions, seahorses and white tip sharks at Cabo Marshall as well. There were a few mola molas, red lipped batfish, galapagos bumphead sharks, marble rays, sea lions and cormorants at Punta Vicente Roca. I really liked Aggressor II's itinerary and felt each day's diving was better than the last. 2 land trips were included in the trip as well.

One of the big plus diving with Aggressor in Galapagos is you get 35kg allowance for check in luggage for your domestic flight to Galapagos. Aerogal only allow 23kg per passenger. Overall, my friends and I were very satisfied and would not hesitate to dive with Aggressor again.

Total dives: 21
Water temp: 17 – 26C
Recommended for: Experienced divers with 100+ dives or more
Dive conditions: Mainly drift dives, blue water safety stop
Nitrox highly recommended

Source: shorturl.at/noBCK

Cheng, NY NY, 16th July 2019

The Best Liveaboard I Have Been On So Far

Dive guides are exceptionally outstanding, very knowledgeable and professional. They take care of the needs of every single one diver in the group, including the one who has special needs. Even when we were out on excursion on the second to last day, they had special arrangement for the panga and bus just for that one diver. Choice of food was diverse and fantastic, not boring at all. It's the best liveaboard I have been on so far.

Source: shorturl.at/noBCK

Hitong, Hawaii, 15th January 2019