About the country
The Galápagos archipelago, in the Pacific, a legendary and otherworldly place, is packed with marine and terrestrial diversity, …
It remains reachable, a 2-hour flight from the mainland, though with fairly high entrance and on-site fees meant to limit tourism. The Ecuadorian government embraces this to preserve this wild and unique heritage site .
The diving has an incomparable richness, though visibility can be a bit temperamental, … The most beautiful dives happen around Darwin, Wolf and Fernandina, in fairly cold waters. A cruise is essential to reach these three islands. A stop at Santa Cruz island (next to Baltra, the airport island) makes for a good stopover.
Ecuador is also full of other beautiful regions to visit : the Pacific coast, the Andean region, or the Amazon region, …
Here’s a map of our itinerary, the best of which : Darwin Arch, Anchorage, and Cabo Douglas .
Our opinion
Difficulty
Visibility
Diversity
Atmosphere
Practical
In May 2018.
Aggressor 3 , with a capacity of 16 people, offers excellent service and 2 passionate dive masters. The boat, very comfortable, departs from Baltra and offers 4 dives a day. The dives are exclusively drift dives from a zodiac.
In May 2018.
In Guayaquil : Ramada Hotel for a transit stop in Guayaquil, decent and very well located, facing the Malecón.
In Puerto Ayora : La Casa de Judy a really lovely hotel, quiet, with a view over a canopy, good breakfasts.
In Cuenca : Hotel Inés, a charming, typical hotel in the historic center.
In Guayaquil, stroll along the Malecón, with its beautiful architecture and gardens full of iguanas.
The Santa Ana lighthouse, in the Las Peñas neighborhood.
In Puerto Ayora, go check out the church across from the pier to admire its stained glass windows,
Not to be missed : the fish market, to see sea lions, pelicans, frigatebirds, iguanas and herons around the fishermen,
The magnificent Tortuga beach makes for a beautiful walk.
Not forgetting the Darwin center, really interesting and still active today.
In Cuenca, the museums and facades of the old town, the Pumapungo archaeological site and the Ingapirca site, 60 km from the city.