Galapagos Master

Why it costs less

A private group booked the boat and one place was left over. With the date this close, it goes for less than anyone can book direct.

The diving

The northern route is why Galápagos costs what it costs. Darwin and Wolf sit an overnight crossing from the rest of the archipelago, and that is where scalloped hammerheads show up in the hundreds, stacked in the current. September falls inside the whale shark window, June to November. This is not postcard diving: it is cold, surgy, current-swept water where you hold a rock and watch the blue. Liveaboard is the only legal way to dive the northern islands.

The boat

A 32-metre steel hull, built in 2004 and refitted in 2025. Sixteen to eighteen guests at most across 8 cabins, all air-conditioned with private bathrooms. Nitrox available. This is a working boat rather than a showy one: the dive deck has a numbered station per person and the panga launches from the vessel itself.

Included

• Cabin, all meals and soft drinks
• Up to 4 dives a day at the northern islands
• Tanks, weights and guides
• Nitrox, when you are certified for it

Not included, paid separately

Every liveaboard has these. We list them so the number above is the number you compare.

• Galapagos National Park Fees — $200 · on arrival
• Ingala Transit Control Card — $20 · on arrival
• Fuel Surcharge — $189 ($27 × 7) · in advance

Add for fees: $409

Before you say yes

Galápagos asks for an experienced diver. Strong current, negative entries and water that can drop to 18 °C: bring a 7 mm and a hood. A reef hook helps. If this would be your first liveaboard, this is not the right one, and we would rather say so now than later.