DIVING PROGRAM PROVIDED BY SUB-AQUA
On board the Galapagos Explorer II
Updated May 2008

OOperator: Galapagos Sub-Aqua is the oldest dive center in the Galapagos Islands. The dive center is located in Pto. Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, and it opened for business in 1991 by Fernando Zambrano, founder of the company and currently its Executive Director, a professional instructor who has been diving since 1979. He is also an oceanographer, certified commercial diver and naturalist park guide. Today Sub-Aqua is the largest and most prestigious dive center in the Galapagos Islands and consists of an international team of professional dive masters and instructors who follow very high safety standards. They are also certified as PADI Resort under the number 17365 since 2001.

Diving places: As per our current island itinerary (July 2007), we can offer diving programs to our passengers on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday on the islands mentioned below. The final sites will be determined by Sub-Aqua at the day of the service, conditions related to the marine currents and weather conditions must be consider for divers security:

Tuesday a.m.: A minimum of 4 passengers is required to provide the dive program this day.
Mosquera Islet or Daphne Islet (2 dives)
Diving program will not replace Explorer's first visit "Seymour Norte" but will shorten it to 1 hour during surface interval time
Mosquera Islet: Largest colony of garden eels, mantas, sea turtles, white tips sharks and maybe hammerheads schools and eagle rays during the warm season, as well as plenty of tropical fish and sea lions. Two walls, the first one with sandy bottom at 15m., then a sandy shelf sloping from 21 m., then the second rocky wall starts at 21 m. and goes down to 40 m. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
Daphne Islet: Wall diving with morays, white tips sharks, eagle rays, stingrays, sea lions, hammerheads, turtles, black corals and many other invertebrates; also lots of fish. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.

Friday a.m.: A minimum of 4 passengers is required to provide the dive program this day.
Academy Bay (2 dives) : this area is great for introductory diving, beginners and intermediate divers. The Academy Bay area is easier diving with very little current. The following are some of the Academy Bay diving sites - dive sites will not be specified when confirming an Academy Bay program since we select the sites according to the divers skills and the conditions of the day:
Punta Estrada: Sea turtle canyon in Academy Bay. Invertebrates, tropical fish, stingrays, green sea turtles with possible encounters with golden rays and some whitetip reef sharks. There are many interesting geological formations. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
Caamano Islet: Offers a chance to swim and play with friendly sealions, many tropical fish and a few marine iguanas. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
Punta Nunez Cliffs: Wall diving with a cave. At this site you can see turtles, stingrays and tropical fish. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
El Bajo Solmar: This submerged shoal at Academy Bay has an impressive amount of fish, whitetip sharks, morays, invertebrates, caverns, eagle rays, stingrays, turtles and seafans. A great diving site for intermediate as well as experienced divers. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
Diving program will replace Explorer's first visit "Puerto Ayora and Charles Darwin Research Station".

Saturday am: A minimum of 4 passengers is required to provide the dive program this day.
Mosquera Islet (2 dives) : Largest colony of garden eels, mantas, sea turtles, white tips and maybe hammerheads schools and eagle rays during the warm season, as well as plenty of tropical fish and sea lions. Two walls, the first one with sandy bottom at 15m., then a sandy shelf sloping from 21 m., then the second rocky wall starts at 21 m. and goes down to 40 m. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.
Daphne Islet (2 dives): Wall diving with morays, whitetip, eagle rays, sting rays, sealions, cave diving, invertebrates, hammerheads, turtles, black corals and hundred of fishes. Dive time: 35 to 50 minutes.

Rates

The rate per day per person is US$185.00 (includes 2 dives). On Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, less than 4 passengers will pay an additional flat fee of $200.00 per day, this amount will be distributed between the passengers that confirm the service. The rate includes:

Sub-aqua will provide transportation from the G. Explorer II to the diving site
Diving equipment: aluminum tanks with 3000 psi /207 bar, wetsuits (5-7mm width), jacket type BCD with power inflators; regulator with octopus; pressure gauge and depth gauge; mask, fins and snorkel, and booties.

Dive Master, Galapagos National Park approved (1 master per each 4 passengers)
Water and snacks
Not included: $10.00 transportation to and from the vessel on Tuesday.

Note: Passengers requesting the service on board, will have to pay an additional charge of $25.00 per day per passenger, due to last minute arrangements charge.
The dives: Each dive is one tank. We use aluminum tanks with 3000 psi /207 bar - all tanks have the international connection system - if passengers want to use their own regulator with DIN system they have to bring their own adapter. The bottom time depends on each passenger’s air consumption. All dives are in-between 15 and 25 meters because this is where you encounter most of the marine life in the Galapagos. Maximum depth for our dives is 30 meters.
Equipment: Diver can decide whether they want to use our equipment or bring their own (this will not affect the rate or the additional fee per day). We recommend passengers to bring dive alert whistle, scuba tube, mask and wetsuit.

Requirements:

Clear copy of Diving license (original will be requested at the vessel)
Dive Insurance certificate
Book your diving program prior to your cruise departure.
Diving Form and Release of Responsibility, filled and signed by each passenger
All the requirements are mandatory

Insurance and safety: There is no insurance included in the programs and we strongly request and required all divers to have their DAN (Divers Alert Network) insurance before going to the Galapagos (cost per year for Standard Insurance US$ 70 and for Master Insurance US$ 80 including the annual membership). For more information, we recommend you to go to Divers Alert Network website <http://www.diversalertnetwork.org

Note: Sub-Aqua is the operator and responsible of the diving programs available to the Galapagos Explorer II passengers, Canodros S.A acts as coordinator of the organization of the services.

Cancellation Policies

Cancellations made between 25 and 0 days prior to the date of the diving service program, 100% of the total diving rate will be forfeited.
Cancellation charges will be applied over the agreed rate per day and per passenger; and, when it were the case, those will include the proportional part of the agreed charges if there is not the minimum number of passengers required to give the diving service. Cancellations for medical reasons have 100% charges at any time.
Reservations requested directly by passengers upon arrival to the vessel, cancellations will have 100% penalty charges at any time once the request have being confirmed.