Mondays

Champion Islet

Champion Islet is one of the best places for play with sea lions and a wonderful place to witness special phenomena such as the gathering of large schools of ememic Salema fish. It is a quite colorful dive sites due to the amount of gorgonians and sponges. Sightings of green turtles, sting rays, marbled rays, white tip sharks and a variety of reef fish are an integral part of the dive. Champion Islet is a small offshore islet in northwest Floreana, 2 hours south of Santa Cruz Island.

Location

Champion Islet is a small offshore islet in northwest Floreana. The travel time from Puerto Ayora is about 2 hours.

Champion Islet

Dive conditions

Champion has mild to intermediate currents making it a good place for beginners and advanced divers. At the beginning of the dive there is a semi-vertical wall where the current splits around the islet which is home to a very large population of Galapagos sea lions.

It is one of the most colorful dive sites due to the amount of black coral, gorgonians and sponges that live attached to the wall. In front of it occasionally huge schools of salema fish gather, a very special experience to swim into such a school that hugs you around.

The dive zigzags between the wall and the sea to spot larger pelagics like the Galapagos shark. Constant companions on this dive are reef fish such as triggerfish, harlequin wrasse, and snappers.

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Dive activity

Activity

Champion Islet is one of the best places for play with sea lions, among schools of

  • salema (endemic fish)
  • octopus
  • moray eels
  • lobsters
  • green turtles (occasionally hawksbill)
  • sting rays
  • marbled rays
  • mobulas
  • white tip sharks
  • Galapagos sharks
  • barracudas
  • dusky chub
  • Galapagos grunt
  • snappers
  • Galapagos groupers
  • parrotfish
  • harlequin wrasse
  • guineafowl puffer
  • triggerfish
  • trumpetfish

GALAPAGOS DAILY DIVING TOURS

What’s included in our daily diving tours?

Scuba Iguana Whats included Daily Diving Tours
2 Dives per Day
2 x 12 ltr tanks normal air PADI Open Water (or equivalent certification from other recognized dive institutions) is sufficient for participation at all dive sites
Small Groups
Max. 5 divers/guide for a safe and great experience underwater.
Professional and Experienced Crew
Spanish/English speaking dive guides authorized by the National Park Galápagos, all PADI instructors with many years of experience in local waters. Attentive and service-oriented staff with many years of experience in the diving business.
Check dive
A short weight and gear check in shallow waters (Galapagos waters require more neoprene and weights than you may be used to). Quick skills refresher if it´s been a while since your last dive.
Complete Dive Gear
5 or 7mm wetsuit, regulator (yoke) with pressure and depth gauge, BCD, mask, fins, boots, hood, cotton gloves, weight belt and 2 air tanks.
Food and more
Hot lunch (delicious local/ international food, specialties such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free food are possible), snacks and fruits, table water, juice and tea. Towel service.

Extra Services

If you would like to, you can book the following extra services with us.

DIN Adapter $5.00 each*
NITROX Tanks $15.00 each (must be certified)
15 liters tank with air $10.00 each
Dive Computer $15.00 per day*
Private Dive Guide $180.00
*depending on availability (Please contact us in advance to check availability for your dive day)

Timeline of the Dive Day

If you would like to, you can book the following extra services with us.

  • 8:00

    The meeting point is at Scuba Iguana where there will be a quick run-down of what the day will look like over tea, coffee or hot chocolate (to give you that extra energy for the day)

  • 8:10

    For most dive sites we travel by taxi to the Itabaca Channel (on the North side of Santa Cruz) – a 45 minute drive – and then by boat to our dive site (45- 90 minutes depending on the site).

  • 10:15

    Dive time! Our guides will have briefed you as you get close to the site so that when we arrive we can gear up and go.

  • 11:15

    We surface after approximately an hours dive and warm up with some hot drinks and snacks to boost our energy for round two.

  • 12:15

    Dive time! Usually at a second site, our team brief you once more and we dive again to shallower depths for approximately an hour.

  • 13:15

    We surface for the last time, dry off completely, have a hot lunch and trade stories on the way back to the shore.

  • 15:00

    We arrive back at Scuba Iguana where we go through your log books, photos and any unanswered questions.

More Dive Sites

Our daily diving tours are the easiest option to get to know the beauty of the underwater world of the Galapagos Islands.

Explore our diving tours
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Frequently asked questions

Diving in the Galapagos is always great, no matter when you come. Most emblematic animals such as hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, rays, are here all year round. In the cold season (June-November) the chances of encountering special animals such as a manta ray or a sunfish on a day dive are better. With a lot of luck a whale shark will swim by. However, the waters are more difficult to dive during the cold season. The warm season (December-May) offers more relaxed diving and better visibility.
Despite its location on the equator, Galapagos has marked seasons due to the influence of different winds and ocean currents. December - May: 70°F/20°C - 80°F/26°C water temperature; the southeast trade winds weaken and the water from the Panama Basin brings warmer and calmer seas; sailing to the dive sites is easier; average visibility is better, around 12m. June - November: 65°F/18°C - 75°F/23°C water temperature; the Humboldt Current typically brings choppy seas and strong surges making sailing times longer; the average visibility drops to about 7m.
An Open Water certification (PADI, SSI, NAUI, BASC, …) is sufficient to participate in our daily diving tours. For the dive site Gordon Rocks we require an additional 25 dives of experience. Some experience in cool and current-rich waters is an advantage (but not mandatory) since water temperatures here are quite low and all dives are drift dives. Divers without Open Water certification can do a Discovery Dive with private guidance at all dive sites except Gordon Rocks.
Yes, if you have at least 18 dives experience, you can have your diving skills evaluated for Gordon Rocks by our guides on a previous dive.
We recommend booking both single day tours and a travel program in advance, as availability may be severely limited a few days or weeks before the planned trip. Boats for day diving tours in the archipelago have a maximum capacity of 12 guests. If you intend to come during the high season (Easter, July/August, Christmas/New Year) or as a group it makes sense to contact us up to 1 year in advance, otherwise 6-3 months is sufficient to find flexible availability.
On each day diving tour, the last dive ends around 01:00 PM. PADI recommends 18 hours between diving and flying. As the first flights depart quite late in the morning, it is usually no problem to fly the day after diving. Night dives are not possible the day before a flight.
Yes, we give a discount of USD 20/ day diving tour for bringing complete private equipment (wetsuit, BCD, regulator, mask, and fins (boodies)). Please note that our tanks have YOKE connections; if you have a DIN regulator, you should also bring an adapter. The use of reef hooks is prohibited at all dive sites.
No, photos are not necessarily included. We want our guides to be able to concentrate fully on safe and good diving without the pressure of documenting the dive. However, the guides have private cameras which they are free to use as they think is fit. Whether the photos are made available for free afterwards or can be purchased for a few extra dollars is also at the decision of the respective dive guide. We allow our guests to take their own small camera on the tour. However, they must stay with the dive guide and follow the pace of the group. Guests who wish to concentrate on photography and may bring their (professional) camera equipment will require a private dive guide.
Our groups have a maximum of 5 divers/guide. Every day we try to divide the groups as much as possible into more experienced divers and less experienced divers. However, depending on the participants, it is difficult to do this very strictly, i.e. there can be quite a difference in diving experience within the group. If you, for example, have a lot of experience (200+ dives) and want to ensure an uninterrupted dive, there is the option of hiring a private guide. Likewise, if you are a beginner who is not confident enough in his/her diving skills, a private guide or an assistant can be hired.
Yes, you may book private guidance. We differentiate between an assistant/divemaster who helps you with diving in the group (for example in case of difficulties with pressure equalization or boyancy control) and a private dive guide/instructor who helps you if necessary but above all with whom you can dive independently of the group. An assistant costs USD 120/ day diving tour and a private guide USD 180/ day diving tour.
There are basically two possibilities: One is to add a couple of day diving tours before or after the cruise, which in most cases is the easier and more affordable option. The other is to include a diving day during the cruise, which means we pick you up from the cruise ship and drop you off there after diving. Whether and how this is possible depends on various factors, especially the itinerary of the cruise. This boat-to-boat option is almost exclusively possible as a charter booking.
No, these dive sites are too far away from any inhabited island to be reached on a day diving tour. Darwin and Wolf can only be visited on an 8 day/7 night dive liveaboard cruise.
There are no day diving tours from Santa Cruz to Isabela Island. It is possible to dive from Puerto Villamil/ Isabela Island, but we cannot recommend it and do not sell it.
Our team is happy to receive recognition for their work, of course. We recommend between 5-20 USD/tour as a tip. The money in the box is shared by all crew members. If you would like to thank a specific person, please put the money directly in their hand. However, it should be noted that no one has to live off the tips.

Meet our sales team

All locals, all divers and with many years of experience in the tourism business in Galapagos.

  • Lisa

    Sales Agent

  • Jessica

    Sales Agent

  • Sabine

    Sales Agent

  • Virginia

    Sales Agent

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