Dive Review of Tiburon Explorer in
Galapagos Islands

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Tiburon Explorer: "Great Trip, Excellent Crew, Spacious Liveaboard", Jul, 2022, by Richard Talaga, IL, US ( 2 reports). Report 12205.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My wife and I flew to the Galapagos Islands for a week-long diving trip in July. Originally we were supposed to have traveled in summer of 2020 but the pandemic changed our plans. We decided to stay in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island for a few days before the dive trip just in case our flights were delayed and also to take in the local scene. It was a great way to acclimate after a long trip, to meet people and see the sights (more on that later). Come Saturday morning, via a combination of taxi, water-ferry and bus rides we arrived at the recently-built Tiburon Explorer, which was anchored in the Itabaca channel, between Baltra and Santa Cruz Islands. After the usual boat and safety briefings, we were shown to our room, which was large and comfortable with a spacious adjoining bathroom. After lunch we selected our dressing stations and prepared gear for diving. The checkout dive was scheduled for the next morning, which helped make everything less hurried. Pre-dive briefings were thorough and presented by the dive masters, using video projections and professional graphics displays. Our experience aboard the Tiburon was thoroughly enhanced by the cheerful and hard-working crew members, who were always there to help us: in and out of our gear and thick wetsuits, safely in and out of the pangas and into warm showers on deck at the end of cold dives. Water was passed to us before each dive and hot chocolate was delivered post dive on deck. The crew also made sure our rooms were cleaned and ready when we returned. Morning coffee (espresso) and evening scotch were waiting for us each day according to our individual preferences. However, one important safety precaution which was advertised ahead of time, that all passengers would be given a covid antigen test upon boarding the vessel, did not happen. We tested ourselves in the morning before boarding the Tiburon; we both tested negative. While on board, we found that neither crew nor passengers were ever masked during the trip. After our initial dives in the morning, Sunday afternoon included a land tour of North Seymour Island. Walking throughout a bird nesting sanctuary was certainly a highlight of the trip. Among other birds and sea lions, we saw blue footed boobies doing their mating rituals, frigate birds with billowing red chests and of course all of the little chicks. Then back to the Tiburon for an overnight passage to Wolf Island, where we saw large numbers of scalloped hammerhead sharks, several Galapagos sharks and a small school of dolphins that rocketed around and played with us underwater. The water was quite choppy but warm enough (about 75 degrees F) that I stopped wearing a hood, which made it much more comfortable. Next day at Darwin Island we saw more hammerheads as well as perhaps seven or eight whale sharks, including such a huge (and pregnant) one that I had to zoom out all the way to get a full body shot (10 mm focal setting). We skipped a couple of dives at those remote islands, which gave us more time to enjoy the magnificence of the islands, with birds nesting along the walls and flying endlessly, up high. The ocean was rougher on the return trip; the boat was heading against a wind and waves several feet high were commonplace. In the morning we arrived at Cabo Douglas on Fernandina Island, home to an army of marine iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks before entering the coldest water we experienced on this trip. Before noon some of the iguanas were warm enough to dive in, and so did we. Afterwards we motored over to Punta Vincente Roca on Isabela Island to catch a peek of the mola mola underwater, since we had already seen their fins on the surface. To round out the day, the Captain provided a panga to motor us over to see Galapagos penguins, along with some flightless cormorants on the rocky shore. We finished our diving adventures the next morning at Cousins Rock, with sea lions, white-tip reef sharks, corals and so much other sea life. The next day we flew back home, wearing N95 masks throughout. Unfortunately, covid symptoms kicked in right after we returned home and lasted for several days. It is most likely that we contracted the virus while on board the Tiburon, which was a disappointment because we took such care always to wear masks indoors and to eat only outdoors elsewhere on this trip and before. Our stay at the Hotel Galapagos Suites before the dive trip in Puerto Ayora was delightful. The owner has detailed knowledge of the area and provided excellent suggestions for visits and dining. Also, it’s close to everything: walking distance to the town center and fish market, the water taxi station (a great way to see the area and to get to waterfront restaurants) and the Charles Darwin Research Station, which operates a Galapagos Tortoise restoration program. The walk over to Tortuga Bay was especially interesting; that beach was as magnificent as any beach we’ve seen. If we were to do it again, we’d visit Puerto Ayora for at least a week. It is safe and there is so much to do and to see.
Websites	Tiburon Explorer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Florida Keys and Atlantic coast, Bahamas, Dry Tortugas, Caribbean Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Sea of Cortez, Bonaire, Grenadines; US quarries and caverns.
Closest Airport	Baltra	Getting There	Chicago-Atlanta-Quito-Baltra
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy, dry	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	64-77°F / 18-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness	6
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Buddy System; stay with our assigned dive master & group.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	All charging was done outside, in the area where divers suited up. Every diver had a personal charging bin near the camera table. There was adequate space for all photographic gear on the table. After each dive, the camera was taken by a crew member and placed in the rinse tank.

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Dive Review of Tiburon Explorer in Galapagos Islands

Tiburon Explorer: "Great Trip, Excellent Crew, Spacious Liveaboard", Jul, 2022,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Tiburon Explorer in
Galapagos Islands