MV Blue Spirit Galapagos

Blue Spirit Galapagos is a Tourist Superior class liveaboard diving yacht that runs trips, Wednesday to Wednesday, to the best spots in the Galapagos Islands, including Wolf and Darwin, to get up close to whale sharks, hammerheads, dolphins, mola mola, marine iguanas and sea lions. It was originally constructed in 2001 and remodelled for diving in the Spring of 2019.

The Blue Spirit liveaboard is 31.5m long, with a hull made of steel, and accommodates 16 guests in 10 roomy en-suite cabins featuring air-conditioning, ample storage, safety deposit boxes. All cabins on the upper deck have windows, meaning plenty of natural light.

The beautiful lounge and dining areas will be the perfect setting for a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner; informative natural history sessions and photo presentations will also be held. Meals are freshly prrepared and the Ecuadorian and international cuisine is served buffet-style. The lounge has a TV and DVD system, a computer for guest use, and a library of books and movies. There is also a bar for socialising after a enjoyable day of diving. The large sundeck is perfect for relaxing in-between dives and activities.

Diving activities are assisted by some of the 10 helpful crew members of the Blue Spirit, who will provide warm towels when you exit the water. The dive deck is spacious, with al-fresco hot showers; areas to clean the personal equipment, tables to clean underwater cameras, a recharging station; and individual gear bins. There is a membrane system for nitrox-certified divers, enabling you to spend more time underwater at the incredible Galapagos Islands.

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Notes: Galapagos is a popular destination with limited liveaboard spaces. We recommend you book well in advance to avoid disappointment.

Dive experience: Recommended - a minimum of 50 logged dives to join the Blue Spirit. Galapagos is for advanced divers with experience in how to manage low visibility and strong currents.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, a glass of wine during dinner, 1 land tour, transfers to the boat from the airport in Baltra, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s) (1 guide for every 8 divers), tanks, weights and weightbelts.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (incl. dive computer: US$ 235 per week), torch, gloves, Galapagos park and reserve entrance fees (US$ 200), hyperbaric chamber fee (US$ 35). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or credit card).

Optional extras: Nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 150 per week), dive computer (US$ 70 per week),15 litre tank (US$ 60 per week), diving insurance, extra soft drinks, alcoholic drinks. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

How to get there: The Blue Spirit Galapagos' liveaboard diving cruises depart from Baltra Island, beside the airport, every Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 hrs. Guests fly into Ecuador and take a daily connecting flight, through Guayaquil or Quito, to Baltra in the Galapagos Islands. The recommended flight is Avianca AV1632 which lands in Seymour Airport, Baltra Island at 09:19 hrs. You will need to overnight in Guayaquil or Quito before flying on to the Galapagos.
If guests arrive in Galapagos before the cruise departure date, the liveaboard operator can pick them up at Itabaca Channel, Santa Cruz at 12:00 hrs.
The last dive of the trip will be at around 11:00 hrs on the penultimate day, then the boat returns to port. You will disemabark at 8 am. On the return leg to the mainland the recommended flight is Avianca AV1633 which leaves from Galapagos at 10:05 hrs and arrives in Guayaquil (and then Quito) early afternoon. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.
We can place your domestic flight requirements with the liveaboard operator upon request. For more information see our Galapagos travel information section.

Non-diver rate: None.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travelers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 50% of the published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 7 guests and 1 additional person can join the cruise free of charge.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 14 guests and 2 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge.

Add-on package: For most visitors, this is a once-in-a-lifetime destination, and the land creatures and environments are just as impressive as those underwater. You can extend your time in this nature-lovers paradise by adding a 3, 4 or 7 night non-diving wildlife liveaboard safari. These are nature tours around some of the finest locations in the Galapagos with naturalist guides, literature and presentations. Don't just leave after a week of scuba diving, get the full picture of the incredible Galapagos islands!

Central Galapagos, Wolf & Darwin (8 Days / 7 Nights - 22 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, dolphins, manta rays, seals/sea lions, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics, non diving activities

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Darwin: The Arch, El Arenal; Fernandina: Cabo Marshall, Santiago: Cousins Rock, Isabela: Punta Vicente Roca, Punta Espejo and Punta Mejia; (Marchena), Wolf: Punta Shark Bay, El Derrumbe, Islote La Ventana and La Banana. 2 wildlife land tours: Santa Cruz Highlands, Los Gemelos, Bartolome.

Day 1
You will be welcomed by a representative of Blue Spirit Galapagos at Baltra Airport at around 9:30 am, who will take care of your luggage for you. You will then be transported to the Santa Cruz Highlands to see some lava formations and visit the famous giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Lunch will be taken at the ranch. After the visit, you will be transferred to the yacht, where you will meet the crew and be given a security briefing and additional details about the cruise. Dinner will be served as the liveaboard sets off on the cruise.

Days 2-7
The first full day of the cruise will find you at Marchena, which is an exceptional spot for diving as not too many people visit this island. You can find many endemic species, plus some large schools of sharks, fur sea lions, dolphins, turtles, eels, cow-nosed rays, and different types of fish like surgeonfish, scorpionfish, red-lipped batfish. Then it’s on to Wolf and Darwin islands, the centre-piece of the safari. This area is famed for its hammerheads, whale and Galapagos sharks, humpback whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions, manta rays, angelfish, tuna and grunts. Next it’s Cabo Marshall at Isabela Island, with it populations of giant manta rays, mobulas, enormous schools of barracudas, Galapagos sharks, and sea lions. Flightless cormorants can be seen resting on the shores of Cabo Marshall.
A typical diving day starts with the 1st dive at 6:30 am followed by a breakfast of cereals, toast, fresh fruit, eggs or ham; tea, coffee and fresh juice. The 2nd dive of the morning is at around 9:30 am. Relax and refresh over lunch at noon, with a selection of international cuisine and local dishes. Chill out on the sun lounges on the sundeck and look forward to the 3rd dive at 1:30 pm and the 4th dive at 4 pm. There will be plenty of excited talk around the dinner table at 7 pm in the air-conditioned saloon. Dishes usually comprise chicken, beef, pork, fish, vegetables, potatoes and rice. Snacks are served between dives.
Finally, during the final full day, Blue Spirit moves on to Cousins Rock to see sea lions, lots of barracudas, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, nudibranchs, frogfish, and sometimes sea horses. In the afternoon, you will visit the iconic Galapagos site of Pinnacle Rock at Bartolome, where the endemic Galapagos penguins nest. You can climb to the 114m summit to appreciate the wonder of the surrounding islands and islets. Then it’s a final dive to see green turtles, stingrays, black- and white- tipped reef sharks.

Day 8
A breakfast takes place at 7 am before you say goodbye to the Blue Spirit and its crew at 8 am. The yacht departure point as at Baltra Island so the transfer to the airport is really short and simple.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

The Blue Spirit Galapagos has 10 cabins, each accommodating 2 guests. On the upper deck there are 2 cabins with double beds and 2 cabins with twin beds, and on the lower deck there are 2 cabins with a double bed and single bunk bed and 4 cabins with twin beds. All beds are 2m long.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 11 / 14 - hot water