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Liveaboard Diving in Cousins Rock
What to expect on a Cousins Rock Liveaboard
Cousins Rock is a tiny pinnacle of rock sticking out of the water on the North East coast of Santiago Island. Santiago is a smaller island consisting of an active shield volcano right in the middle of the Galapagos. There have been lava flows observed on the island in the last 30 years but so far this has not threatened the abundant wildlife. Marine iguanas, sea lions, flamingos and fur seals all live on land in Santiago.
There is some wildlife living on Cousins Rock’s very small land area such as sea lions and sea birds but there are no land excursions, you couldn’t fit more than five people on here. Most liveaboard cruises stop off here and snorkelling and diving day trips also visit to experience the dramatic range of life here.
The underwater portion of the islet is one of the most dramatic drops in the islands. The sheer walls and slopes go down to a sandy bottom around 40 meters/ 130 ft. Along the shallower parts there are black corals growing in abundance and a stunning array of small reef creatures such as sea horses, nudibranch and more turtles than you will be able to count. The plateaus are the ideal vantage point to see huge manta rays which come surprisingly close to divers. There is also a chance you might see hammerheads and Galapagos sharks off in the blue.
Daily Schedule
Morning
Liveaboards are usually the first here and the morning dive is around 6 am. Groups will have a very light breakfast and briefing before heading to the dive deck to get ready. This is an important place to double check your Nitrox mix because it is one of the few dives where you could go deep enough to be over your limit.
The pangas will drop the groups as close to shore as possible which means a negative back roll entry because of the swell and heavy currents. The plateau is a fantastic place for spotting smaller creatures and looking over into the blue you can see some of the bigger pelagics.
The dive will be around 50-60 minutes depending on what depth you spend your time at and how strong the currents are. You should swim out into the blue for your safety stop and hopefully you will spot some hammerhead or Galapagos sharks passing below.
Afternoon
The second dive after a proper breakfast on board the boat, will be on the other side of the islet. Cousins Rock looks very small from the surface but it is actually layer upon layer of volcanic rock. The underwater area is very large and the wildlife can be varied depending on how deep you are. The second dive will be shallower and so you have a chance to play with sea lions which dive down from the shore. There are also white tip reef sharks between 10-20 meters/ 30-65 ft. which are ideal for photographers. After the dive the pangas will pick up the divers and the liveaboard will likely move to the next dive site or a land excursion.
Cousins Rock Underwater
Cousins Rock is different in underwater topography to the other islands in Galapagos. The reef here is made up of expansive plateaus with sheer drop offs. The current here can be heavy and unlike other dives in Galapagos you will feel it because you will be swimming around looking for different patches of life.
In the shallower areas you will have a creature dive extraordinaire with red lipped batfish and Giant pacific sea horses often sitting in plain view on the plateau. This is the perfect place for macro photography as the creatures are just deep enough to be away from the swell and they seem relatively unafraid of divers. Deeper down around 20 meters/65 ft., mantas come across the edge of the plateau. There are a quite a few places in the world where you can see mantas, but hardly anywhere you can see so many up close as you can at Cousins Rock.
The dive will be around 50-60 minutes if the current isn’t too strong and your safety stop should be in the blue if possible. If the visibility is good enough, you might see the mantas and even hammerheads passing by on the currents.
Top Tips for Cousins Rock
- Take a torch for this dive, light can be low because of the depth and visibility. A torch will also help you to get a good look at the giant pacific sea horses.
- Wear gloves for this dive, you will almost certainly be holding onto the rocks at some point and they are very sharp here.
- Wear good thermal protection, the water here can get very cold due to the currents. The lowest temperatures can be 16-17 degrees.
Getting to Cousins Rock
Cousins rock is a frequent visit for liveaboards and only a few hours from most of the other central island dive sites such as Punta Vicente Roca and Cabo Douglas. Your Galapagos Liveaboard will often try to get to Cousins Rock early in the morning to avoid sharing the site with other day trip dive boats. Divers will be dropped at the dive sites by panga tender because of the swell around the shoreline of the islet. Pangas are daring in their approach to the shore, but there will often be a small surface swim to get to and from the panga.
Cousins Rock Diving Reviews
- 9.1 Superb
- 104 Verified Reviews
Lovely dive that was along a shelf. Very nice.
Diving Cousins Rock in August on the Humboldt Explorer
rays, rays and more rays beautiful and easy diving
Diving Cousins Rock in September on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Nice, but not a super exciting spot after where we had been before. And this is the only area where I felt cold.
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Humboldt Explorer
Great, lots of rays, certainly not as good as Wolf, but still very good.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Humboldt Explorer
Very special for large school of rays and various types of rays.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Visibility not as good as Wolf and Darwin. Swam with sea lions and saw eagle rays and reef sharks.
Diving Cousins Rock in March on the Humboldt Explorer
All the stuff you missed or smaller stuff
Diving Cousins Rock in March on the Humboldt Explorer
We dove at Roca Blanca (Eastern side of Isabella) These dives had poor visibility but lots of small fish (blenny fish, octopus, lobster, and reef fish.)
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Nortada
Nice variety of macro and pelagic fish after the northern islands
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Humboldt Explorer
Nice dive, tons of turtles and a manta ray.
Diving Cousins Rock in October on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Sea lions were very playful
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Galapagos Sky
Amazing, hundreds of hammerheads, rays, turtles, bat fish , mola molas, scorpion fish and many more.
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Galapagos Sky
cool dive. Different things to see. Enjoyed the sea lions there.
Diving Cousins Rock in March on the Humboldt Explorer
Awesome rock formations, Marbeled Rays and plenty of White Tip Reef Sharks!
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Calipso
Good diving at Cousins Rock, warmer and calm and we were visited by sea lions.
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Galapagos Sky
The current was less strong but the visibility, and saw seahorses.
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Tiburon Explorer
wonderful deep dives with awesome sealife
Diving Cousins Rock in May on the Tiburon Explorer
Gorgeous and easy dive with beautiful corals, octopus, etc.
Diving Cousins Rock in September on the Calipso
Beautiful wall. Some mobula and seahorse.
Diving Cousins Rock in October on the Calipso
Colder than expected but the crew did warn us- the site was well worth the colder water.
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Tiburon Explorer
Great dive! Cold but saw a sea horse and loads of fish.
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Galapagos Sky
Cool - low vis but teaming with wildlife - seahorses
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Calipso
Cristal clear water and groups of devil rays gliding within a couple feet of where we were stopped.
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Loved it! Sea horses were a treat.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Tiburon Explorer
Cold with poor visibility.
Diving Cousins Rock in May on the Humboldt Explorer
Cousins Rock was also very cold! Beautiful wall dive!
Diving Cousins Rock in November on the Calipso
Wall dive, saw manta ray, seahorse
Diving Cousins Rock in November on the Calipso
Cool walls to see but not not favorite out of all the places we went.
Diving Cousins Rock in November on the Calipso
Probably our other favorite location of the whole trip. So much variety in such a small location. Could have spent 2 days here easy.
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Tiburon Explorer
Nothing special to mention, nice and calm dives.
Diving Cousins Rock in July on the Astrea
bad visibility, strong current but there were sea lions. what else?
Diving Cousins Rock in September on the Humboldt Explorer
Finally, I could see Sea lions!!!!!! Calm and slow diving here.
Diving Cousins Rock in June on the Humboldt Explorer
I saw school of baracouda and sting rays.
Diving Cousins Rock in August on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Very nice sightings of rays: eagle, manta, mobula, marble. Barracudas, ball of trevallies.
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Galapagos Master
Ok so I think this is roca Blanca. If so, this was seal city! It was incredible. There were sea lions everywhere. They danced with us, played with us, swam with us.... there were old and young sealions, families and solo ones.... amazing. I was at the back and manta rays came past us. Incredible. So close, so beautiful and totally unexpected. Sea lions and mantas..... do you need more? Oh right well ok, there was also silky sharks, white tip sharks, horn shark, stingrays, golden rays in a group of four....
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Nortada
Slightly boring and cold, but it was still quite an experience. I can see the attraction of this place if the visibility was slightly better - it was very cloudy that day, and we encountered green water so it was dark and abit miserably. However, we did see a school of eagle rays and quite a lot of silky and white tip sharks. Oh, and a school of baby barracudas.
Diving Cousins Rock in June on the Humboldt Explorer
Good for the first proper day of diving to get comfortable underwater before hitting the stronger currents up north
Diving Cousins Rock in July on the Galapagos Sky
Poor visibility, calm, seen Sea lions under water. Limited interest after Wolf and Darwin.
Diving Cousins Rock in August on the Humboldt Explorer
Very good, many Eagle and Manta rays, white tip sharks, fur seals playing in the waves, good for Macro too.
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Humboldt Explorer
Gorgeous. School of eagle rays
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Majestic Explorer
After diving in Wolf and Darwin, it's bit slow, but still it's a wonderful site.
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Humboldt Explorer
Hippocampe. Scools of golden rays and eagle rays.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Humboldt Explorer
Excellent dive site, Good change to wolf and Darwin. We saw big school of nebula rays, eagle rays and seahorses
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Humboldt Explorer
Beautiful landscape, wall with many hiding places for small marine life... Frog fish!!
Diving Cousins Rock in March on the Majestic Explorer
After the highlights of earlier sites it was a bit murky but still a lot of smaller stuff and rays to see
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Humboldt Explorer
I loved the variation of dives here
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Humboldt Explorer
Lots of reef sharks, turtles and sea lions. A lovely dive site.
Diving Cousins Rock in May on the Galapagos Sky
nice coral, eagle rays, enjoyed this dive site also
Diving Cousins Rock in May on the Humboldt Explorer
Derniere plongee mais incroyable ballet de mantas
Diving Cousins Rock in July on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Anything would disappoint after Wolf, but some nice diving here with an abundance of different rays, eagle, devil and marble.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Humboldt Explorer
It was very good but no comparison to Darwin and Wolf. Visibility was poor
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Humboldt Explorer
Really nice, and saw a school of Mobula rays really close.
Diving Cousins Rock in October on the Calipso
Good underwater landscape but not many animals
Diving Cousins Rock in December on the Calipso
very cold - 14 degree Celsius
Diving Cousins Rock in August on the Calipso
Seahorses, corals, mobulas.. Amazing dive.
Diving Cousins Rock in October on the Calipso
Beautiful dive site with much luck to see the mantas :)
Diving Cousins Rock in October on the Calipso
A unique structure with rays and tons of my favourite little orange fish
Diving Cousins Rock in November on the Galapagos Aggressor III
Bad visibility, very cold, but we got to see a Mola Mola
Diving Cousins Rock in January on the Galapagos Master
Seahorses! Big ones! More sharks of all types all around us.
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Tiburon Explorer
Cold water and macro diving
Diving Cousins Rock in September on the Galapagos Master
Nice warm water and visibility, full of life.
Diving Cousins Rock in February on the Galapagos Sky
The Mantas were an unforgettable experience
Diving Cousins Rock in March on the Nortada
Great walls and a sea horse
Diving Cousins Rock in April on the Tiburon Explorer
Reef sharks, Eagle rays, seahorses
Diving Cousins Rock in May on the Galaxy Diver