Nortada Liveaboard, Galapagos
8.7 Fabulous - Nitrox available
- Free Internet
- Naturalist Guide
“Diving in Galapagos was amazing. ”
Highlights
The 26m Nortada liveaboard presents a different kind of Galapagos dive liveaboard experience. With only 4 cabins onboard and accommodating up to 8 guests, the Nortada offers divers a more intimate and personalized experience. The dive platform with a bench and camera table was carefully designed with divers in mind, and the 2 tenders and 2 assigned dive guides support small dive groups and an attentive experience.
The comprehensive 7 or 14-night itineraries to the world-famous dive sites, including Wolf and Darwin, nearly guarantee guests' dive trips of a lifetime. Pelagic sightings involving hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, giant mantas, whale sharks, and mola molas are not uncommon, and guests can also hope to see the Flightless Cormorants, Galapagos Penguins, Marine Iguanas, and several other endemic species during the cruise. Nitrox is available for an additional cost, as is rebreather support and technical diving. For non-diving guests, the Nortada also offers the Naturalist itinerary year-round.
The Nortada is available for individual bookings and full charter. Book online today to start your amazing Galapagos adventure.
Choose your departure date
Included: VAT, Drinking Water, Soft Drinks at Meal Times, Tea & Coffee, Welcome Cocktails, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Extra Dives, Night Dives, Land Excursions, Naturalist Guide, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.
Required Extras: National Park Fees (100-200 USD), Visas and Fees (20 USD).
Optional Extras: Gratuities, Airport Transfer (50 USD), Alcoholic Beverages (3-6 USD per item), Soft drinks (2 USD per item), Wine with Dinner (20 USD per item), Nitrox, Nitrox Course (210 USD), Private Dive Guide, Rental Gear, Kayaks, Snorkel Gear, Snorkeling Guide.
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
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Drawings & Vessel Layouts
Cabin Types
Nortada Reviews
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- 8.7 Fabulous
- Vessel 7.9
- Crew 8.7
- Food 9.4
- Diving 9.0
- Value 8.4
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- 4.0 Review score
- Anne-Sophie M
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France
Disappointing unfortunately
I would recommend to think twice before booking on Nortada for the following reasons: - The boat is smaller than most liveaboards. This is helpful to create a good atmosphere between guests, but the boat moves A LOT. Most of us were seasick for the whole week, and relieved to disembark on the last day - The itinerary is set in stone and no adjustments are offered even if the conditions would dictate so. The focus is more the number of dives than on the quality of dives. - The boat is old and the amenities are poor. The AC works intermittently and is so loud it is impossible to sleep. 80% of days without hot shower. There is no ladder on the zodiac which means divers need to either jump out of the water or be pulled out which is quite uncomfortable, and frankly not acceptable. - The quality of the food is quite poor. Lacks a lot of variety and choice (rice at almost every meal) and proteins were not good (very dry white fish at almost every meal). - In general, communication with the crew / dive team was unclear. The dive briefings were difficult to follow and most often not respected. The dive master could also be aggressive from time to time which felt unnecessary. Communication issues resulted in some tensions onboard which could have been easily avoided - The itinerary only includes 6 days of diving. On Day 1 the crew sends you on an excursion with 20+ tourists to snorkel in a crowded area. The last day includes a visit of the Charles Darwin which can easily be arranged on one’s own. This feels like “adding” days to the cruise to justify the price. - Unfortunately the dives were nothing spectacular for us due to weather conditions but hopefully this is not the case for the next groups.
- Recommended for
- The sea lions. Good WiFi onboard. The crew.
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- 9.6 Exceptional
- Michael F
-
United States
Amazing experience
Amazing diving, no where else in the world can you get this amount of wildlife
- Recommended for
- The crew. The dive team. The scenery.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Diane C
- France
I couldn't have dreamed of a better liveabord in the Galapagos!
I stayed 8 days on board the Nortada and it was one of the best experiences of my life. The dives were fantastic, we saw schools of hammerhead sharks, mola mola, dolphins and even... orcas!! I will never forget that moment in Darwin when we saw orcas hunting hammerhead sharks under the zodiac.The cabins are comfortable, and the very hot water in the shower is clearly a plus because the dives are very cold.Thank you to all the crew who were always taking care of us, the food on board was excellent and thank you to the two amazing dive masters Daniel and Felipe, they knew the sites perfectly. Thank you to Daniel, for his energy, his good humor and his competence!!
- Recommended for
- The crew was lovely, helpful and available. The divemasters Daniel and Felipe were fantastic. The dives were amazing.
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- 8.8 Fabulous
- CARLOS M
-
Brazil
Being connected with nature
A wide variety of marine life at the dive sites.
- Recommended for
- Dive sites. Friendliness and receptiveness. Nortada's team.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Annette D
- France
one of my best
all has been very great !!!!! Galápagos are still the best destination for diving in the world for me ( third time here ! ) !!!!
- Recommended for
- small group (8 guests on board ),very nice&comfortable liveaboard, huge hug to all the crew !
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- 9.2 Superb
- Anon
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United Kingdom
Bucket List Level Stuff - Get on this boat
This liveaboard has ruined future diving for me now - it was insane. Unmatched diving and great opportunity to go to wolf and darwin islands. Food was overall very good given remoteness and size of the boat - left heavier than when I arrived.. Staff were all very nice and helpful. Boat is small - it used to be a fishing boat before being repurposed for a diving liveaboard. This comes with les divers which was nice - we had 8 of us only. The smaller size means it is more rocky - i do get sea sick but felt fine 90% of the time with sea sickness tablets - but would note i went in May (shoulder month) and it was apparently much calmer than usual. Refresh your knowledge/training of diving in currents as you'll be doing that almost every dive. Highly recommend getting you nitrox cert if you haven't already - most will be using nitrox to extend dive time - all 8 of us used nitrox all week. Helps given you are doing anywhere from 3-5(!) dives per day depending on conditions. Make sure you bring dive gloves which were essential. You can rent everything but it is pricey to do so. The wifi was surprisingly awesome - I was expecting to be off grid for half the week but there was strong wifi connection throughout, even at wolf/darwin! We saw so much but my highlights were seeing my first Whale shark (huge and pregnant), schools of hammerheads and dolphins, HUGE manta Rays including a Melanistic manta, mobula rays jumping out of the water, and countless white & black tip reef sharks, just to name a few highlights. Highly recommend this liveaboard - I had a great time which I will remember forever
- Recommended for
- Insane Diving in Wolf and Darwin Islands. Food surprisingly very good. Boat small but decent quality.
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- 8.0 Very good
- Tuan N
- United States
Book the trip
Overall, our experience was amazing. Aside from the diverse wild life on each dive, which speaks for itself, the main reason this trip was great was how small and intimate the dive group was and how friendly the crew are. We took this trip in September and only had 8 total divers on this cruise (out of a possible 12), which made the dives and living with one another in close quarters really comfortable. The boat may be smaller than some available but the room sizes are a comfortable with relatively soft beds. The AC can be a bit tricky but the crew was very helpful in fixing it.
- Recommended for
- Dive group. The crew. Small group.
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- 9.2 Superb
- Scott A
- United Kingdom
Spectacular Trip
My first ever time on a liveaboard and a truly spectacular one. The boat may lack some of the luxuries that are available on some of the more expensive trips but what it does boast is small guest numbers which makes for a really personal experience and better diving, which (if you are like me) is a far higher priority anyway. All the guides and crew were fantastic; friendly, attentive and welcoming- nothing was too much trouble. The diving I cannot put into words... Whalesharks, Hammerheads, Penguins, Iguanas... I was lucky enough to see them all. There were some small logistical problems, such as not initially having the correctly sized rental equipment but I cannot fault them for their quick efforts to get this rectified and it absolutely wasn't a significant enough problem to tarnish what really was a special trip. Thank you Nortada, for a fantastic week
- Recommended for
- Great diving, incredible wildlife and fantastic crew
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- 8.8 Fabulous
- Michael W
- United Kingdom
Great diving shame about lack of nitox
Whale shark and hammerheads at Darwin were amazing but other dives would have a fantastic variety from penguins and playful sea lions to the strange mola
- Recommended for
- great diving, Pedro the chef
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- 10 Exceptional
- Lara U
- France
Which will remain unbeatable for a long time the best week of my life... Aboard the Nortada
A simply magical and indescribable week aboard the Nortada. Between the crew taking care of you, the magnificent little boat in which you quickly feel at home and that you can't leave... And life underwater..., you cling to balconies, or you land in small basins, then you let yourself drift at high speed above the reef and then in the blue, and this always accompanied somewhere by hammerheads, dolphins, galapagos sharks, eagle rays... that you don't even know where to look. Our guide Jesse was perfect, our highlight was the double passage under our nose just after the immersion of a huge female tiger shark of more than 5m in Darwin....I recommend this boat 1000%
- Recommended for
- Friendly family atmosphere. Quality of diving equipment provided. Supervision, care and support.
