Nortada Liveaboard, Galapagos

Dive schedule, only 8 people, Manta Rays, Hammerhead Shark, Whale Sharks.

Dive schedule, only 8 people, departure on Puert Ayora

all has been very great !!!!! Galápagos are still the best destination for diving in the world for me ( third time here ! ) !!!!

small group (8 guests on board ),very nice&comfortable liveaboard, huge hug to all the crew !

hammerheads, whale sharks, mola mola,manta rays and a perfect group.

de duikgroep, het gebied Wolf en Darwin, onderwater leven

Diving in Galapagos was amazing. The boat Nortada hoses only 8 divers and thats PERFECT. You dive in small groups and gets close to the marine life. There where huge schools of hammerheads, sunfish(mola mola), sealions,, eagle reys,turtles and so on... Its a small boat, but if there are big waves on the sea i don't think it would make any different if you are on a bit bigger boat. The crew was super friendly and the food was good. I will highly recommend this trip and this boat!

Few divers, best dive spots, fantastic marine life

It was breath-take-away diving! So many big marine creatures under water and on so close distance! I saw almost everything that i was dreaming of)))!!! It seems that there are no analouges in the world to this diving spot! Yes, the water can be quite cold sometimes (mostly 20-24°C, but in one place only 16°, so prepare at least 7mm costume), visibility is not perfect sometimes, really strong current, and some plans in schedule can be changed because of the weather and waves, but you for sure forget about all these little things when you see what is under water))) So diving is amazing, really. Hummer head sharkds just above your head, a lot of other sharks, includind whale shark, astonishing plays of sia lions in front of cameras, dolphins, manta rays, eagle rays, turtules, iguanas, pinguins - unforgettable impressions))) The only pity - there were no land excurcions on the way (some ships do that, but not this one), but panga ride is possible so you can see a lot of birds and wonderful landscapes! If to speak about Nortada particulary - cozy nice boat, only 8 divers, so not crowded, 2 guides (usually one is swimming in front of group, the second is swimming in the end). Team of Nortada is very nice and friendly, helps a lot in every step, very clean on board, good food (gracias chef Pedro). Rented equipment (Cressi TM) was a bit used but funcioned without any problems. About guides - both are very experienced, especially the main one, he loves a lot his profession and ocean, can see who is more or less experienced diver, will help a lot (if it is needed) during preparation for diving and during diving itself. But. Its the only but. In my opinion it is not professional and correct the way of behaivour with single women on board. Probably it is LA temperament)) but anyway while you are at work all relations should be only about work, no personal stuff. After trip - whatever, but not during. Clients are guests, clients are not the way of solving personal problems. Anyway i should say thank you to all nortada team! Diving was outstanding!

Hummerhead sharks, sea lions, birds

Moonfish, many hammer sharks, marine iguanas

the crew, dive spots, many big fish to see

Seeing schools of hammerhead sharks at Darwin and Wolf Island Swimming with marine iguanas and seeing them eat green algae underwater at Fernandino Island Swimming with Galapagos sea lions and how playful they were. Seeing flightless cormorants dive for fish. Seeing Mola-Mola. The food and juices on board were great. The boat was very clean and the staff were friendly. The dingy rides around the smaller islands that allowed us to observe endemic birds was really cool.

Diving at Darwin and Wolf Islands with schools of hammerhead sharks. The food on board was spectacular. At each of the islands after diving, they took us on the dingy to see the edemic birds.

Albino Mola mola, several manta rays, swimming with sea lions.

Small group size, food and staff flexibility

Hundreds of Hammerheads at Wolf, Mola-Mola's, a Killer whale, Mantas, Marina Iguanas, Penguins, Dolphins, School of Silky sharks under our boat at Darwin, Sealions, Golden Rays, Pirate Cave at Wolf.

Huge variety of underwater life, very good food, good diveguides

It was an excellent trip. It´s the best to be only 8 divers. Great guide, excellent crew, very good food. Unfortunately Nitrox was not avaiable. I would suggest to improuve the first test dive, and dive in some spot outside the Puerto Ayora bay. Overall it was great

Big fish, dive spots, few divers

Wolf and Darwin are very impressive, both under and above the water, but the other dive spots are equally impressive. The itinerary allows to see a great diversity of the underwater life in Galapagos. It is a pity that the first and last day of the week do NOT include any dives. The first day mentions a dive, but this is only jumping in the water in the harbour to check weights. We were back in the harbour on the day before the end of the trip. They promise at least 20 dives, but this means: exactly 20 dives. The dive instructor was not very attentive. He did not check if divers could follow and never checked if we were ok. In two dives, the group fell apart (low visibility in these areas). If you are not totally comfortable in the water, that could be a disadvantage. However, this was a freelancer, so this may vary from instructor to instructor. Despite these points of improvement, the boat and the crew and the itinerary are a big advantage of Nortada and we would definately recommend this boat.

dives, small group, itinerary

I did 19 dives in five days! It was fantastic. I saw mola molas up close, if I reached my arm out I would’ve touched it! There were hammerhead sharks everywhere. At Landslide, there were schools of them being cleaned by angel fish! I also saw marine iguanas feeding, horxbille turtles being cleaned and feeding, hornshark baby sleeping, white tip sharks up close, silky sharks and Galapagos sharks up close, huge parrot fish, manta rays right in front of me, schools of golden cow rays, did I mention the mantas being powerful and beautiful and maybe a metre from me as they aren’t scared of divers? Oh right and I swam with dolphins and saw them on our safety stop, I played with sea lions, they copy you! Mola molas were plentiful and a new favourite. They again came so close and there were so many! That’s not to mention the barracudas and the soldier fish, the shrimps and the lobsters.... every moment caused me to do an underwater jiggle of excitement. Note, it does get cold and there are currents. At times, we just planted ourselves to rocks and watched the blue. I was in a 5ml and I was fine but there were others on the boat in 7mls and were cold. A lot of the current dives were negative entry so confidence with that is ideal as we did loose a couple of divers on the descent on our first negative entry dive. Note, due to the tides and the nutrient rich water, the vis isn’t as high as I’d have expected but due to fishing laws etc they don’t scare and come so close. Eye contact with hammerheads and molas says it all right? The guide also took a go pro and gave me his footage. I’m fond of living the dive for the moment and not through a camera so it’s nice to have that. I thought that I may see a hammerhead or two, I had no idea that in five days, I would see so much. It’s a completely different vibe to coral reefs so you can’t really compare the two. The Galapagos is expensive, too much for my liking but this trip was good value and they give you your five a day! Be sure to tip the crew members individually as they share all the tips out. They appreciated the thank you letters we attempted to write in Spanish and the individual tips. I don’t want to go home.

Every dive site had its own vibe and marine life. Look into the blue and keep breathing, there’s so much to see! The crew were super friendly despite not speaking English and were great!