What To Expect On A Punta Vicente Roca Liveaboard

Liveaboards to Punta Vicente Roca in the Galapagos will provide a myriad of marine life to see in this fantastic part of the world. Sitting on the west coast of Isabella Island, the largest of the Galapagos islands. Isabella is also one of the younger Galapagos islands and is constructed of 5 active and one extinct volcano. Wolf volcano has experienced eruptions as recently as 2015, threatening rare wildlife on the island such as the pink iguana which exists nowhere else in the world.

Many people say Isabella is in the shape of a seahorse and Vicente Roca sits on its mouth. The area has stunning landscapes and fantastic sea caves for liveaboard visitors. No land visits are permitted to Punta Vicente but many people come here to experience the diverse marine life.

The liveaboard diving available here is along a wall that drops down to around 28 meters/90 ft. Near the shore there are many sea lions and Galapagos penguins who drop down to see divers. In deeper parts of the wall this is the best place to see the Mola Mola or sunfish. They follow the cool currents here and there is a chance that Orcas might be giving chase. Mola Mola is one of their favourite foods.

Daily Schedule

Morning - Most Galapagos liveaboards prefer to start as early as possible, before the day boats arrive. This will mean a light breakfast before a quick briefing and straight to the dive deck for 6:30 am. The first dive will be along the wall at Punta Vicente Roca where the current and swell can be very heavy. Divers will be dropped by panga tender and normally make a negative descent onto the wall. Your dive should be around 50 minutes or less if the current is very strong.

Afternoon - The second dive will be after a proper breakfast and will normally be a little further along the wall nearer to the cave. There will be some swim-throughs and if you encountered Mola Mola on the first dive this is your chance to get closer to shore and dive with the penguins and sea lions.

Punta Vicente Roca Underwater

Punta Vicente Roca is a long sloping underwater wall that reaches 28 meters/90 ft. The shallower areas are thick with aquatic life, this is a fantastic place to encounter penguins which pop down, gracefully darting around divers. Sea lions are also very playful here, they are often seen in the water swimming with snorkelers and divers.

The main attraction on a Punta Vicente Roca dive cruise though, are the Mola Mola or sunfish. These huge oddly-shaped pelagics come here because of the strong cold ocean currents. They can be seen in the blue near to the wall at Punta Vicente Roca, although Mola can be quite shy and easily scared away so divers should approach gently. It is also worth noticing that Mola are an attractive food source to Orcas which have been known to hunt in the area. You have to be quite lucky to see Orca while diving, but in Galapagos it is possible.

Top Tips for Punta Vicente Roca

• Stay slow and steady while swimming, the current here can be some of the strongest in Galapagos.
• Spend some time by the shore as well as looking for Mola Mola there are penguins and sea lions aplenty in the shallows.
• An SMB is a necessity, the area is full of snorkelers and dingys visiting the caves.
• Wear a lot of thermal protection this is one of the coldest dive sites in Galapagos.

Getting to Punta Vicente Roca

Getting to the Galapagos Islands from Ecuador is relatively easy. Most flights are around a 2-hour transit from Guayaquil and Quito which both have international airports serving worldwide airlines. The most frequent flights are with airlines LAN, Tame and Avianca. Be sure to give a few days extra when flying from Quito, volcanic activity around the city can cause delays.

Isabella is one of the central Galapagos islands and is frequently visited by Galapagos liveaboards during their tour. It is a few hours sail from some of the other main dive sites such as Cabo Douglas and Cabo Marshall. Day boats do travel to Punta Vicente but it is on the remote uninhabited side of Isabella island making it one of the longer daytrips.