The following is directly verbatim from Fernando Ortiz, one of the most experienced dive guides in the Galapagos Islands:

Isla Lobos
20 ft of water, scores of friendly sea lions come to join the divers. It is good for garden eels, some tropical fish and stingrays. Sea turtles and eagle rays are found frequently. A couple of times, we have seen marine iguanas grazing under water.

• Currents: none, sometimes, water motion associated to tides.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: none

North Seymour
Great dive site. Good for all sorts of rays year-round and especially good for mantas from December until April. Lots of whitetip reef sharks rest on the sandy spots. Good place for sea lions, sea turtles and hammerhead sharks. Several thick schools of grunts and snappers live associated to the reef.

• Currents: prevalently from south. It goes from moderate to very strong.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at 45 ft and sometimes also at 75 ft.

Cousins Rock
A dive site with a bit of everything for every taste. You can find whitetip reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea lions hunting, fur seals and many sleeping sea turtles. A highlight is a resident school of up to 30 spotted eagle rays. If you are interested in macro photography, look for seahorses, frogfish, lobster, arrow crabs, cup coral, blue crabs, longnose hawkfish, coral hawkfish, nudibranchs, etc. It is superb for night or day diving.

• Currents: prevalently from northeast. It goes from moderate to strong. Occasionally very strong, coming from the north.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 --78 / May -- Nov: 65 -- 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: variable from 65 to 90 ft

Tagus Cove
Cold-water dive (sometimes as low as 62F.). It is excellent for sea turtles and macro subjects such as red-lipped batfish, and the endemic "camotillo," a species of fish restricted only to Galapagos waters. While making your safety stop, keep an eye out for penguins or flightless cormorants coming your way. On the deep sandy bottom you can find sawfish and devil rays.

• Currents: none.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 70 - 76 / May - Nov: 62 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: variable, but normally below 65 ft

Punta Vicente Roca
One of the very best macro dives in Galapagos. It can be cold (as low as 62F). The list of invertebrates that is found on this wall dive is endless, from the simplest sponge to really beautiful flatworms. Besides you can find seahorses, frogfish, port Jackson sharks, red-lipped batfish, and the endemic "camotillo". At the beginning of the dive keep your eyes open for "mola mola" or moon fish.

• Currents: none
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 70 - 76 / May - Nov: 62 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: variable, but normally below 65 ft

Wolf Island
One of those magical islands, with several dive sites to choose from. If you want to see sharks, you are at the right spot. This is a place for schooling hammerhead sharks, large aggregations of Galapagos sharks and occasionally whale sharks. Seeing dolphins, large schools of tuna, spotted eagle rays, barracudas, sea lions and sea turtles is common. The bottom is littered with hundreds of moray eels, many of them free-swimming. Being several degrees warmer than the Central Islands, you can look for many representatives of Indopacific underwater fauna.

• Currents: Normally from southeast, but variable. It goes from moderate to very strong. Eddies and down drafts associated to some dive sites. The south side of the island features strong surge that is potentially dangerous if divers don't surface out in deep waters. Trust your guide and do as he recommends.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 76--82 / May -- Nov: 74 -- 76 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at around 65 ft, but highly variable

Darwin Island
Considered by many experienced divers as the best dive site in the world, The Arch at Darwin island honors its reputation. It is warmer by a few degrees than the Central Islands. In a single dive you can find schooling hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, large pods of dolphins, thick schools of skipjack and yellowfin tuna, big eye jacks, mobula rays and silky sharks. From June to November, we can almost guarantee whale sharks in numbers of up to eight different individuals in one single dive. The presence of occasional tiger sharks, black and blue marlin and killer whales, complements this amazing diving experience. If you still have time to look for smaller stuff, you'll find octopus, flounders and an enormous variety and abundance of tropical fish. Darwin Island is the biggest jewel on the Galapagos Crown.

• Currents: Normally from southeast, but variable. It goes from moderate to very strong. Current splits right in front of The Arch. Drifting south-southeast is potentially dangerous due to shallow reefs and the difficulty to cover that area for search. Trust your guide and do as he recommends.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 76 - 82 / May - Nov: 72 - 78 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at around 65 ft but variable.

The Northern Channel
On the south side of Seymour Island and no deeper than 50 feet deep, the northern channel is superb. It features an enormous "field" of garden eels, stingrays, a school of spotted eagle rays, whitetip reef sharks and thick schools of grunts, snappers and goatfish. When Dr. Sylvia Earle described Galapagos as "the fishiest place in the world", she had probably dived this site.

• Currents: from east. It goes from moderate to strong. When surfacing, water accelerates on top of the shallow part of the reef causing quick drifts. Make your safety stop holding to a rock.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at about 45 ft.

North Plaza
In our normal itineraries, this dive site is the best way of ending your trip on board Sky Dancer. Its shallow waters are home to a rookery of playful young sea lions.

• Currents: none, sometimes, water motion associated with tides.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: none

Gardner's Seamount
This place features the greatest biodiversity in the archipelago. During a dive here, you can see anything from the smallest barnacle blenny to whale sharks. Common inhabitants of this seamount are large schools of yellow and dog snappers, Mexican goatfish, moray eels, stingrays, spotted eagle rays, whitetip reef sharks, Pacific burrfish, guineafowl puffers, bullseye puffers, box fishes, king angelfish, three banded butterflyfish, barber fish and three species of grunts. If you venture to the sandy bottom, you may find red-lipped batfish.

• Currents: normally from southeast. Variable, but mostly moderate.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at around 45 ft.

Enderby Island
A great dive site. If you stay above 50 ft, you can see thick schools of king angelfish; yellow tailed surgeonfish, puffers, grunts, snappers and groupers. It is also a good place for hammerheads and Galapagos sharks. At the end of the dive, on the wall, you can find seahorses clinging to the branches of the black coral.

• Currents: normally from southeast. Variable, but mostly moderate.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at around 45 ft.

Champion Island
One of the nicest real drift wall dives in Galapagos. You can easily glide alongside the island escorted by a group of friendly sea lions. You can also look around for sharks, rays and sea turtles. If you are interested in small creatures, look for seahorses, longnose hawkfish and coral hawkfish.

• Currents: normally from southeast. Variable, but mostly moderate.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: at around 45 ft.

Devils Crown
A shallow dive site that features thick schools of all kinds of tropical fish. Groupers, snappers, grunts, creolefish, rays, sharks, morays, jacks, sea lions and turtles mingle together in a chaotic frenzy of sea life. Hold on to a rock and enjoy the show.

• Currents: normally from southeast. Variable from moderate to very strong.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: none

OTHER DIVE SITES:

Roca Redonda
The word unpredictable may have been specifically created to describe this dive site. It is the peak of an enormous underwater mountain. It is famous for its Galapagos sharks, schooling hammerheads, and large schools of barracudas and underwater fumaroles. It is also famous for its overpowering down draft and surge, and its dramatic and sudden fog. It is not a place for beginners.

• Currents: Variable in both direction and strength. Very strong surge. Unpredictable downcurrent.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: normally below 45 ft.

Gordon's Rocks
An exciting dive. Manta rays, spotted eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and hammerheads are common sightings. Its unique underwater topography allows forever changing conditions in terms of currents and surge. You can find sea turtles and seasonally, a large school of up to 50 cownose or golden eagle rays.

• Currents: from southeast. Variable from moderate to very strong. Due to the peculiar underwater topography, there is the presence of eddies and downcurrents. Surge can be magnified inside the caldera of this very eroded underwater crater.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: normally below 65 ft.

Cabo Marshall
A good dive site. Hammerheads and mantas are a common sight. Chevron barracuda, snappers, groupers and occasionally thick schools of the endemic brown-striped salema are part of the resident underwater fauna. The infrequent presence of oceanic white tipped sharks, blue and black marlin make this a dive with lots of potential surprises.

• Currents: normally from the southeast. Variable from moderate to very strong.
• Water temp: Dec. - April: 74 - 78 / May - Nov: 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit
• Thermoclines: normally below 45 ft.