Name: Diving Mask
Start: null
End: null
Location: Galapagos islands

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Galapagos islands

Diving Mask

Academy Bay Diving

Academy Bay Diving is a family owned and run business dedicated to providing our customers with an amazing and safe dive experience in the Wonderful Galapagos Marine Reserve.

About this trip

Daily Dive Tours

The course was AMAZING!! Wowww... The instructors were so helpful and informed on everything. The school of almost 50 to 100 Hammerheads swimming over us was absolutely out of this world to see!

EXTRAORDINARY experience!!

THANK YOU!!

I went on two dives with Academy Bay (one to Floreana and one to North Seymour) in July 2022. Some of the best dives ever! Academy Bay staff were professional and helpful! It was easy to book in advance online. They are incredibly responsive to any questions and went out of their way to make it stress-free to book with them. Additionally, my dive guides (Santiago and Byron) were incredibly knowledgable and delightful! They provided wonderful dive briefing that left me feeling confident and excited! I highly recommend diving with this team! 

Diving with Academy Bay Diving was an awesome experience.  We dove two days, at North Seymour and Gordon Rocks.  All the technical and administrative aspects of the experience were top notch.  The dives were well organized, safe and fun.  Amazing sites and marine life.  

Dive - custom package

Extremely expensive, really bad visibility, equipment wise: very poor, all customers were freezing and the dive masters didn’t have additional wetsuits as other Padi dive centers. Also the dive master Santiago was moving extremely slow- we would have preferred to move faster. The food was really good. Overall not as great as expected!

3 Days Dive Tours x2p

Excellent. Felt safe and the dive master was always informative and knowledgeable. 

Very good diving, most spots in the Galapagos are amazing for diving. Academy bay diving is great for day dives if you do not have the time/money for a liveaboard. Still able to see sharks, turtles, rays and sea lions (depending on the spot).

Photos and videos are also provided for free.

we enjoyed the trip very much. It's a good mix between diving and land excursions.

Discover Galapagos – 3 Islands

I had always wanted to visit Galapagos and to experience scuba diving. Academy Bay Diving organised for us a 15-day package encompassing stays on three islands and visiting others to see a wide variety of wildlife, which was echoed by several snorkel tours seeing various fishes, rays, sea lions, sharks, turtles and other marine life. Also included were some scuba dives which proved a great experience I shall never forget. Boats carried a maximum of 12 passengers, so not too crowded, and all the scuba dives and snorkel tours were led by experienced people in whom one could have complete faith. Photos and video records were made of the scuba dives and some snorkel tours so these would be great reminders of the experiences. We chose to have only one rest day but filled that out too. Practically all the itinerary worked perfectly and the accommodation was great.

Galapagos Adventure

Two days, four dives
First day was nice. The dive master was great. 
Second days, the dive master leave immediately. Two divers lost the group. And nobody at the surface when they went up!!!
First time in 33 years of diving that the dive master doesn’t care of the group (one of lost diver was the “body” of the dive master)
And no excuses. No „sorry“. The same evening and the following day when we went at the dive shop, no one ask news (one of the diver as nose and ear bleeding)
Sad experience
And even if it’s not very important, food and drink are poor on the boat

Awesome team.  Leo and his dive boat team were really attentive and cared for nervous divers.  Attention to detail pre-dive such as helping put fins on and post dive helping people remove weightts etc and removing the ladies tanks.  Good food.  Recomended

Daily Dive Tours - 2022

Outstanding time. I’ve only done a handful of dives, but these guys were so professional, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. They took care of everything; even lunch and snacks! We saw lots of sharks and rays, and it was just an all around great day. 

Daily Dive Tours - $170

Best pre dive/safety briefing I have ever seen! Made sure to group divers by skill level, food was delish, boat was nice & comfy w/ a nice bathroom. We were with Byron for our dives & had a great time!

In December 2021 / January 2022, I used Academy Bay Diving to organize housing, diving, transportation, and tours (I purchased the 14-day “Complete Galapagos” diving package + I stuck around in Santa Cruz for an additional week).

Overall, I would say that Academy Bay provided very good service, and I would highly recommend this operation to anyone keen on diving there. THE MARINE LIFE IS AWESOME – I had never seen a hammerhead ‘til my first dive in Galapagos, and then I saw a school of like 20 hammerheads, a school of Golden Eagle Rays, etc. It really was a rich experience, and I am so glad I did it!

Oscar and Byron are Academy Bay’s main guides – Oscar is super friendly and personable, while Byron is a silent one (he draws the dive sites quite well). Angel and Leo are also guides; Angel is younger, super friendly, and keen to chat while Leo maintains a professional demeanor. 

The boat is adequately sized and equipped for a group of up to 10 or 12 divers, and the guides & boat-hand are extremely efficient when it comes to using space on the boat well. Some dive sites are a schlepp whereas others are 40-minutes away, but the guides were great company. 

Regarding the dive sites: I would encourage only experienced divers to dive at the Gordon Rocks; the currents can be volatile, and the underwater topography lends itself to difficult passages at certain points (I *almost* aborted a dive at The Pinnacle because I had trouble getting around it due to currents). 

Regarding the tour package: I would recommend a thorough review of the proposed itinerary that Academy Bay sends you in advance of your trip – there were a few things I would have done differently. 

For example: I would have happily spent the money to fly from Santa Cruz to Isabela, and from Isabela to San Cristobal vs. taking the speed boats (to save time + to avoid the people yakking all over the boats … let’s just say the waters were a bit rough from Santa Cruz to Isabela (Dramamine is a good friend)). This one is on me, though – had I reviewed the itinerary in advance, I would have proposed a change. So, my recommendation is to take responsibility for your experience and review any material that is sent to you in advance + propose changes + ask questions about activities.

Another recommendation is to remain calm and clear-headed if something goes awry. For example, when I arrived in Isabela, the hotel did not have my reservation. I did not freak out or go nuts; rather, I called Alice at Academy Bay – she sorted the whole thing out while I had breakfast. It was no big deal, but you have to assume accountability for managing the situation as best you can + engaging Alice if and when needed.

I had a wonderful experience in Galapagos; the dive sites were interesting, challenging, and rich with marine life. I would highly recommend Academy Bay for diving and tour needs; I may engage them when I come back!


Complete Galapagos

Alice was awesome.  We had first time divers and a tight schedule.  We dove two days.  On our first day Alice coordinated a boat and two great dive masters Jimmy and Anderson - from Albatros.  On day two we dove with a bigger group with Ronny - service was excellent, safety protocols were rigorous and equipment was in great shape.
One of the guys on our second day of diving had lost their luggage - Alice coordinated everything with the airline to get it back.  Those guys were diving 7 days with Academy - getting their advanced cert and loved every day.
Thanks to Alice and team

Derek


Daily Dive Tours - Discount 2021

Totally surreal experience - the Complete Galapagos package really does feel complete. Words can't express what a great time we had and how happy we are with the trip as a whole. Alice is unbelievably helpful and makes sure that everything goes smoothly start to finish. Thank you so much for such a great trip that we will never forget!

It was a wonderful trip with  a lot of new impressions. Therefore the long journey to Galapagos  to the  End of the World was really worth it.  :-)
Alice, you had the trip very well organised. Very good hotels, good tours and I had only to enjoy all.

Muchas gracias, Alice.

Discover Galapagos  - 3 islands Custom

Thank you Mauro! We are very glad you enjoyed your time diving with us!

We have wonderful time the guides and instructors were so helpful, equipment in great condition, great food and an amazing and unforgettable experience. Thank You for helping our dreams come through 

Daily Dive Tours - 2 days

Thomas we are very sorry hear this. We wish you would have mentioned it while you were hear in Galapagos, obviously feedback is much easier to act upon when the events are fresh in our minds.
North Seymour generally is not a difficult dive site, but maybe you dove a particularly rough day? I hope you enjoy your next diving experience.



Very bad instructor and agency was not mentioning anything about obvious difficult diving conditions. Absolutely not recommendable! 

Daily Dive Tours - $176

Thank you Christina! We hope to see you out here again one day.

My husband and I did two day tours with Academy Bay and we were very pleased. The communication was great with the staff at the shop, the dive guides were super helpful and nice, and the food was super too! We will definitely be using them again when we return to the Galapagos and highly recommend them to anyone else. Thanks!

Alice was fantastic. Professional and responsive.

The crew and dive guides were excellent as well. Shoutout to Daniel and Paulo who were friendly, professional, and helpful! Would definitely dive with these awesome people again! Los llaves!

Humboldt Explorer Dive Cruise

Thank you, it was a pleasure diving with you and your family.

We had a great time. Alice helped us for the organisation and we were able to visit 3 islands. The accomadations were correct. The diving team was super nice, our children passed their AOW and saw more than 80 sharks in 4 days !!! and a manta.


That was one of the best tours I did in Galapagos.
Wonderful experience!!!

Tour Bartolome

This was my first experience in a liveaboard and, I dare say, it blew my mind.
We booked this through Academy Bay Diving in Puerto Ayora who are absolutely amazing and ever so helpful.
From the get go, the crew were outstanding, all the way from the engineer, the Captain and his crew (who you don't really get to see much), to the chef and his amazing and plentiful food and snacks (don't think you'll come here to lose weight), to Sra Cruz (the chamber maid), the whole deck crew, Kevin, the (also) barman, the "pangueros" Juanito & Pablo, and, of course, the incredible dive leaders Daniel and the super energetic, laugh-out-loud-and-dance-like-no-one-is-watching Gaby.
Our 8D-7N tour included 2 land tours (North Seymour- Frigates, Boobies, Iguanas (land and marine), Sea Lions; Manzanillo Turtle Ranch) and 19 dives in all in Baltra, Mosquera, Wolf Island, Darwin Island, and Cousins, where you'll be flabbergasted by the insane amount of sea life ranging from Hammerhead, Galapagos, Silky, White tip, and Whale sharks, turtles, dolphins, morays, lea lions, etc, etc. It was just incredible. Be sure to have the energy for up to 4 dives a day and some strong currents at times.
The facilities on the boat included hot water, comfy beds, Nitrox (recommended), booze, jacuzzi, second to none service with a smile, always fun in that latin American Style, and, more importantly, always safety conscious.
I didn't want it to end.

What an amazing experience with ABD. Everybody, Cpt Eric and his assistant Frank, scuba instructors/guides Oscar, Byron, Leo, the shop cat Guapetón, and owners Hugo and especially Alice, were just so absolutely awesome and pivotal in making my first, hopefully not last, visit to GPS utterly unforgettable.
Apart from the incredible diving here, their assistance with everything else, including an awesome liveaboard experience, was simply tremendous and totally ensured the best possible time was had. I cannot recommend this dive centre enough!

BELT - ACADEMY ABAY DIVING

Daily Dive Tours - last minute

I cannot say enough positive things about Academy Bay Divers staff and Alice.  Alice goes out of her way to assist/help in any way.  Their dive boat is a roomy and fitted for divers, and very comfortable.  On the boat the dive masters help the divers gear up and put your fins on.   I would dive with Academy Bay again.  They are the best dive shop in Puerto Ayora Santa Cruz.   Kudos to Alice for helping make our trip a great memory.   Ralph and Lisa

Diving and Adventure - Tourist Superior

I can't say enough about Alice and Academy Bay Diving. This was a fairly complicated trip to organize with 12 people coming from 4 different US cities over the course of 2 days with travel delays. The itinerary Alice suggested for scuba and land tours was ideal to see a wide range of wildlife in a busy, but well managed schedule. The guides she appointed were excellent and the dive leaders were outstanding. The logistics were flawless from start to finish. From the moment we arrived we had a guide to get us to each and every activity including to and from the airport. Taxis or buses were waiting for us at our doorstep for each tour, and Alice herself met us at different points along the way to make sure we checked in at the hotel, to point us in the right direction at the pier or make sure we knew what was coming next. It was a situation where I didn't have to worry about not being familiar with the local customs or requirements because Alice or someone she chose was there to help every step of the way without feeling herded from one stop to the next. There was plenty of free time to do what we pleased and explore the town, but the guides showed up exactly when we needed them. Academy Bay made this trip feel simple with the flawless logistics and outstanding guidance.

Galapagos Diving JANUARY Laura's Group

Alice had everything planned for us to a tee from the moment we stepped off the plane and it was wonderful!  The dive masters and crew had everything organized and ran all six days of diving like a finely tuned machine.  They even rinsed and dried the scuba equipment we brought with us.  I would definitely dive with them again and I highly recommend them to anyone!

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