Explore San Cristóbal
Home of one of the archipelagos two airports, San Cristóbal might be your first glimpse of the Galapagos Islands as it serves daily flights from Ecuador’s mainland.
It is the quietest of the four inhabited islands within the region and you can find several dive centres within the sleepy town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, some of which offer diving courses. It is also common for liveaboard boats to visit the many dive sites around the island and this is a very popular way to dive in the Galapagos, especially on San Cristóbal as it is the most common embarkation point.
Highlights of diving on San Cristóbal include the chance to dive with the world famous Galapagos sea lions, as well as turtles, manta rays and schooling hammerheads.
Dive Activity
Diving in San Cristóbal
Diving in San Cristóbal is suitable for many different levels of diver. There are a variety of types of dives available including drifts, pinnacles and walls.
Liveaboards are the most popular and best way of diving in San Cristóbal. Most liveaboards in the Galapagos leave from San Cristóbal due to its location close to the airport. While most are flexible, some liveaboards impose minimum dive or qualification restrictions so be sure to check before you dive.
Top Wildlife Sightings in San Cristóbal
Some of the most famous inhabitants of San Cristóbal are the local sea lions. Frolicking like children amongst divers’ bubbles, be prepared for some whiskery kisses or underwater playtime. Blue footed boobies and frigatebirds might oblige by diving into the water in search of fish.
There are several species of sharks and rays here, including the Galapagos bucket list items of manta rays, whale sharks, eagle rays, Galapagos sharks and schooling hammerheads. Other species include turtles, dolphins and marine iguanas. Huge numbers of fish cover the dive sites, including schools of large pelagics like tuna and marlin.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
618 Sightings
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56
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56
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47
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45
M
56
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43
J
65
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55
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35
O
33
N
62
D
65
AdobeStock/G Russel Childress
Great Hammerhead Shark
506 Sightings
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61
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55
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60
A
44
M
44
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37
J
51
A
34
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19
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33
N
35
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33
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
445 Sightings
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40
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36
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55
A
43
M
36
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27
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41
A
42
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17
O
30
N
43
D
35
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 7
iStock-Michael Zeigler
Sea Lion
428 Sightings
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27
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34
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38
A
29
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44
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29
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48
A
44
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43
O
27
N
32
D
33
Alamy-Christian Zappel
Scalloped Hammerhead
292 Sightings
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28
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30
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35
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34
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35
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14
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27
A
20
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6
O
14
N
16
D
33
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
159 Sightings
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12
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7
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17
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14
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14
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10
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16
A
20
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11
O
10
N
18
D
10
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
82 Sightings
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12
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13
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13
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5
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6
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5
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0
A
0
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4
O
5
N
13
D
6
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins
Hawksbill Turtle
81 Sightings
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8
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5
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9
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0
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9
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8
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11
A
6
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8
O
0
N
13
D
4
Alamy/National Geographic Image Collection
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
70 Sightings
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11
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15
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7
M
7
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5
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5
A
7
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0
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0
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0
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0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
65 Sightings
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8
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4
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3
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6
M
5
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4
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0
A
7
S
9
O
6
N
6
D
7
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
64 Sightings
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9
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11
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8
A
5
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4
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0
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0
A
5
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0
O
8
N
7
D
7
iStock-crisod
Reef Manta Ray
52 Sightings
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11
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10
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5
A
9
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0
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4
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5
A
0
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0
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0
D
8
Alamy-National Geographic Creative
Leatherback Turtle
42 Sightings
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6
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6
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0
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0
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10
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0
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5
A
0
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0
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4
N
5
D
6
iStock-ShaneGross
Loggerhead Turtle
35 Sightings
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6
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7
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4
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0
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4
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0
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5
A
0
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4
O
0
N
5
D
0
The best Months to Dive in San Cristóbal
Diving on San Cristóbal is possible year round. From January to June is the warm season. The water temperatures are at their warmest (around 26°C) and calmest. This is the best time of year to see manta rays and the number of hammerheads tend to increase too.
From June to December, the Humboldt Current brings cooler water down from the north, increasing the nutrients in the water and increasing marine diversity. This includes the giant whale sharks. The oceans do get rougher during this season, so seasickness tablets are not a bad idea!
