Well after much deliberation over DavidA's recent trip report a few of us have decided that we really needed to stop faffing about and pay this wonderful place a visit. We are booked through Maldives Scuba Tours (
Maldives Scuba Tours are leading experts on liveaboards and diving holidays worldwide) for a 10 night itinery on the boat Deep Blue. There is a PDF file on the MST site which details the itinery that we will be following but as it is a 10 night cruise 4 days will be spent up at Darwin and Wolf with several land visits in between diving. See here for details of the boat along with a trip report:
Deep Blue Galapagos Dive Trips
More info and some stunning pictures can be found here:
ECHENG.COM: Galapagos, June 2004
We now have a couple of spaces available on this boat but they won't last long as MST also have a waiting list of people. The cost is coming it at around £2540 for the boat plus cost for flights/park fees/airport taxes as applicable. You can also add on a tour/additional nights if you wish to spend more time there. There is also an additional service charge of £206.00 to cover tips for the crew. We are able to get a free space if we fill the boat which will be divided amongst each of us so that we all get a discount! To secure your place a deposit of £250 is needed by MST as soon as possible and then £500 needs to be paid to them before 30.09.06 with the balance payable around 8 weeks before our departure.
Please also see this note that has recently been posted on the Maldives Scuba Tours Website:
GALAPAGOS: We’ve been informed by the Galapagos park authorities that from January 2008 that no boat will be able to hold a dive licence and a naturalist licence at the same time. This means that if you go on a dive trip you will not be able to visit the land and vice versa. Big shame for sure – but even bigger blow is that the Galapagos Park Authority will no longer give permits for longer than 7 days. This means our 2007 trips will be the last of the 10 day dive trips. If we do two back-to-back trips we will not go to separate areas – we will just have to repeat the same itinerary. Remember these are the last of the 10 night trips!!!
So it looks like our trip will be one of the last few of it's kind. Sad but true...
Here's the Galapagos team as it stands:
1. Kathy
2. Gary
3. Fiona
4. Jenny
5. Lou
6. Caroline
7. Jules
8. John Gulliver
9. Rick
10. James aka Narked@50
11. Terry Hooper
12. Jason aka principia
13. KevW
14. Ken
15. Jane
16. Venus
Subs Bench
1. SimonTW (Last minute cancellations only)
2. JoRawley (Last minute cancellations only)
So if anyone out there fancies joining us please PM me or e-mail (toptotty1972@hotmail.com) me for further info etc...
Cheers
Kathy