Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard Reviews & Specials - Bluewater Dive Travel

Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard

4.625
(4 REVIEWS)
The Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
View from Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Stunning topside topography in the Galapagos
Single cabin interior on the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Double cabin interior on the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Bridge aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
A group eating dinner aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Chef presents dinner aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Buffet aboard Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Lounge aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
A sitting area aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Outdoor lounge aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Sundeck aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
People enjoy the hot tub aboard the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Dive deck on the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Divers prepare on the dive deck of the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard
Camera station on the Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard

Destination: Ecuador

Galapagos Islands (7 Nights) | From $942++/night

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Galapagos Aggressor III Quick Pitch

The Galapagos Aggressor delivers high-quality cruises with a 23 dive itinerary across the best dive sites in the archipelago.

Learn more about the Aggressor Fleet

 

Location

Galapagos Aggressor III trip starts and ends in Baltra every Thursday. 

 

Dive Overview

Divers visit the Galapagos for the unique marine life, which is a blend of warm water and cold water creatures. The Aggressor visits the best sites for large pelagics like whale sharks, schools of hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, silky sharks, bullhead sharks and mola molas. Other popular marine life is sea lions, penguins, mantas, eagle rays, eels, turtles, marine iguanas, pelagic fish and other massive fish schools.

[See: Galapagos Dive Travel Guide]

Check Out This Great Video!

Galapagos is one of the best shark diving destinations in the world. 

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Accommodations

Types of Cabins, Amenities and Photos

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Galapagos Aggressor III Accommodation Details

Comfortable accommodations include four deluxe staterooms which have two twin beds and three portholes and six master staterooms with a queen bed (which can be modified to 2 twin beds) and a large window. Each cabin has a private toilet, shower, hairdryer, TV/Blue Ray DVD, stereo CD player, temperature controls and safe storage box. The Galapagos Aggressor III sleeps 16 guests in privacy and comfort.

 

Galapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor III

Master (LEFT) and Deluxe (RIGHT) Staterooms  

 

Galapagos Aggressor III Cabin Details

  • (4) Master Staterooms
  • Each with 2 single beds side by side that can be made into a queen bed, (upon request) private head & shower, closet, port window, individual climate control, monitor with media player & hair dryer.
  • (4) Deluxe Staterooms
  • Each with 2 lower single beds (side by side) with private head & shower, individual climate control and monitor with media player & hair dryer. Staterooms #3 & #4 can be made into a queen bed.

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General Facilities

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Galapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor III

Dining Area (LEFT) and Hot Tub (RIGHT)  

Galapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor III

Camera Table (LEFT) and Dive Deck (RIGHT)  

 

Galapagos Aggressor III Boat Features

  • Spacious salon
  • Large sun deck with shading
  • Chaise lounges and deck chairs
  • Bar
  • Grill
  • Hot tub
  • Complete photo/video center
  • AC
  • En-suite bathrooms & showers
  • Entertainment room
  • Lounge area
  • Limited WiFi

 

Galapagos Aggressor III Dive Facilities

  • Maximum of four dives daily
  • Full line of Aqua Lung rental gear including regulators, BCDs, dive computers, and night lights
  • Diving specialty courses
  • Photo/video station
  • Nitrox is available for an additional fee
  • Large swim platform with two warm freshwater showers
  • Dive deck with personal gear lockers
  • Rinse tanks and three tier camera table with low pressure air hoses

 

Food & Drinks Aboard Galapagos Aggressor III

The menu onboard is varied and plentiful, with a variety of American feasts, barbecues and local cuisine. The Aggressor’s selection includes fruit juices, soft drinks, iced water, iced tea, coffee, and a limited selection of local beer and wine, which are complimentary. Due to the high duty charged on liquor, we suggest you bring your favorite brand.

 

Galapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor III

 

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Galapagos Aggressor III Liveaboard Deck Plan

Galapagos Aggressor III

 

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Schedule, Rates & Availability

Galapagos Aggressor III Schedule & Rates

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Prices are in USD, per person and are based on the lowest priced cabin. Port and park fees are not included.

[See also: Inclusions & Exclusions and Full Rates by Cabin Type]

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Galapagos Aggressor III Rates

Date

Master

Deluxe

July 1, 2021 - January 6, 2022

$6,795

$6,795

January 6, 2022 - January 5, 2023

$6,995

$6,995

January 5, 2023 - January 4, 2024

$6,995

$6,995

January 4, 2024 - January 2, 2025

$7,150

$7,150

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Inclusions

  • Accommodations aboard the yacht
  • All meals and snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, local beer and wine
  • Diving
  • Compressed air tanks, weights & belts
  • Transfers from and to Baltra Airport

 

Exclusions

  • Airfare (international and domestic)
  • Insurance
  • Equipment rentals
  • Nitrox fills
  • Certification or specialty courses
  • Hotel stays/day rooms
  • Dinner on final evening
  • Crew gratuity
  • Mandatory:  USD $100 Park fee, $20 Galapagos Visitor's Visa card
  • 12% Ecuadorian tax on onboard services

 

RATES & AVAILABILITY

For more information on other departure dates, rates, and on availability email us at info@bluewaterdivetravel.com or call us at +1-310-915-6677 and we will gladly help you plan your dream dive vacation!

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Dive Information & Destinations

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Galapagos Dive Overview

  • June - November: The water is cooler, 60-75F, 16-24C; Whale Shark sightings are greater
  • December - May: The water is warmer, clearer 70-86F, 21-30C; Larger schools of Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays and Eagle Rays
  • All dives from tenders. Up to 20 dives are offered during the week.
  • 5 - 7mm wetsuit recommended

 

Itinerary Overview

The weeklong trip on the Galapagos Aggressor III starts and ends in Baltra every Thursday. The Galapagos Aggressor III itinerary in compliance with the Galapagos National Park regulations which requires companies with permits to follow an exact itinerary. A maximum of four dives will be offered daily; two in the morning and two in the afternoon. In addition, one night dive and two land excursions per week will be offered. New diving areas have been added to the itinerary: Bartolome Punta, Cousins Rock and Cabo Douglas. The Galapagos itinerary is controlled by the National Park who grants approval for normal itineraries.

 

Galapagos Aggressor III

 

Sample Itinerary

  • Thu: Baltra Airport, Afternoon Greeting by Crew, Bus Transfer to the Itabaca Channel Canal and Boarding. Welcome, and Orientation Dive at Punta Carrion at Itabaca Channel.
  • Fri: 2 Morning dives; Punta Carrion (Santa Cruz Island) or Bartolome Punta. 1 afternoon hike to Bartolome Summit and panga ride at Pinacle Rock.
  • Sat: January to May: 4 Dives at Wolf; 2 morning, 2 afternoon dives.
  • June to December: 2 morning dives, 1 afternoon and 1 night dive.
  • Sun:
  • January to May: 2 morning dives at Darwin and 2 afternoon dives at Wolf.
  • June to December: 2 morning dives and 2 afternoon dives at Darwin.
  • Mon:
  • January to May: 4 dives at Cabo Marshall; 2 morning dives, 1 afternoon and 1 night dive.
  • June to December: 2 morning dives at Darwin; and 2 afternoon dives at Wolf.
  • Tue: 2 morning dives at Cabo Douglas and 2 afternoon dives at Punta Vicente Roca.
  • Wed: 1 morning dive at Cousins Rock. Wednesday afternoon arrive at Itabaca Channel or Puerto Ayora. After lunch guests will disembark at 1 pm to go ashore for a private bus tour to see the beautiful Highlands of Santa Cruz Island. This will include a scenic view over Santa Cruz and a Tortoise Reserve to see giant tortoises.
  • After the hike, guests can walk through town, shop and visit the tortoise-breeding center Fausto Llerena at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Guests will have dinner ashore at a local restaurant of their choice (only meal not included in the cruise). The GALAPAGOS AGGRESSOR will depart at 10 pm from Puerto Ayora town to Baltra.
  • Thu: Guests will have a full breakfast then check out and depart to the Baltra Airport.

[See: Galapagos Dive Travel Guide]

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Other Information

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Boat Specifications

  • Year built: 1993
  • Length: 100 feet (30.5 meters)
  • Beam: 22 feet (6.7 meters)
  • Speed: 10-12 knots
  • Engines: Twin Caterpillar 450hp
  • Generators: Twin Caterpillar 65 KWA
  • Passengers: 16
  • Number of cabins: 8
  • Number of bathrooms: 11
  • Crew: 9
  • Tenders: 2 x RIB with Yamaha 65hp
  • Fuel capacity: 6,000 litres
  • Water capacity: 7,500 litres
  • Watermaker: 5,000 litres per day

 

Practical Information

  • Time Zone: UTC-6
  • Local Currency: USD (U.S. dollar)
  • Language Spoken: English and Spanish
  • Electricity: 110 and 220 volt
  • Payment Onboard: Cash, traveler’s checks, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express

 

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Got Questions? Ready to Book?

Call us today at +1-310-915-6677 or email us info@bluewaterdivetravel.com

And let us book your dream vacation!

 

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Underwater Gallery 

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Galapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor IIIGalapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor IIIGalapagos Aggressor III Galapagos Aggressor III 

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Reviews (4)

  • Top Reviewer
Minneapolis, MN
United States
5
4
5
5

Diving on a live aboard in the Galapagos should be considered to be on everyone's bucket list. I returned here after a decade away.

The boat is great and the accommodations are comfortable but not lavish. My son and I had plenty of room for sleeping and storing our clothes. Room care was great. The food was very good. In the top quartile of liveaboards that I have been on. They had great snacks after diving which is always appreciated.

Diving is now very restricted so liveaboards cannot dive in the central islands, only the north. The north includes Bartolme, northern Isabella, Fernandina, Wolf, and Darwin. We started out with a couple of days in the Bartolme area which is famous for its view. The diving in that are is full of fish and turtles. Of course, the core of the trip was in Wolf and Darwin. The Wolf conditions were quite harsh and challenging. Even at 60 foot depth, the surge was upwards of 10 feet so it was very hard to hold on. Hammers were in abundance though, so it was worth the effort.

The highlight was Darwin. We saw a pair of orcas which came right along side our boat. We saw hundreds of dolphins surrounding the boat. And we got to see whale sharks underwater. And then of course we saw hundreds of hammers above and below us as well as Galapagos sharks and silky sharks. The silkies can be a little scary as they circle you whir waiting for the boat.

In general, the water temperatures and visibility are not too bad. The exception are the dive sites on the NW corner of Isabela where it is freezer cold and visibility is very low. Fortunately you see lots of cool things like giant seahorses. The picture I have of the seahorse there is the most popular photp I have every taken.

This is just an incredible experience for anyone who likes to dive and loves nature. From the moment you arrive and get on the boat you will have fun. It really does not get any better than this.

Visited on 07/2013 - Submitted on 02/07/2014
4
4
5
4

The Aggressor II sails from Baltra, which is a small island located north of Santa Cruz. We were greeted at Baltra airport by Walter and Ruben who would be our dive guides for the week. The yacht was anchored a short drive from the airport.

The dive deck was clean and spacious. It has 2 fresh water showers for after dives, separate rinse tanks for cameras, storage area under each divers' station for your dive equipments and sufficient space for all divers to kit up at the same time. Adjacent to the dive deck, there are camera tables, battery charging stations, warm towels and tea/ coffee making facility. Very handy for some of the shorter surface intervals.

There is a library of books, DVDs and Blu-rays in the air-conditioned lounge. There are Galapagos wildlife and marine ID reference books which were very helpful.

The guest rooms are sufficient but not luxurious in terms of space. The rooms and toilets are clean, hot water shower works and beds were comfortable. Our large suitcases were stored elsewhere on the boat and there is a small wardrobe in the room for clothes etc. Basic toiletries, robes, bath and hand towels, drinking water bottle were provided. The crew leave chocolates and biscuits in our room everyday!

There are fresh fruit juice, cereals, muesli and fruits that you can help yourself to for breakfast. Pancakes, french toast, bacon and eggs are available as well. Lunch comprise of a starter, a selection of local and international dishes served buffet style and dessert. Dinner is a sit-down 3 course affair, starter, main and dessert. Some of the highlights were a BBQ, roast turkey, grilled slipper lobster and some popular Ecuadorian dishes. There are light snacks and warm drinks after each dive. The food were delicious and the portions generous. There are fresh fruits, chocolates, candies and various snacks available in the lounge at all times. Did I mention that sodas, beer and wine are available at no extra cost?

Each diver was issued a dive flag, air horn and ENOS GPS diver locator. There are 2 dive guides for all 15 of us on this trip. One guide would lead and the other follow at the end. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive at first but there was not one dive where I felt unsafe. When we surfaced after each dive, the panga was never far. Most of the 9 men crew would always be on deck to help us get in and out of the pangas and help with our cameras and equipments. Both our guides, Walter and Ruben were attentive and were always ready to answer any questions we may have. All crew were very knowledgeable of the area and are the friendliest and warmest lot i've met on a liveaboard so far.

Some of the best dives we had on this trip were at Wolf Island, Cabo Marshall and Punta Vicenta Roca. There were a lot of hammerheads and galapagos sharks at Wolf and Cabo Marshall. We saw lots of mantas, eagle rays, large schools of salemas, barracudas, sea lions, seahorses and white tip sharks at Cabo Marshall as well. There were a few mola molas, red lipped batfish, galapagos bumphead sharks, marble rays, sea lions and cormorants at Punta Vicente Roca. I really liked Aggressor II's itinerary and felt each day's diving was better than the last. 2 land trips were included in the trip as well.

One of the big plus diving with Aggressor in Galapagos is you get 35kg allowance for check in luggage for your domestic flight to Galapagos. Aerogal only allow 23kg per passenger. Overall, my friends and I were very satisfied and would not hesitate to dive with Aggressor again.

Total dives: 21
Water temp: 17 – 26C
Recommended for: Experienced divers with 100+ dives or more
Dive conditions: Mainly drift dives, blue water safety stop
Nitrox highly recommended

Visited on 01/2014 - Submitted on 02/17/2014
  • Reviewer
, HI
United States
5
5
5
5

Dive guides are exceptionally outstanding, very knowledgeable and professional. They take care of the needs of every single one diver in the group, including the one who has special needs. Even when we were out on excursion on the second to last day, they had special arrangement for the pangga and bus just for that one diver. Choice of food was diverse and fantastic, not boring at all. It's the best liveaboard I have been on so far.

Visited on 10/2012 - Submitted on 04/09/2014
4
5
4
5

Firstly, a representative greeted each passenger at the Guayaquil airport - which is very helpful! My Spanish is terrible, and Ecuador isn't Mexico - not nearly enough tourism or economic overlap to bridge the language divide here. (It's not impossible, but Guayaquil is not like big American tourist towns.) From there we were herded over to the small plane, reserved as a group, to take us to Isla San Cristobal. I could go into tons of detail about the port town - Puerto Baquerizo Moreno - but suffice to say it was clean, quiet in its own little bustling way, and very pleasant.

The Aggressor yacht was about what I expected, nothing more or less - roomy dive-deck where we all set up our rigs for the week, with stowage areas for gear, a smallish camera table with some shelves and a compressed air gun by the main cabin door, and an enclosed battery-charging station/closet with multiple US-style outlets.
The cabins were decently sized, with comfy bunks and enclosed shelving for personal items, clean bathrooms and lots of air conditioning. The main lounge was a little tight but very comfy, with videos, books and plenty of dry snack & candies. The crew clearly knew little English, but were very helpful and friendly. The food was what I expected from my liveaboard experiences - excellent and filling.

I won't go into a dive-by-dive description, but an overview:
The waters are temperate, which some might say means "cold", but actually in the middle; about 65-75F, depending on currents & thermoclines. The last day at Punta Vicente Roca was the coldest, at about 60F or so; most people were cold in their 5mil suits with no hoods, but I wore a 7mil and a hooded vest underneath as I like to stay warm for the whole week - which I recommend. Better to be a little warm at first, since you'll do a lot of diving and will get progressively colder. Temperate water also usually means poorer visibility, which ranged from 60' on a good day to about 15' (at Isla Wolf - which also thrashed us with powerful surge). We didn't hit any massive currents, like I've experienced at Cocos, but it can happen anywhere so bring strong legs and strong fins.
All diving is done from Zodiacs, so gear is doffed before hauling yourself out of the water - which can take a few tries, to the amusement of everyone. 
It's Adventure Diving all around, which is what I liked best about it.

As for wildlife, we saw pretty much everything you would hope to see (though photography proved very challenging and frustrating due to aforementioned conditions). Whalesharks, Galapagos sharks, hammerhead schools, marine iguanas, penguins, massive mola mola, seahorses, Galapagos horned sharks, sea lions, stingrays, eagle rays, batfish, sea turtles like an infestation, orcas, octopus, & almost every other fish imaginable. Even some pea-sized nudibranchs. It's one of the most jam-packed, vibrant areas I've seen, much to its reputation.

My "overall value" rating is less than perfect simply because it's very expensive and more logistically involved than most other destinations. Also, as a native California-coast diver who has dived the Channel Islands, Mexico, Cocos and the Revillagigedos, the topography and conditions presented by the Galapagos are frankly nothing new. Still awesome, but nothing new; I feel that land-locked or tropical dwelling folks will get the most benefit and enjoyment from this region. I doubt I would return unless I wasn’t paying for it, but not because of the boat, crew, fellow divers or Ecuadoreans – the waters and topography are just too similar to my local area to justify the expense a second time.

Visited on 10/2012 - Submitted on 10/29/2014

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