Four- And Seven-Night Scuba Diving Packages Introduced By Metropolitan Touring At Finch Bay Eco Hotel In Galapagos

Metropolitan Touring, Ecuador’s largest tour operator, and Galápagos Sub-Aqua, the most experienced local dive operator, have teamed up to introduce four- and seven-night scuba packages to Galápagos Marine Reserve for intermediate and advanced divers, with stays at Finch Bay Eco Hotel, the only beachfront hotel on Santa Cruz Island. The 21-room property, which has a large pool and nature-oriented activities, is a five-minute boat ride from Puerto Ayora in a secluded area with no cars or paved roads.

The isolated Galápagos archipelago, 600 miles west of Ecuador, is renowned for extraordinary wildlife including many land and underwater species found nowhere else on earth. Although Galápagos National Park and Galápagos Marine Reserve are both World Heritage Sites, the reserve is relatively undiscovered as a top diving and snorkeling destination. Some 3,000 species of marine animals and plant life are found in the reserve’s 50,200 square miles (130,000 sq. km) of Pacific Ocean surrounding 13 large islands, six small islands and scores of islets.

Second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Galápagos Marine Reserve is at the confluence of several ocean currents and home to the world’s only marine iguanas and Equatorial penguins as well as more than 500 fish species, of which about 20% are found only there. Drift and wall diving also takes in rays, angelfish, sea lions, fur sea lions, parrot fish, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, sea turtles, jacks, eels, groupers, scorpion fish, white-tip reef sharks and invertebrates. The Galápagos has two seasons: the warm, humid, sunny period from December to May, and the cooler, dry, windy, more overcast season from June to November. In the warm season the wind is minimal, the sea calm and visibility at its best. Although visibility ranges from 16 to 82 feet (5 to 25 meters), it is usually about 40 to 60 feet (between 12 and 18 meters). The water temperature is from 61° to 80° F (16° to 27° C). Full 6mm wet suits are worn by divers year-round and hoods are used in the dry season.

Four-night “Galápagos Realm” packages, which cost $1,272 per person, double occupancy, allow divers to experience the beauty of Galápagos Marine Reserve in seven dives. The more comprehensive seven-night “Galápagos Underworld”, at $2,277, includes 13 dives for adventurous divers. Packages feature the dives, full scuba gear, PADI-certified divemaster and/or instructor, visit to the Charles Darwin Research Center to see giant tortoises, buffet breakfast and dinner daily at Finch Bay, box lunch on the dive boat, accommodations and transfers. Rates do not include the Galápagos National Park entrance fee or flights between Baltra and mainland Ecuador.

Both packages feature a check-out dive at Academy Bay and day trips with a one-hour boat ride to dive sites at other islands. The shorter program has one dive at Daphne Minor and Mosquera Islet, and two dives at North Seymour and Gordon Rocks. The longer package adds two dives at Santa Fe, North Seymour, Daphne Minor, Mosquera Islet, Gordon Rock and either Cousins Rock or Floreana. Participants are provided with a full 6mm wet suit, jacket type BCD with power inflators, regulator with octopus, pressure gauge and depth gauge, mask, snorkel, fins and booties. Dive sites are subject to change from sea conditions, safety requirements, and park or reserve restrictions. Galápagos Sub-Aqua is part of the PADI Travel Network.

Daily diving with two dives at $140 and a one-day Discover Scuba Diving program at $90 with certified instructor, all scuba gear, instruction, immersion in pool and open-water dive at Punta Estrada are also available.

Finch Bay Eco Hotel has a restaurant, bar, lounge, large pool, outdoor Jacuzzi, beach; international direct-dial telephone, Internet and e-mail access; air-conditioned, non-smoking rooms with terrace; and shuttle service between the hotel and Puerto Ayora. Activities include sea kayaking, snorkeling, birdwatching, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding and stargazing

Metropolitan Touring, the largest tour operator in Ecuador, pioneered the opening of the Galápagos Islands to tourism in 1969. Scuba brochures and reservations are available from Adventure Associates, (800) 527-2500 and (972) 907-0414; fax (972) 783-1286; www.finchbayhotel.com and info@adventure-associates.com

November 8, 2004   Posted in: Ecuador