Galapagos or Cocos

Hi All

For those that have been to both destinations or just one I would love to hear your input! I would love to do both but I dont think I can squeeze them into the travel budget!

I love all marine and wildlife but the big stuff has always attracted my eye!

Love to hear any suggestions, companies, hotels, info from the water and topside.

Thanks!

Kelly

Hi All

 

For those that have been to both destinations or just one I would love to hear your input! I would love to do both but I dont think I can squeeze them into the travel budget!

 

I love all marine and wildlife but the big stuff has always attracted my eye!

 

Love to hear any suggestions, companies, hotels, info from the water and topside.

 

Thanks!

 

Kelly

Hey Kelly

I have been lucky to dive Cocos once a few years back and also Galapagos Islands multiple times since I run a dive travel company doing trips to Galapagos.

Cocos Islands is really great diving and the island is really beautiful especially at dusk and dawn after the rain, when all the cliffs are covered in waterfalls cascading down into the sea really a cool site.

The diving, I really really enjoyed, and while on this particular trip I did not see as many Hammerheads as I expected we did see some but white tips were literally everywhere, and on one occasion my buddy and I were hovering a few feet above hundreds of them trying to all get at one fish that had sought shelter in a rock crevice.

Fish life was amazing and plentiful and the big stuff that constantly showed up on almost every single dive were Mobula Rays, tons of them all flying by in squadrons that hung around us for most of the dive and I remember heading to one divesite on the zodiac and seeing the tips of their fins breaking the water as if waiting for us to get in. Really Really Cool

Since my buddy and I were taking photos we often lost each other and surfaced alone (not recommended of course) but on one of my safety stops sitting in Blue water I thought I saw something in the distance but it was too far away and blurry with the thermocline, then all of a sudden out of the blue came a Sailfish, it swam right up to me and then darted off. It was so fast I did not even have time to lift my camera for a shot, of course no one believed me back on the boat haha.

Overall I really liked Cocos and will definately go back again, The 36 hour crossing was great also although I have heard horror storys of the weather but I was lucky it was pretty much flat calm and we saw literaly thousands of Spinner Dolphins jumping, quite a spectacle and then later we saw Orcas.

Galapagos

Well this has to be the grand daddy of Big Animal diving and I have a lot of dives there and all I can say is, on one trip we saw 19 Whale Sharks 15 on another 16 on another and that is combined with Dolphins, Turtles, Mantas, Sea lions, thousands of Hammerheads, and Galapagos Sharks and Silky Sharks many on a single dive. It really is a fantastic destination and like i say on my website just as every muslim has to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime a diver should make a pilgrimage and Dive Galapagos once in there lifetime it really is that good and anyone that has dove there will back up what I am saying.

The best diving is located at the remote Wolf and Darwin Islands and most of my trips were specifically in September as this is prime Whaleshark season.

While Cocos is really great diving, if you cant dive both locations and have to choose just one, then the choice would have to be Galapagos hands down, for big animal life it just cannot be beat. Photography is excellent and you will get up close with pretty much all the wildlife especially the Galapagos Sharks and Silkys and a wide angle lenses/fisheye is definately the order of the day.

One thing to add

Galapagos is not for beginners it is advanced diving in challenging conditions such as strong currents and sometimes rough seas. divers wanting to Dive Galapagos should be physically fit, completely comfortable with their equipment and be proficient in buoyancy control and have at least 50 dives if not more.

Hope this helps Kelly

Dive Safe

Gaz Cooper

Agree with Gaz .

I've been twice to both places and hope that i can go again soon . Both places are the best for big animals diving.

The sight of island of Cocos at sunrise is a magical experience , all the lush vegetation, hundreds of birds flying around, all the waterfalls ,everything looks so pristine ! .

Galapagos is also beautiful but now with all regulations about itineraries , it's difficult to appreciate , you must do a careful planning to experience all the Galapagos have to offer . For diving you must do a liveaboard that include Wolf and Darwin in the itinerary and allows you to disembark on some of the islands. Galapagos must be one of the few places on earth that animals are not afraid of humans and that's is a experience that you must have.

Back to diving , i must say that in Cocos the action is more concentrated ( the place is smaller - like an oasis in the middle of the dessert ) and more intense in terms of action , vis is usually much better than Galapagos and water is not as cold .

The Sea Hunter is the best diving boat i had been on.

At Galapagos the water usually is on the green side and can be really cold when you hit a thermocline; you have sea lions and also the chance to see marine iguanas and penguins u/w . But i think there you can see more the human pressure specially around Santa Cruz.

First time i went was 12 years ago and did only land based diving with Scuba Iguana ( good operation ) then with Peter Hughes boat ( nice boat ) in 2007. In the places that i dove in both trips was notorious the fewer sharks i saw 10 years later.

Any other specific question , let me know

Good luck

Like others have done both, Galapagos just a few months ago, there are galleries, trip reports, multimedia shows at our site.

IMHO the major difference between the two is time spent with Sharks, hammerheads. During a 7 day live-aboard in the Galapagos you get 3.5 days at Wolf and Darwin where most of the big animal action is. In Cocos, most are 10day live-aboards and you spend all your time in shark rich spots.

Advantages Galapagos: More whale shark sightings (during right season) Bigger schools of hammer heads. Bigger Sharks.

Advantages Cocos: More time and opportunities to photograph the hammerheads and to us they did not seem as shy as the Galapagos hammerheads. Whitetip night dive WOW!

Its a tough call but if you really want the best chance to shoot hammerheads I would lean to Cocos.

Like others have done both, Galapagos just a few months ago, there are galleries, trip reports, multimedia shows at our site.

 

IMHO the major difference between the two is time spent with Sharks, hammerheads. During a 7 day live-aboard in the Galapagos you get 3.5 days at Wolf and Darwin where most of the big animal action is. In Cocos, most are 10day live-aboards and you spend all your time in shark rich spots.

 

Advantages Galapagos: More whale shark sightings (during right season) Bigger schools of hammer heads. Bigger Sharks.

 

Advantages Cocos: More time and opportunities to photograph the hammerheads and to us they did not seem as shy as the Galapagos hammerheads. Whitetip night dive WOW!

 

Its a tough call but if you really want the best chance to shoot hammerheads I would lean to Cocos.

Each trip can be a totally different experience, depending on what time you go and how lucky you are.

We hardly saw any Hammerheads at Cocos but saw loads of Mobulas where as at Darwin and Wolf there were thousands of Hammerheads and they were not shy at all with great photo opportunitys at both locations.

I would agree there is something about Cocos that is quite alluring and the diving is not as challenging as the Galapagos but as mentioned dive sites are closer and more compact.

And as for night diving at Cocos LOL I skipped it an had a Beer instead not really up for white tips bumping me throughout the dive LOL

One thing is for sure, you can't go wrong with either of these dive destinations.

Gaz Cooper

We've been to both, twice. Both are great, but I would return to Coco if I only had one more trip to make. Everyone has given great input in their posts above.

One, very important consideration is timing. Do NOT go to either destination during an EL NINO event. When the water is warmer, the big animals are scarce. Diving is magnitudes better when the water is colder.

Its a tough call but if you really want the best chance to shoot hammerheads I would lean to Cocos.

Depends on time of the year. In April and May, you probably won't see Whale Sharks in Galapagos, but you'll see THOUSANDS of Hammerheads.

Get a credit card and do both and come back and tell us what one you thought was best.

I have done both and would agree with the other guys and girls. Both are great for their own reasons. Time them right though to get the best out of them. I was fortunate on both my trips. But I know other sthat were not.

What ever you decide you will have a big smile on your face I am sure.

Sure

So the score is (I think).

Galapagos 2

Cocos 2

I've never been to either but would like to get to at least one of them within the next couple of years. Keep the info coming!

Cheers, Simon

For me, the difference between the 2 destinations is the behavior opportunities are more frequent in the Cocos/Malpelo area. Predation like baitballs with sharks/dolphins/tuna/boobies/frigates, tigers hitting turtles/rays are occasionally sighted. Mating turtles and rays happen during the right season. Plus the very occasional whale/orca popping through makes Cocos/Malpelo very enticing. The biggest reason Cocos/Malpelo is my first choice is Deep See. The sub (now on the Argo I believe) is an awesome way to view the UW world. Nothing beats shooting raggies and dolphins with a 70-200 completely dry and comfy in a sub

Galapagos has the odd penguin and seals/sea lion baitball, the iguanas are very nice to shoot (plus these ones love the water ) Additionally the wildlife (birds like flamingos) in the southern islands are worth a visit on a topside/snorkel cruise.

For me, the difference between the 2 destinations is the behavior opportunities are more frequent in the Cocos/Malpelo area. Predation like baitballs with sharks/dolphins/tuna/boobies/frigates, tigers hitting turtles/rays are occasionally sighted. Mating turtles and rays happen during the right season. Plus the very occasional whale/orca popping through makes Cocos/Malpelo very enticing. The biggest reason Cocos/Malpelo is my first choice is Deep See. The sub (now on the Argo I believe) is an awesome way to view the UW world. Nothing beats shooting raggies and dolphins with a 70-200 completely dry and comfy in a sub

Galapagos has the odd penguin and seals/sea lion baitball, the iguanas are very nice to shoot (plus these ones love the water ) Additionally the wildlife (birds like flamingos) in the southern islands are worth a visit on a topside/snorkel cruise.

Haven't been to Cocos myself, so I cannot personally comment on the diving there, but I will say we saw tons of predation in the Galapagos. Besides the penguins and sea lions/fur seals you have already mentioned, we saw Silky Sharks herding tuna (mentioned here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silky_shark), Schooling Hammerheads, White Tips hunting for small fish, Blue Footed Booby's mating, Frigates mating, spotted eagle rays hunting. Watching booby birds hitting the water for fish was also exciting. So I have to say I saw more "behavior opportunities" in one week in Galapagos than I saw in the previous ten years of diving.

Like I said, I have no personal experience with Cocos, but I'm just mentioning my experience in Galapagos because your post makes it sound like there are not good behavior opportunities in Galapagos and that is certainly not the case. I think Charlie D. would probably agree with me

Oh -- one other thing I just thought of; a couple of months ago I was having a discussion with a fellow member of CUPS and she has been to both Cocos and Galapagos, just once to both destinations. Anyway, she said they got almost totally skunked on their trip to Cocos on Aggressor. No Hammerheads, no Silkys, no dolphins, no mantas. She said they saw a few white tips, one Galapagos shark and some rays and turtles and that was pretty much it. I'm not sure how often that happens, but to my knowledge I don't know anyone who has been skunked in Galapagos. I also have a friend from Australia who was in Galapagos with us last May and he went on to Cocos the following week after we went home. His impression was the diving was similar to Galapagos but less sharks. Since he did them back-to-back I think he had a good reference point. I'm just repeating what I was told -- I'm sure your mileage may vary...

cheers,

JP

Chance plays a big role. We went to Mapelo had good shark action; hammer heads, Galapagos, rays, but no massive schools of silkies. The boat that arrived when we left saw nothing but a few white tips.

In Galapagos first week we saw 6 whale sharks in 4 dives at Wolf, following week, we saw one the other panga Zero.

But when we talked to people (pro photographers with hundreds of dives at both) all felt the best season at both is the "rainy season". Yes viz is down but more animals. Not sure how the rainy season overlaps with the whale shark season in Galapagos but would be a good combo.

Like I said, I have no personal experience with Cocos, but I'm just mentioning my experience in Galapagos because your post makes it sound like there are not good behavior opportunities in Galapagos and that is certainly not the case. I think Charlie D. would probably agree with me

I guess the words "more frequent" was lost in translation. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I just find it happens more often and within reach of the pangas for photogs to get in.

JP's post does bring up a good point. All most any one can offer is anecdotal evidence, be it 1 or 100 visits. The guys who do it day in day out, the dive guides, are probably the best sources of info. But their info isn't with a photog's requirement. Seeing the animals is one thing, being able to photograph them is another.

Malpelo has always been a bit hit or average for me. But when it goes off, it's amazing! I think the Cocos ops have taken Malpelo off their menu (for costs reasons probably) So to hit Malpelo, you'd need to go with the Inula.

I'll also reiterate the awesomeness of the Deep See sub on the Argo. My highlight of the trip.

I guess the words "more frequent" was lost in translation. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I just find it happens more often and within reach of the pangas for photogs to get in.

 

JP's post does bring up a good point. All most any one can offer is anecdotal evidence, be it 1 or 100 visits. The guys who do it day in day out, the dive guides, are probably the best sources of info. But their info isn't with a photog's requirement. Seeing the animals is one thing, being able to photograph them is another.

 

Malpelo has always been a bit hit or average for me. But when it goes off, it's amazing! I think the Cocos ops have taken Malpelo off their menu (for costs reasons probably) So to hit Malpelo, you'd need to go with the Inula.

One thing I'll add to Drew's post is I'm always looking to make lemonade when I get a lemon. If the big animals aren't present, I look for small critter behavior. If the vis sucks, I'm definitely doing either existing light or macro. When we went to Galapagos last May, I knew it wasn't Whale Shark season, my wife saw one, I didn't, those are the breaks. But I was so happy to see the massive schools of Hammers, Silkys and White Tips it didn't really matter. I hope which ever destination the original poster picks, it will be fantastic!

JP

Thanks for all of the info, very helpful!

I think Galapagos will have be the destination for my this time. I am sure that I will make my way back to both of these places numerous times or at least I hope!

Unfortunately, because I am doing a big trip Caribbean-Pacific-Red Sea-Southern Africa I can not afford to do a live aboard trip which would include Darwin and Wolf. After reading all your comments about those 2 places specifically being the places to hit it was a downer but also good to know.

I think I will go regardless to see the diving I can and also the wildlife which is another huge lure for me.

Am I crazy to go there and not dive Darwin and Wolf?

Cheers,

Kelly

gaz gave a really good statement,agree totaly

been to cocos two times and to galapagos six times-don´t need to say more.

maybe just that the water in cocos is slightly warmer and the diving in galapagos

is a little bit more challenging

go for both,you won´t regret it

cheers

claus

Am I crazy to go there and not dive Darwin and Wolf?

If you are into photography, it'd be the equivalent of going to Cambodia and not going to Angkor Wat. It's the best of the area for diving with big fish. I've been a couple of times without diving (just the snorkel topside stuff) but it's painful!

If you want the big stuff, then yes, you are crazy to go there and skip/miss Wolf and Darwin. While there is other stuff, they are the highlights. Drew's analogy is perfect.

Phil

You should not miss Wolf and Darwin, these are the best dive sites in Galapagos!

It's definitely not an either / or situation. One big difference is that Cocos is just one island essentially, whereas Galapagos is a large area with multiple islands, with both diving and on land activities. I agree that Wolf and Darwin are essential if diving is the main attraction - they are the 'Cocos' of the Galapagos.

For a more extensive itinerary Galapagos is hard to beat, but if I had a choice of Galapagos without Wolf and Darwin, or Cocos, I would choose Cocos. Alcyone in Cocos is still the most adrenalin charged dive site I have ever experienced.