Course overview

Take your first breaths underwater with the SSI Try Scuba experience out of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. Guided one-on-one by an SSI professional, you learn the essentials and make a shallow dive in a calm, sheltered Galapagos bay where sea lions and turtles often appear. It's the simplest introduction to diving in one of the world's great marine reserves.

What you’ll learn

• Breathe naturally underwater on scuba equipment
• Use a mask, fins, regulator and BCD with support
• Equalise and descend slowly in shallow water
• Clear water from your mask and recover your regulator
• Move and signal underwater with your guide

Prerequisites

• No prior experience or certification required
• No swimming certification required, but water confidence helps
• Minimum age 10
• Reasonable health; a short medical questionnaire is completed first

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   First breaths underwater

   Briefing and shallow-water skill practice, then a guided dive in a sheltered Santa Cruz bay where sea lions and turtles are often nearby.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Galapagos.

Frequently asked questions