Dive Site: Guy Fawkes Islands

About Guy Fawkes Islands

The Guy Fawkes Islands are a pair of small islands located close to Santa Cruz, offering a more accessible dive experience compared to the remote northern sites. These islets are a popular spot for both diving and snorkeling, featuring unique underwater topography with steep walls, volcanic caves, and a rich, rocky reef system. The environment here is dynamic, influenced by the convergence of major ocean currents that bring abundant nutrients, sustaining a diverse marine ecosystem. Divers can anticipate encountering various shark species, rays, turtles, and playful sea lions. While currents can be present, they are often manageable, making Guy Fawkes a suitable location for a broader range of diver skill levels. Marine life thrives due to the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters mixing with warmer currents. This creates a vibrant habitat where large pelagics are regularly sighted alongside reef dwellers. The volcanic origins of the islands are evident in the dramatic underwater landscape, providing interesting swim-throughs and hidden crevices for exploration. Visibility can vary, but generally offers good viewing of the bustling marine scene. Guy Fawkes is typically visited as a day trip from Santa Cruz, making it a convenient option for those not on a liveaboard. The dive profiles often involve exploring the walls and caves, with opportunities to observe cleaning stations and schooling fish. The dive experience here balances exciting marine encounters with relatively predictable conditions, ensuring an engaging dive for most.

Dive site facts: Guy Fawkes Islands

Depth

5–30 m

Typical dive

15–25 m, 50–60 min

Current

Moderate to strong

Visibility

10–25 m

Water temperature

18–27°C

Entry

Tender / negative entry

Level

Advanced Open Water recommended

Dive type

Wall, drift, pelagic encounters

Night dive

Possible, but rare on itineraries

Region / port

Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos

Coordinates

-0.515, -90.435

Conditions & Currents

Currents at Guy Fawkes Islands are dynamic and can range from mild to strong, typical of many Galápagos dive sites. These currents are influenced by the confluence of the Humboldt and Panama Flow currents, creating a nutrient-rich environment but also requiring divers to be proficient in drift diving techniques. Divers should anticipate potential downcurrents, especially around pinnacles and seamounts, necessitating excellent buoyancy control. Visibility can vary, often improving during the warmer season, but local upwellings can cause sudden thermoclines and reduce clarity. Entry into the water is typically a negative entry from a tender, ensuring all divers descend quickly together to avoid being separated by surface currents. Always maintain close contact with your buddy and monitor your dive computer carefully due to the varying depths and current conditions.

Marine life & sighting chances

Scalloped hammerhead shark

Warm season (Dec-May) · common

Galápagos shark

common

White-tip reef shark

common

Green sea turtle

common

Manta ray

occasional

Eagle ray

common

Barracuda

common

Moray eel

common

Galápagos sea lion

common

Marine iguana

occasional

Whale shark

Cool season (Jun-Dec) · rare

Dive profile & how the dive runs

Your dive at Guy Fawkes Islands typically begins with a negative entry from a panga, ensuring a swift descent to avoid strong surface currents. The usual route involves exploring the rocky wall and slopes that drop away from the islets. You'll drift along these volcanic formations, keeping an eye out for crevices and overhangs where white-tip reef sharks and moray eels often reside. Depths can range from 15 to 25 meters, with a maximum recommended depth of 30 meters to maximize bottom time. The turn point is determined by current strength and air consumption, often after observing schooling fish and pelagics in the blue. The safety stop is usually conducted as a controlled drift in the shallower, calmer waters near the end of the dive, before ascending to meet the tender for pickup.

Underwater photography

Guy Fawkes Islands offers excellent opportunities for both wide-angle and macro photography, though wide-angle is often preferred for capturing schooling hammerheads, Galápagos sharks, and large pelagics. A wide-angle lens with external strobes is recommended to illuminate subjects in the often dimmer deep blue and to bring out colors. For macro enthusiasts, patience will be rewarded with endemic gobies, blennies, and nudibranchs nestled within the rocky topography. Due to potentially strong currents, maintaining good buoyancy is critical to avoid disturbing marine life and to keep your camera steady. Be mindful of ethical diving practices, such as not chasing or disturbing animals for a shot, particularly the marine iguanas found foraging underwater.

Combine with nearby dive sites

• Gordon Rocks

  Famous for schooling hammerheads and strong currents

• North Seymour

  Known for white-tip reef sharks and land excursions

• Punta Carrión

  Calmer site with sea lions and garden eels

• Daphne Minor

  Good for observing smaller reef fish and sometimes pelagics

Getting there & logistics

Access to Guy Fawkes Islands primarily occurs via liveaboard dive cruises departing from Baltra Island (Seymour Airport, GPS code: GPS). Divers typically fly into Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) in Ecuador, then take a connecting flight to Baltra. Most liveaboard trips are 7 to 10 days, incorporating Guy Fawkes into an itinerary that covers other central and northern Galápagos dive sites. All visitors to the Galápagos must pay a national park entrance fee upon arrival. Combining a liveaboard dive trip with a land-based tour is a popular option to experience both the underwater and terrestrial wonders of the archipelago.

Safety & environment

Diving in the Galápagos, including Guy Fawkes Islands, demands a high level of preparedness due to strong currents and varying conditions. A recompression chamber is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, but evacuation can be time-consuming and expensive. Comprehensive dive accident insurance, such as DAN, is mandatory. Divers should be physically fit, proficient in drift diving, and comfortable with negative entries. Always follow dive briefings meticulously, stay close to your dive guide, and maintain communication with your buddy. Be aware of thermoclines and sudden drops in temperature, and ensure your thermal protection is adequate. Do not touch marine life or venture into restricted areas.

Who it suits — and who it doesn't

FAQ

Guy Fawkes Islands FAQ

Liveaboards diving Guy Fawkes Islands

These liveaboards may visit Guy Fawkes Islands on selected itineraries — the exact dive sites depend on departure, weather and conditions.

Galapagos Aggressor III

Galápagos

16 guests30.5 m

$913/day

Galapagos Sky

Galápagos

16 guests

$937/day

Galapagos Master

Galápagos

16 guests

$669/day

Humboldt Explorer

Galápagos

16 guests

$612/day

Tiburon Explorer

Galápagos

16 guests

$924/day

Calipso

Galápagos

16 guests

$819/day