BootsnAll Travel Community

We'll be visiting the Galapagos in early August and are considering taking wetsuits for swimming/snorkeling.

Does anyone have experience renting a wetsuit in Quito?

Just did a quick search and August is one of the cooler months for water temperature there so one is recommended for any length of time in the water. If you are going to be staying on a ship most of them have them available. I'm not doing my trip until November so can't help you out on what is actually available in Quito or on the islands just yet.

You can rent a wet suit in Puerto Ayora before your boat leaves, but check with them before to make sure they give you the time to do so. I *think* the cost is around $5-10 a day.

One of the reasons the islands are so interesting biologically is that they are bathed in a cold, nutrient rich current. They may be on the Equator but it's not like Hawaii. So plan on a wetsuit. Uh, if you are in anyway on the large size-in any dimension, be aware finding your size may be very difficult. My 6'2" friend was lucky in taking his suit with him. Of course, he had a bitch of a time sleeping on the boats in the short bunks.

I was just in the Galapagos in December and, as mentioned above, rented a wet suit in Puerto Ayora (on Santa Cruz) for $6 a day. They also had masks and flippers available. I went with a college class,and we snorkeled off North Seymour, Bacchus, Bartolome and South Plazas. Those of us that had wet suits were more comfortable than our chilly friends, and even our 6'8'' mate managed to find a workable "snorkel shirt" for warmth

I loved every day my friends and I spent there--I'm sure you're going to love it!! For the record, the water off South Plazas was really choppy...I'm not the best swimmer and ended up getting crashed on a few rocks that day! The other islands offered much more peaceful opportunites to see fish and wildlife