Ecuador scuba diving tours dive in rich equatorial waters

Sample itinerary scuba diving tour

Ecuador has a rich marine life off its Pacific coast. Scuba diving trips from mainland Ecuador are enriching experiences and allow access to some interesting dive spots and also are a great preparation for your diving trip to the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador Boutique Travel operates with a PADI Resort in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador´s biggest city.

We offer a wide variety of PADI courses that begin at entry level as the PADI Scuba Diver course and finish in professional level courses as Assistant Instructor. Our instructors promote continue education and that is why we also offer PADI Specialty courses. We are well known in Ecuador for our high education standards and is common that dive operators send their employees to train with us.

Most of the courses are taught at night, beginning at 7:00 PM but we can arrange a schedule according to the student needs.

Our tours for certified students take place during weekends departing from Salinas, which is Ecuador´s most popular beach. Salinas is located just 75 miles away from Guayaquil. La Puntilla just 45 minutes from Salinas is a great dive spot and we have easy access to Ayangue and Machalilla National Park where we offer some great diving as well. We also organize custom dive trips in several areas of Ecuador´s coast and in the Galapagos Islands.

Marine fauna found off the coast of Ecuador at several dive spots includes: schools of large Almaco jack, Yellowtail grunts, Blue stripped snappers, Dolphins, angel fish, surgeon fish, butterfly fish, flag fish, trigger fish, soldier fish, panamic grysby, panamic Sargeant major, Brown Chromis, Scorpion fish, Flouders, Porcupine fish, Yellow-tailed goatfish,  reef cornet fish, Parrot fisth, Creole fish, Large Banded Blenny, Frog fish, Hawk fish and many reef fish like Moray eels, white tipped reef sharks, Mantas and Rays - to name a few. At the Isla de la Plata Island you can also find the famous spondylous oyster used in Inca times as currency. June through September it is possible to skin dive with Humpback whales.

High season is between December and May when you can enjoy sunny days, warm water and a remarkable night life. Low season is the rest of the year when our passengers can additionally enjoy the breathtaking experience of Whale Watching between July and September during our surface intervals. An experience not to be missed!

Below is a sample itinerary for diving near Machalilla National Park during the whale whatching season (June - September).

Day 1 - Quito or Guayaquil

One of Ecuador Boutique Travel representatives will be expecting you upon your arrival at Quito or Guayaquil International Airport, from where we will pick you up in our private vehicles and drive you to your boutique hotel.

Day 2 - Manta / Portoviejo - Machalilla National Park

Breakfast at the Hotel will consist of an exciting variety of fresh exotic fruit, fruit juices, fresh filtered coffe, english tea, ecuadorian aromatic tea, freshly baked bread, eggs and charcuteries to your taste, pastries and savouries. A mouthwatering day start before a full day in Ecuador. Very early on the morning our vehicles will take us to the Airport, from where we will fly to Portoviejo or Manta. Our vehicles will take us to a great eco-lodge in the Pacific Coast. In the afternoon we will have a briefing regarding diving in the zone open waters and also information about the whales in the area. After that we will go to Puerto Lopez a charming, Fisherman village about ten minutes from our lodge, from there we will sail by the Pacific Coast, where we will have our first dive to get comfortable with the zone and perform the check dive.

Day 3 - Machalilla National Park

Breakfast at the eco lodge. Our vehicles will take us to Puerto Lopez, from where we will go for our 2nd and 3rd dives. Three four course meal on board of our yacht. In the afternoon our 4th dive (3rd dive of the day). During all the day we will also try to identify where the whales are, and watch them from the boat.

Day 4 - Machalilla National Park

Breakfast at our eco lodge. Vehicles will take us to Puerto Lopez, from where we will go for our first skin diving with whales. (IMPORTANT: our trip will be guided by a marine biologist and by a naturalist guide member of the Machalilla National Park. They will decide if we can attempt to skin dive with the whales, it depends on several conditions. Our objective is to admire these beautiful mammals and under no circumstance we will perform any activity that can disturb them). Four course meal on board. In the afternoon we will attempt our 2nd skin dive under the same conditions of the first one. (If we are not able to skin dive with whales we will scuba dive in another area).

Day 5 - Machalilla National Park - Quito or Guayaquil

Breakfast at Eco lodge. We will spend the morning doing some soft activities in the National Park, such as visiting an organic farm Cantalapiedra that supplies the lodge with first quality vegetables, trekking in order to get our bodies ready before flying back to Quito or Guayaquil. We will enjoy a delicious picnic in the area and back in our lodge we be greeted with a special farewell evening.

Late afternoon our vehicles will take us to Portoviejo or Manta, where we will get our flight to Quito or Guayaquil. Overnight at a Boutique hotel.

Day 6 - Quito or Guayaquil - ?

Our vehicles will take you to the Airport for your flight home or join a trip extension into the Kumanii Choco rainforest lodge or enjoy a Galapagos diving liveaboard cruise or Amazon riverboat adventure

Trip Notes

The above is a sample itinerary prepared for a scuba diving trip. It can be customized to fit the needs and special interests of your travellers.