What to pack: the gear list for cold-season Galápagos diving

Not a generic checklist — the specific kit Jenny Green tells guests to bring, and why gloves are on it.

2026-09-22 · education

Diving gear to bring:

A 5mm to 7mm wetsuit, for the cooler waters of this season. Dive booties, and wet socks to wear under them. Dive gloves — "important for holding on to sharp rocks," which is exactly the current-hanging technique used at Darwin and Wolf. A dive hood, especially if you get cold. Your own high-quality mask that fits you comfortably. A snorkel, which is required to have while diving. Well-fitting fins. Your BCD, regulator and dive computer.

One point of honesty about the gloves and hood: our Tips page describes them as "strongly recommended," and the National Park restricts gloves generally, yet we advise them specifically because of the rock-holding technique at the northern sites. That tension is real and we are reconciling the exact current guidance — check with us before you travel rather than assuming.

Source: Galápagos Shark Diving's own packing guidance, as published by Jenny Green.