Santa Fe

Santa Fe is a dive site located to the southeast of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, reached by boat in approximately 40 to 55 minutes from Puerto Ayora. The site encompasses two main areas known as La Bahia and El Arco, set over a rocky bottom with a maximum depth of around 16 to 17 metres and a cave or cavern feature at 16 metres that adds variety without significantly raising the difficulty.

The terrain is shallow and easy to navigate, with calm, crystal-clear water and light currents throughout, making Santa Fe one of the most straightforward dives in the Galapagos and suitable for beginners holding at least an Open Water certification as well as more experienced divers.

Marine life at Santa Fe is consistently varied: sea lions — including playful juveniles — are a defining feature of the site and regularly interact with divers. Whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, rays, and large schools of fish are consistently present, and corals and sponges also feature across the reef. Schools of salemas are among the fish aggregations noted at the site.