Kicker Rock
Kicker Rock
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Kicker Rock
Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Attractions
1 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,163 reviews
Excellent
900
Very good
179
Average
68
Poor
7
Terrible
9
rollinaround7
Wisconsin193 contributions
Dec 2022
We booked through Blue Evolution, but I think a number of the operators tend to consolidate groups to be more efficient, so the boat was actually a SharkSky boat. Saw lots of sea life, including turtles, many different kinds of fish, and a school of about 15 hammerhead sharks. Did 2 snorkels. The first was supposed to be 25 minutes, but I think our guide lost track of time and we were in the water for about 40 minutes, and while we saw a lot in the first snorkel, we didn't see sharks, other than one baby shark. With spring wetsuits, it was comfortable for about the first 30 minutes, but almost everyone was shivering at the end. Got out and warmed up a little with some tea, then went back in for 10 minutes and was excited to see a school of about 15 hammerhead sharks below us
Written 22 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DublinTraveler
Chicago, IL289 contributions
Jul 2024 • Friends
You'll need to hire a boat company to take you to Kicker Rock. There are several companies that offer Kicker Rock as part of an excursion for the day, so visit a few companies to compare prices because they all charge differently. Cheaper does not mean better however, so do your homework!
Written 17 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter R
Dartford, UK1,382 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
On our boat trip we stopped at Kicker rock, it gets its name from the fact from one direction it looks like a huge boot. The boat first motored around the rock pointing out sea and bird life on the rock and the lions head rock. For those that wanted to the guide did a supervised snorkel around the rock, we opted to stay on the boat but still managed to see lots of birds and some sea life. The water was very cold so the snorkelling only lasted 45 minutes.
Written 31 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nashvillecleanfreak
Manila, Philippines111 contributions
Jul 2021
We took a snorkeling trip one day and saw delightful things. The next we scuba-dived - with many sharks, a school of barracuda, 20 huge tortoises. The wall was colorful - but you don't see that if you're only snorkeling. The current was robust, but as a diver with just 26 dives under my belt, I was quite comfortable. Also, we wore 2 wetsuits each and several in our group wore hoods. Wreck Divers was our company and they were AWESOME!
Written 27 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jmaple
Ottawa50 contributions
Feb 2020
If you want to see marine life and like to snorkel or scuba dive this place will spoil you. My wife and I joined a group of fellow snorkelers and some divers for a 2 stop tour to kicker rock. Waves were a bit higher than normal so we weren't able to swim through the channel between the 2 sections of rock, which we thought would be a disappointment but turned out to be irrelevant. We were told that if we were lucky we might see some hammerhead sharks, which frequent the area. I guess we were extremely lucky. On our first swim we saw thousand, perhaps tens of thousands of different types of fish, as well as numerous turtles and various other forms of marine life. We returned to the boat after about 45 minutes and the divers told us they'd seen dozens of sharks within 2 meters. They were unanimous in stating it was their best dive ever. We had a quick bite to eat and headed to the second swim location. On the way we ran into a large pod of dolphins so the boat stopped and we all got in the water. Hundreds of dolphins were playing all around us, accompanied by dozens of sharks. Thrilling to say the least. We finally returned to the boat and headed to the second location. On the second swim we saw more fish, marine life and turtles, as well as black tipped, white tipped, Galapagos and hammerhead sharks.
This was our first full day in the Galapagos and I was totally blown away.
This was our first full day in the Galapagos and I was totally blown away.
Written 31 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gabi Gómez
Cuenca, Ecuador310 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
If you’re in San Cristobal this is a must! Amount of wildlife is amazing, we saw sharks, sea lions, nazca boobies, hundreds and hundreds of fish, ray, everything!
Name of the boat was “7 mares” it’s an upgraded service, very comfortable, good food and great captain. With this boat you can do diving or snorkeling, group will be divided with 2 guides
Boat ride was smooth since it’s a catamaran.
It was raining part of the time but didn’t affect the itinerary or activities
They also have snacks (fruits and bread) and drinks on board
Would do it again!
Name of the boat was “7 mares” it’s an upgraded service, very comfortable, good food and great captain. With this boat you can do diving or snorkeling, group will be divided with 2 guides
Boat ride was smooth since it’s a catamaran.
It was raining part of the time but didn’t affect the itinerary or activities
They also have snacks (fruits and bread) and drinks on board
Would do it again!
Written 2 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Geerlings
Houten, The Netherlands997 contributions
Jan 2020
I was in San Christobal on the 2nd of January and had trouble finding a company to dive at Kicker Rock. I ended up with Chalo Tours. Fortunatly I only needed tanks and weights.
We went on a boat with 3 divers and 9 snorkelers. I had to be at the dive shop at 7:30 but the boat did not leave until 9:00. Arriving at the dive site we had a very short briefing and no attention to safety, no buddy checks, no signal checks, no agreement on at which pressure we surface. The captain of the boat with his hands on the valve of my tank, without asking. When I told him to aks before touching somebody's equipment, he said he is an instructor and always turns the valve. I told him it is my life and my equipment and he was offended.
Tanks were not full (180 bar / 2600 psi) and as we were on the boat, there was no alternative. During the dive, the divemaster was only busy with himself. He paid no attention to the group and was blocking the view to the sharks. On the second dive we did not even see sharks.
I am a diving instructor myself and I have never seen an outfit with so little attention to safety and the group they dive with. I did not have an alternative, but if you can dive elsewhere, I would advice you do so,
We went on a boat with 3 divers and 9 snorkelers. I had to be at the dive shop at 7:30 but the boat did not leave until 9:00. Arriving at the dive site we had a very short briefing and no attention to safety, no buddy checks, no signal checks, no agreement on at which pressure we surface. The captain of the boat with his hands on the valve of my tank, without asking. When I told him to aks before touching somebody's equipment, he said he is an instructor and always turns the valve. I told him it is my life and my equipment and he was offended.
Tanks were not full (180 bar / 2600 psi) and as we were on the boat, there was no alternative. During the dive, the divemaster was only busy with himself. He paid no attention to the group and was blocking the view to the sharks. On the second dive we did not even see sharks.
I am a diving instructor myself and I have never seen an outfit with so little attention to safety and the group they dive with. I did not have an alternative, but if you can dive elsewhere, I would advice you do so,
Written 8 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jeff031
Sydney, Australia61 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
We had a fantastic snorkeling trip to Kicker Rock on the Cindy Sol. The Cindy Sol is extremely comfortable and the vegetarian lunch was fantastic. The guide snorkelled with us, and led the group of six passengers. [they take a max of 12 on the boat]. I had contemplated going on a dive boat (as a snorkeler) but withdrew after I found out that only the divers would be watched. You are in open seas, and even though I’m a strong swimmer, I appreciated being monitored. We snorkelled for just over an hour at Kicker Rick, and then visited a beach at a National Park for a guided walk through mangroves, followed by a great hour of snorkeling. The lunch catered for vegans and tuna eaters. The boat was far more comfortable than the typical diving boat that we saw. Visibility was not that great at Kicker Rock (15-20 foot) but we nevertheless had a great day, despite not seeing hammer heads. The captain and operator of the boat was Robert Ramirez and can be contacted on galeducationsa@hotmail.com. See also Galapagoslocal.com. Cost was $120 per person, which is standard.
Written 5 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gege B
Florida435 contributions
Feb 2023 • Family
We spent a wonderful morning going there (45 min) snorkeled for a solid hour and saw everything! Many hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, sea turtles, various rays and fishes. Blue footed boobies all around us on the rock and we also were lucky to see many dolphins who started swimming and jumping around the boat. We spent an hour on a beach with sea lions and iguanas before heading back. It was a 6 hour tour with 12 on board and two people went diving. Great experience!
Written 3 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HPC, The Wanderer
Seattle, WA35 contributions
Dec 2021
Our yacht Theory cruised around the rock formation to see the
beautiful sea birds and enjoy sunset. Kicker Rock is very photogenic, especially during sunset. It is iconic. I also know people can join guided dive around the rock, but we didn't see any divers. Definitely worth a visit.
beautiful sea birds and enjoy sunset. Kicker Rock is very photogenic, especially during sunset. It is iconic. I also know people can join guided dive around the rock, but we didn't see any divers. Definitely worth a visit.
Written 5 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you're with a small group and half want to dive but half want to snorkel, is there an outfit that will take you out there together and accommodate both?
Written 14 February 2020
Yes, same boat took us to there, half snorkle, half dive, very common arrangement.
Written 15 February 2020
What is the water temperature late Oct early Nov?
Appreciate any information
Written 24 August 2019
Hi the temperature doesn't change much throughout the year. snorkelling you will need a shorty but if diving then a full semi dry suit would be needed
Written 10 September 2019
Is it possible to take the 7:00 am ferry from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal and take an afternoon snorkeling trip to kicker rock or do you have to be on San Cristobal that day?
Thanks!
Written 11 August 2019
The full day tours would be out as noted above, you circumnavigate the entire island and Kicker Rock is Last. But you could charter a boat or get lucky and find a specific tour just to that site utilizing the ferry service noted. It was definitely worthy!
Written 12 August 2019
Hi and thanks in advance. My grandsons are scheduled to dive with CIndy Sol. I can not find any information about the company. What I see all relates to snorkeling. Does anyone have any information about diving with this outfit?
Written 25 May 2019
We dived and snorkelled with them in early April. I think it is just the boat that is called Cindy Sol - but we made our booking with the dive shop (don’t know name) which is on the malecon in San Cristobal - it is a white building and the only building on the water side of the malecon, just by a small sandy beach, where all the boats are moored. They supplied all the equipment, tanks etc. We booked the night before at the shop and they took everything to the boat so that by the time we arrived the following morning we just needed to get aboard and off they went. It’s possible that the boat/captain works with different operators - but we would recommend it - it’s a really comfortable catamaran and the crew on board were great - as I think I said before, the dive leader was called Carlos Játiva.
Written 25 May 2019
Who did you book your tour with? And how much do they charge? Thank you
Written 2 May 2019
I booked a trip with Darwin Scuba Dive by just walking in and setting it up for the next day. I booked the 360 tour which included 3 snorkeling stops (kicker rock was one of them and the longest) and included lunch. It was $140 and well worth the money.
Written 3 May 2019
Hi, my wife and I wil be spending a few weeks in the Galapagos we plan doing lots of snorkeling. We heard in can get pretty cold in the water. We dont want to rent wet suites the whole time. Does anyone have experience with alternatives like thermal underware? thanks
Written 8 February 2019
Good afternoon
My daughter and I love to snorkel and did it several times while there
First, The water really is not that cold.
Second, most boats have wet suit available that are included in the fare for the trip. Just ask in advance to ensure they do. So you really don’t have to rent a wet suit for the entire time. Just ask ahead and pick the appropriate boat
Hope that helps
Ron
Written 8 February 2019
Can anyone recommend a tour group? We have one day to do it and want to make sure we get to go.
Thanks
Written 14 January 2019
I’m not sure if I’m on time. But take the 360 tour! You go for snorkel in beautiful places! This was the best day! Simply amazing! You spend the whole day from 7am to 4/5pm. Definitely worth it!
Written 31 January 2019
Does anyone know of any day tours that have both snorkelers and divers? I'm a diver, but my friend is a snorkeler and we'd like to do a tour together.
Written 13 November 2018
Hola Julieta! Quería consultarte, ya que vamos a estar hospedandonos en Santa Cruz, se puede ir a Leon Dormido desde aqui y volver el mismo dia a Santa Cruz?, como para no tener que ir dos dias a San Cristobal? Te voy a agradecer cualquier info que me puedas suministrar.
Muchas gracias!!
Written 21 October 2018
Para que puedas hacer (y te valga la pena) hacer la excursión al León Dormido, debes pernoctar en San Cristóbal, al menos un día.
Written 23 October 2018
…
Showing results 1-10 of 44
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing