Get Ready to experience the Eastern Pacific's Best Kept Secret

The remote island of Malpelo is widely considered one of the most sought-after big-animal diving destinations on earth and the Crown Jewel of the eastern Pacific's Big 4 (Galápagos, Socorro, Cocos, and Malpelo). This untouched, remote marine sanctuary and UNESCO World Heritage Site is packed with exciting encounters. From schooling hammerheads, to massive aggregations of silky sharks, manta rays, whale sharks, gigantic schools of fish, eagle rays, galapagos sharks, and the list goes on and on. But what makes it even more special is that only one liveaboard is allowed to dive the island at a time — so you essentially have the entire island and all its sharky goodness to yourself for the week!

Join us for this very special liveaboard expedition to explore the magical waters of Malpelo.

The Vivax is not your typical liveaboard. She is a 32-meter (105-foot) expedition-class vessel built to handle the Pacific Ocean for only 12 guests. This former ice-class Swedish Navy Ship (mine layer) is possibly the most robust liveaboard on the water. She has an 11 mm steel hull and has been put to the test on 7000 nautical-mile voyages from Sweden to Colombia. The ship has been completely overhauled for remote diving expeditions to Malpelo and is one of the ONLY 2 ships currently permitted by the Colombian National Parks to take guests to dive Malpelo. The other ship is her sister ship, the Ferox.

The cabins aboard these ships are also quite different from those on standard liveaboards. For starters, all cabins are PRIVATE with an ensuite bathroom and individually controlled air conditioning. With the exception of the 2 Queen Couples rooms, all other rooms are for 1 person only, giving you your own private room for the trip with a private ensuite bathroom. They are also steel constructed, offering a variety of safety features not found on other liveaboards.

The ships are powered by twin Scania engines, which are reliable and environmentally friendly due to their low fuel consumption. Two generators ensure there is plenty of power aboard. The ships are also one of only a few liveaboards in the world with their own wastewater treatment plants (MSDs). The MSDs installed reflect their commitment to minimizing impact on the marine environment.

Please keep in mind that these ships are not luxury liveaboards, but ex-Navy ships converted into expedition vessels to handle remote diving adventures in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. So while they may not have some of the lux bells and whistles you may be accustomed to on fancier ships, they are instead built to prioritize safety and to operate in long-range, remote areas like Malpelo.

Due to the remoteness of the island and the diving conditions in Malpelo, the National Park all requires that all divers have:

• Minimum 50 logged dives with at least 35 in the ocean

• Minimum PADI Advanced Open Water certification (or the equivalent certification from a different agency such as SSI, NAUI, CMAS, RAID, SDI, etc.)

• Enriched Air Nitrox certification (We can also set you up to take your Nitrox course during the trip, just give us a shout!)

To make things easier, our trip to Malpelo starts and ends in Cali, Colombia (Airport code CLO). The ship has arranged transfers for us from the Hotel Intercontinental Cali to Buenaventura on the Pacific coast to board the liveaboard. Then, when we disembark the ship, they will take us back to the Hotel Intercontinental in Cali. Due to this, we recommend arriving in Cali the day before the trip starts (June 8, 2027), as we will take the transfer to the ship early on the first day of the trip (June 9, 2027).

Cali is connected internationally with Miami (American Airlines & AVIANCA), New York JFK, Madrid (both AVIANCA) and Panama-Tocumen (Copa Airlines). There are also direct flights to Cali from Quito, Guayaquil and Lima. It is also possible to fly to Cali via Bogota, which is connected to various cities in North America (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York JFK, Orlando, Toronto, Washington) and Europe (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris).