Oh my goodness the Galapagos, where do I start. It’s not a wonder of the world; but it should be. If you want to become one with nature, firsthand and up close, this is for you. I have never been so emersed with wildlife before. Swimming with sea lions, walking alongside blue footed boobies and eye level with flying pelicans. Have you ever seen a pelican fly? It’s like a dinosaur. I finally understand this whole evolution thing.
Let’s start with basics of the different type of tours and trips you can do. The first and most popular is a Cruise. There are loads of different cruise lines which operate all different styles of cruise and different routes around the Galapagos and for different durations of time. The beauty of cruising? You never see another ship! It’s as though the islands are total at you mercy and no one else is around. Before the cruise ships are about to finalise their routes they must speak to the Government of the Galapagos first so they can make sure there is only one ship in one part at a time. They are the ones who then design the timetable and the routes for the ships to take. This is done two weeks before any departure date of the cruise. It takes a lot of organization on their part so they must run a tight ship! The crew on each of the boats act as the park rangers so if any pirates come along each area is well covered. It is a UNESCO world heritage site so they must take the proper care to keep it amazing.
Flights from Guayaquil are the way to go or from Quito but they will always transit via Guayaquil anyway so factor that into the holiday as well. I’m not going to discuss Ecuador mainland in this blog. I will cover that area soon as there is so much to see.
But what if I don’t want to do a Cruise? That is fine The flights from Guayaquil take you onto Baltra Island (GPS). From there you can make onward journeys either via road (further onto Santa Cruz) or via boat to the desired islands you are wanting to go to (Isabela or Cristobel). There is many different accommodation options on the islands such as hostels for low budget travelers or if you are wanting to have a bit more of a luxurious stay they have a range of 3 – 5* hotels.
Below I have a map for you which may make things a little clearer regarding how close the different islands are and where you would fly into. (Circled in red, GPS)
Below are also the difference between Hostels and Hotels depending on your travel style and which would best would suit you. As you can see there is plenty of choice for everyone.
There are only four islands which have accommodation on. This is because the other smaller islands don’t have any roads or access to them unless via boat. You can either take a day trip organized locally to one of these islands or for those people who read cruise above and thought straight away OH YEAH! Let me give you the low down.
Now I have to say from the of set I didn’t like the idea of a Cruise, when I think of a Cruise I think of one of those big huge tacky boats with loads of entertainment, crowds of people, buffet restaurants and evening adult entertainment; which is usually some random man hired to make dad jokes all evening and as long as he gets Karen in the back laughing he gets paid. What if you get on the ship and your stuck with people you don’t like? Well I have since been told to change this view of cruising as apparently all human beings have this view until you go on one. So, I have since struck this view and how until I do go on a large ship like that I will keep my opinions to myself.
Galapagos cruises are nowhere near the size of the one I have just described to start off with, we were on one of the biggest ships that take a route and it held 100 people, that’s it. Not a thousand that wasn’t a typo missing a 0, that was one hundred people. So instantly I was pleasantly surprised, myself and my travelling companion (age 23 and 31 at the time) where the youngest on the ship but everyone felt the same as a young traveler that you would meet in Asia. Everyone was up for a laugh and wanted to get to know you so you would end up chatting to them. Lovely people! You will be surprised; yes there were some very pompous people, remember my last blog re the travel snobs? Well they appear everywhere you can’t get away from them I’m afraid and this time you are on a ship. Five ghts is enough to fit everything in on a Galapagos cruise Monday to Friday so it’s actually not a huge amount of time. If they are on the top deck, then go into the break room, or into the living room cabin, or out on the back deck. They are easy enough to avoid if you know what you are doing and have good bearings of the ship.
But we aren’t even here about the people, what will you experience on this Galapagos cruise? Total tranquility. You and nature. You and wildlife. Literally a few feet away. No cages. No bars. Untouched. Unafraid of humans. Wildlife at it’s prime. Just enjoying their everyday lives while the brilliant guides take you by dingy in groups onto the islands where you will walk on the only one path surrounding them to get the best views and interactions with the wildlife as possible.
Just think all things photography. If you have a huge flashy camera take it! An iPhone or Android? Take it! There is so much to see, so many different animals and bird life to experience. I would even go as far as describing it as magical. Snorkeling with the sea lions, penguins, sharks, mantra rays and turtles has got to be the highlight. It was just the most surreal moment that I will never forget. If you don’t have an underwater camera it will be worth buying one. Or not if you just want to capture the moments in your mind rather than through the lens. Wherever they are they will last a lifetime.
Excited? Take a look at the Cruise ship we went on Santa Cruz II https://www.santacruzgalapagoscruise.com/ . There is a huge list of activities that they cover depending on how mobile you are. The style of on board is featured as well, for example the live lectures or the food. The FOOD! The food as amazing, a buffet yes but fresh, all fresh fish and they made it different EVERY SINGLE meal, I genuinely don’t know how they did it but it was incredible. Can you tell I’m a foodie myself? They will cater for everyone as well no matter the dietary requirement or the allergy, or whether you are just a big piggie like me. The staff were so friendly and the guides were fascinating. Each guide has to go through seven years of training before coming certified so yes they know what they’re talking about! The amount of information they manage to store inside their brains is mind boggling. They speak with such passion because they just love what they are talking about, they love their job and they love the Galapagos.
I could not recommend the Islands enough it is by far the best place I have ever been, I get so excited when talking about it and love to get other people excited about it to.
If you have any further questions head over to my contact me page to ask them.
LEAH HANCOX 