Galapagos: How Find The Right Galapagos Cruise?
Author: Peter Lauffer
When is the best season to travel to Galapagos Islands?
The Galapagos have the spectacular flora and fauna all rear round.
My preference are the month February and March because of the warm water
temperature. During these 2 months the Galapagos are under the influence
of the warm "El Nino Stream" and the sea can reach up to 86 F
(24 Celsius).
February and March are also the rainiest and warmest months and the Air
temperature can reach over 86 - 88 F (30 Celsius).
In contrast, during the month of August and September the water of the sea
is only about 66 - 68 F (18 - 19 Celsius) and the Air 74 - 77 F (24 Celsius).
During this period you have little rainfall and the vegetation on the islands
is very dry and on some islands desert like. During this period the sea
can be rough
What kind of tour is the best to explore the Galapagos Islands?
The best option to explore the Galapagos Islands is with a cruise where
you sleep on the yacht.
There are the following kinds of cruises available in Galapagos:
- Naturalist Cruises:
On this cruise you do guided land visits on foot. Depending on the island,
you have time at a beach to swim and snorkel with sea lions and observe
the marine life. You visit in the morning a spot, have lunch on the yacht
when navigating to the next spot, and visit another spot in the afternoon.
- Active Cruises:
As Naturalist Cruises but you have the possibility to Scuba Dive. Depending
on the cruise you can do up to about 4 immersions on a 8 Day cruise.
The responsible yacht operators use specialized diving operator that takes
you to special diving spots during the cruise. That means that you will
miss the land visits during your "Diving Days".
Be aware that the diving spots are often not where land visits spots are
and if the yacht offers you an immersion at the place where the boat is
located for the land visit, you will often not see much more as when snorkeling.
- Diving Cruises:
These cruises are for the experienced diver only. To participate you should
have at least 50 logged open water dives during the last calendar year.
Make sure that the cruises includes Darwin and Wolf Islands. This kind of
cruise is whiteout any interest for a non - Diving guest because you do
only a very few land visits.
How long should I stay in Galapagos Islands?
The larger 90+ passenger vessels offer 4, 5 and 8 Day Cruises. All these
yachts are fast, and even during a 4 Day cruise you will comfortably see
a lot of the Galapagos Islands.
If you travel on a smaller yacht, - 20 Passengers, I recommend that you
do at least a 5 Day cruise, but better an 8 Day cruise.
A general recommendation is that you do better a good 5 Day cruise than
an mediocre 8 Day cruise.
With what kind of yacht should I cruise:
Large vessels up to 100 Passengers:
The Galapagos National Park authorities don't allow vessels with more than
100 Passengers onboard. Most large Galapagos vessels are larger than for
100 Passengers, that means they are never sold out until the last cabin.
All these large vessels are very good organized when visiting the islands.
You don't really feel the large numbers of travelers visiting the same island
at the same time. On all the yachts you have never more than 16 travelers
for a naturalist guide.
Motor yachts for up to 20 Passengers
A motor yacht is a great option to explore the Galapagos Islands. You travel
with an intimate group and make easy new friends onboard.
You travel overnight from island to island and especially lower deck cabins
will have motor noise overnight. During the day you might hear the Electric
Generator.
Make sure that you travel in an upper deck cabin. Unfortunately not all
the yachts have cabin assignment in advance or if they have, the upper deck
cabins are more expensive.
Depending on the yacht, there are cabins with upper / lower berths or two
lower berths. Especially lower deck cabins on Motor Yachts tend to have
upper / lower berths.
Sailing Yacht for up to 16 Passengers
That's without any doubt the most authentic Galapagos Experience. Accommodation
is in often in cabins with upper / lower berths on the lower deck. Engine
and Generator noise you will have as in most Motor Yachts.
The sails will be used only during the day if the wind conditions permit.
Most sailing yachts in Galapagos have a beautiful interior, but to move
around is not that easy as onboard a motor yacht. Often you have to go up
a ladder instead of a stair and larger guests have sometimes to draw their
head when moving around the yacht.
Is it a good idea to bring children to Galapagos?
Most quality yachts have an age restriction of 7 - 10 years for children.
On all the yachts you have to sign a "Weaver of Liability" if
you child is less than 12 years old.
Think twice to bring children less than 10 years to Galapagos if you like
to enjoy the trip yourself too.
Consider that the sea can be rough at any time and the journey by zodiac
from the yacht to the island that you visit can be wet for the guests and
difficult for children.
Most yachts don't offer an interesting children discount, and on most cruises
is nobody on-board to look specially for your children.
The exception are special "Family Cruises" who leave usually during
the US School Holidays and are offered on some medium sized deluxe class
motor Yachts. On these cruises is the age limit for children by 7 years
and there is a special naturalist guide onboard to look after the children.
Which ever tour you choose, a trip to Galapagos Islands is expensive and
needs exact and professional planning. Make sure that you travel with an
expert Galapagos Tour Operator who insures that you have have Your "Once
in a Lifetime travel experience" you will be talked about for generations.
About the Author:
Peter Lauffer, General Manager of TrueColors
Travel in Quito - Your Expert Guide for Galapagos Cruise Travel at www.galapagostraveller.com