mooky

Planning trip to Galapagos in Oct.with my wife. She tends to get claustrophobic so wonder if anyone can give suggestions of any of the boats that have good size room and must be able to open the window and quite light. Also do people suggest 4,5 or 7 day trips. Are there any of the islands that are especially must sees or are they all good.
Thanks
John

nkd

I suggest getting Berry Boyce's book "The traveler's guide to Galapagos Islands"
If you do search here under Galapagos you can find many suggestions on boats. What do you mean <are they all good>? The answer depends on what are you expecting from Galapagos.

sceneisle

Mooky - We sailed on Celebrity's "Xpedition"; one of the larger ships (100 passengers) that sails the Galapagos. Some of their cabins have balconies but the windows in the other class cabins do not open. Strongly recommend 7 days, as each island is diverse with respect to topography, flora & fauna.

atravelynn

Hello again Doc John and Mooky,

I'd suggest the 7-day trip also to defray the cost and effort of getting to the Galapagos, and to fully appreciate the diversity there. But if you have concerns of claustrophobia, then 7 days might be too daunting.

The shorter trips choose islands that combine well together so that you are seeing a variety of creatures and habitat. If I had to mention one to try to see, it would be Hood/Espanola. Just a personal favorite. All are good, though.

I've talked with people who felt 4 to 5 days was plenty of time. I specifically asked if they felt like they wanted more days and the reply was no. These were not nature nuts, however.

I booked twice with Barry Boyce's company and those trips were 14 days with 11 days on the islands. The Boyce book Nkd suggests gives a great overview of the Galapagos and is not self promoting.

mooky

Thanks everyone. Hi again Lynn- great to hear from you. We're organising Africa fro next year but JOhn still has Ants in his pants...so it looks like SOuth AMerica for this year. We will do a number of things including the trek in Machu Pichu...any advice?...and of course Galapagos.
The boat that carries a hundred people is that any major disadavantage re so many people together sightseeing?
regards
Mooky
Any other must does for south america?

sceneisle

Mooky: The Xpedition carried 5 naturalists and used 5 Zodiacs. As there were less than 80 people on the ship, the groups were never larger than 16.

Louise

Mooky - you might do a "Search this forum" at the top of the forum. You will find quite a few responses regarding the Galapagos. One thing I think I might have mentioned previously is that I picked a smaller ship for my trip and one of the main reasons is I love to snorkel and prefer to do it with a small group.