Thanks for all the help so far, especially from Percy and Peg. I have a few more questions I'm hoping to get some opinions/answers to.

At this point, I'm torn between choosing a larger cruise ship versus a smaller yacht. Initially I thought a cruise ship was the way to go, but now I'm not so sure. Here's what I came up with for some pro's and con's of each and perhaps others have more to add that I didn't think of that could help me decide. Or perhaps some of my assumptions are incorrect:

Cruise Ship
pro's - more stable, on board amenities/comfort, choice of food
con's - less time ashore due to having to shuttle more passengers back and forth, more crowded on shore, less spontaneity

Small Yacht
pro's - less crowded on shore, more time and flexibility on excursions
con's - small cabins, less stable, lack of dining choices

Any others?

Is it safe to assume that on a smaller vessel, our group and guide will be the only ones at a particular landing site? Or is it more like our group plus 2-3 other boats? It seems with so many vessels, there would have to be some overlap. Are they pretty good at keeping the number of people at any given site to a minimum?

Conversely, on a large vessel, do 80-100 passengers go ashore all at the same time, or do we have to take turns thereby limiting everyone's time spent on shore?

I'm also assuming on a smaller yacht, you eat whatever they make that day and there are no meal choices. Is this correct? Not that we're extremely picky eaters but it's good to know these things ahead of time.

I'm also considering staying in Puerto Ayora for a night or two after our cruise. Is it an interesting town with things to do nearby or waste of time?

Thanks!

Hi Patty:

I will answer whatI can and give my opinion.
It would not matter to me what size of Yacht I was on.
Anywhere from 16- 100 passengers is fine.
Everything is very well organized.
If you are on a 16 passenger yacht,then almost all 16 people can get into the Panga(shuttle boat)at one time, so you make one trip from the boat to the Island.
If you are on a 40 passngers Yacht like I was then it took two Panga's to transport all of us.
But we all got to the Island at the same time.
Then there was three guide.
We broke up into groups of about 12 ( there were 36 of us).
Now each group went off in a bit of a different direction, some times we would criss-cross, but we all saw the same things(animals ,birds etc.)
The guides all have two way radios and they know where the next group is.
When we were at the end of the tour,the guides would radio the Yacht and the Panga's would come to pick us up.
Maybe some stayed behind to snorkel if there was time, there usually was.
Okay , now if you are on a 100 passenger Yacht,well the Yacht is bigger,the dinning area is bigger,the lounge is bigger etc.
There are more guides and more service staff...so more people more space and more Pangas to take you from the Yacht to the shoreline.
I made sure that I had a good look at almost every Yacht that was docked at the harbour in Puerto Ayora.
I asked one of my guides( before we boarded our Yacht),if I could go on this 100 passenger yacht for a quick look.
My guide said something in Spanish and the fellow on the 100 passenger yacht motioned me to come on board and look.
It was very nice from what I saw..no problem here.!!
The 40 passenger yacht I was only was absolutely perfect.
The food was always good..sometimes buffet and some times you have a choice from three items.
There was never another yacht at the same Island they we went to ..so it is very well regulated.
It is not like a cruise ship coming into a port of call and there are already three ships there and 1000's of people on shore at the same time.

If your tour on the island is for three hours then it is three hours no matter how large the yacht.!!
Now as far as motion sickness..well people have gotten sick on a 16, 40,60 and 100 passenger yacht.!!! so much for size being the sole factor.
They try never to move the yacht while people are easting,but once they did because we had to be at this other Island by next morning, and about 10 people did not show up for dinner.
They just felt nauseated.
Were we all laughing and giggling at our table,saying to one another,"well,should we eat."
You know the kind of giggle when you are not sure what you should do.

About staying in Puerto Ayora for a day or so..GREAT idea,if you can swing it, because you do not get to spent too much time here.
After touring the Charles Darwin Station,we had 2-3 hours before boarding ,so I did get a pretty good tour of the place.
But to spend a full day here I think would be just fine.
You will find enough to do here in a day for sure and there are some nice hotels here, just beyond the Charles Darwin Station.
You only come once,so if you can spend an extra day here...then go for it.
Any way this is my version for a 40 passenger yacht.
Hopefully others will give you their version of a bigger and a small yacht.
Hopefully Peg will see this posting.
( Hi Peg)
Percy

Patty,
We were on a 90', 16 passenger ship last April and you are correct with your pros and cons but I think the flexibility & intimate climate of a small ship is best for the Galapagos. The key is having a good naturalist along with the right ship. We made all of our arrangements through Untamed Path and they were excellent.
My suggestions: Allow for extra days in Quito so you can include a trip to Otavalo.
Take your own snorkelling gear, including a shortie wetsuit. You could do without the wetsuit but all the guides wear them so that tells you something.
Read as much about the islands as you can before you go. It will add tremendously to your experience.
Hope this helps.

My wife and I were on the Explorer II in December. It was built to hold over 100 passengers, but only 55 were on board. Our room was great. We had a private deck which we enjoyed. The food was ok.

Percy's answer seems right on target. The key is getting a good naturalist. On a large boat you might have a slightly better chance of getting a good naturalist because they are more likely paid more than a smaller boat. If you are on a large boat you can request that you be assigned a naturalist who has been on the boat for a long time. The best naturalists on our boat had been with the company for years. The worst one was new.

Pros and cons to any decision. On a big boat you have your choice of people to spend time with. The age group for the big expensive boats are older than the cheaper smaller boats. Our boat had a doctor on board.

Either way, hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Hi Patty:

My two cents. We did pass other groups on the trails a couple of times, but it was just in passing. Never had a problem with getting close to the animals because of other groups being in the way, it was more of a rude women on our boat with her camera who would get in the way all the time.

As for food, I am thinking each vessel is different, but on our boat the chef made me chicken a couple of times because they had seafood and I don't like seafood. I also noticed he made adjustments for some other people on the boat. My friends were not picky eaters so they had no problem with any of the food served.

As for Puerta Ayora, I think a day would be plenty, usless you want to go up to the highlands. Still a day and a half is plenty if you get an afternoon flight back to the mainland. I agree with the above poster to take a couple of days in Quito.

We went with Inca Floats Inc
1311-63 D, Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 420-1550 in June of 1991. Loved it. They only did Gal. at the time, but now do Turkey & others. We went on one of their small (5 couples) "deluxe" (had ac) boats. Not sure what they have in their stable these days. Friends went last year with Inca & had a great time.
It is not like a cruise ship. Exhausting, adventurous days, hard to sleep nights (boat motored at night to next island). No night life, just fall into bed at 8pm to get some sleep before the engines started up at midnight. Up at 6am for first adventure of the day. Siesta time noon to 2. I am not sure I could do same nowadays (at 63).
I will never forget getting up early one morning on one of the islands to slowly be surrounded by a blanket of iguanas.
I have traveled a lot, but our Galapagos trip will always be my favorite.

Thanks for the feedback! I've decided to book the 16 passenger Archipel catamaran. I'm also going to go in May instead of waiting until fall. Hope I've made the right decision. I'm getting very excited about my trip which is less than 3 months away now!

We're staying a couple nights after our cruise in Puerto Ayora and then we'll have about 4 days on the mainland.

On the mainland, we're planning to stay overnight at Bellavista and then will have another full day to wander around Quito. If we skip the Otavalo market, will we really be missing out? Or can we find the same things for sale in Quito?

I'm finding it difficult to fit in everything I want to do as our flight arrives in Quito very late in the evening and departs from Quito very early in the morning so our first and last days are pretty much shot, plus all the time spent travelling to/from the Galapagos.

As far as spending money, can we rely on ATM's or do we need to bring sufficient cash and/or traveler's checks for our stay? Are credit cards widely accepted or not?

This board has been a huge help - thanks!

Hi
Well if you have only one day to tour around Quito then you will have to miss Otavalo.
Instead of Otavalo I would goto Saquisili BUT only if you go on a Thursday.
Every Thursday there is this Huge Market and it is something to see.
In my opinion it is better than Otavalo.
Although the main Otavalo market is on Saturday and the ones daily during the week are a little smaller.

The one at Saquisili is right out of National Geographic, in appearance and people!!!!!
It is about 5 blocks by 6 blocks!!
It is not that far from Quito, but then you only have one day in Quito.

If you have only one day in Quito, go to Old Quito,this is a must see place for tourists.

The buildings and history here is really something to see, and also go to the top of the hill where the winged Virgin Statue is and see the great view of the City of Quito below.

They take credit card in Quito, the currency there is the US dollar.
Too bad you cannot extend your stay in Quito for an extra day or 2 and also visit the Equator line ( Mita del Munda).
Youonly go once so maybe it would be better to try to stay a few days in Quito and see a few of the main attractions.
Percy

Hi Percy,
Unfortunately I won't be there on a Thursday for the Saquisili market.

I have one overnight in Quito before going out to the Galapagos but that's just basically to sleep (my flight arrives after 10:30pm) and get up early the next morning to fly out.

Returning from the Galapagos, I arrive back in Quito on a Sunday afternoon. I don't know which flight yet. Monday morning I was planning to head out to Bellavista, stay there one night, and head back to Quito Tuesday afternoon. So I'll have some of Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday. Then the next morning my flight leaves at 6:50am! Unfortunately I must leave by Thursday. Perhaps I could head out to Mita Del Mundo on one of the afternoons. Is it far from Quito?

Hi Patty
No Mita del Munda is not far , we did it along with the Otavalo tour as we made a huge loop through the mountains from Otavalo and then onto Mita del Mundo.(about 30-35 miles from Quito)

But from Quito city it is not far at all.It is just the darn traffic in Quito and Quito is 3 miles wide and 22 miles long.
So depending on where you are, only the traffic will slow you down.
You might as well see this place and put one foot on each side of the Equator Line and you are in both Hemispheres at the same time ...Cool !!!!
See my report on Fodors last September.
You know you can do Bellavista as a day tour...that is what I did, we left at 7:15 Am and came back about 6PM,and I had a 2 hour Nature Hike there also.
At Bellavista, I saw the most hummingbirds I ever saw in my life.
I had them feeding out of my hand, just stand motionless with your hand out and some sweet sugar water in a samll container!
The reason I am saying to just do the day tour there is because you are presed for time, this way you will be back at your hotel in Quito for the night and then have a good night's rest.
The drive from Quito to Bellavista is about 2- 21/2 hours.

This way you will have all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday in Quito.

If you are on the early flight from the Galapagos you will be in Quito about 2:45PM...this flight stops at Quayaquil on the way back...BUT , our flight back from Galapagos was delayed and so we did not leave until about 2-3 hours later, they had to send another plane from Quito to get us...the good thing about this was ,that we flew directly to Quito, .. so the times we "lost" in the delay was saved by not having to stop in Quayaquil first.
so when you are cutting time schedules close, you never can plan that tightly.

You for sure want to see OLD QUITO and the Winged Virgin and Mita del Mundo.
Driving in Quito is like driving in L.A.
Percy

If you are the only ones coming back from Bellevista, I bet you could stop at the Equator on the way back, if arranged prior. We did not go to the new one, we went to the original one that is actually on the Equator.

As for Quito, you could take a short tour of the old town, which in my opinion is worth it, and walk around the new town in the afternoon and do some shopping.

By the way, we saw that catamaran, and it was nice. I was hoping to have that one for our trip but the itinerary didn't fit what we needed it to.

Hey Percy, where are you going for your next trip. We are thinking of country hopping behind the former Iron Curtain in Europe before they get too popular.

Hi Peg,
That's exactly what I'm having Robin check into - the possibility of stopping on the way to/from Bellavista since we will be going right by.

We did a day trip to BellaVista. It is a wonderful site but very rustic. You might want to rethink your overnight stay unless you are a dedicated birder, don't mind damp conditions & want to see things at dawn & dusk. We had a very accomodating driver who was more than happy to stop at Mita del Mundo on our way back to Quito-it's on the way-Do not make it a special trip! Otavalo is more than just the market and really warrants at least an overnight stay. Hiking or horseback riding through the mountain "villages" is an incredible cultural experience.
Yes, you can buy most of the same things all over Ecuador but if you want quality crafts all in one place go to Folklore Olga Fisch. It is a wonderful store and there is a great dining spot adjacent.
Credit cards were accepted at some places, cash was best, checks accepted at B&Bs.
Please take your own snorkeling equipment to the Galapagos in your carry-on. You'll be happy you did.
Have fun.
Diane