Land Based Galapagos Was the Right Choice for Me.
Sep 9th, 2015, 01:10 PM
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Land Based Galapagos Was the Right Choice for Me.
We just left the Galapagos. We chose to do a land based visit because I am prone to sea sickness and just couldn’t come to terms with spending a week on a boat. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit so I thought I would pass on a few ideas to help others plan their trip.
We stayed on Santa Cruz for 3 nights and Isabela for 6 nights and ended with one more night in Santa Cruz. We saw everything we wanted to see including lots of sea turtles, a sea horse and reef sharks while snorkeling and giant tortoises and iguanas on land. We saw blue footed boobies up close…one of them even lifted herself off of her nest to show us her eggs and beautiful blue feet.
On Santa Cruz we stayed at Galapagos Suites. This was a perfect choice for a hotel. It was off the main street so it was quiet but close enough to walk to restaurants and the bank as well as the Darwin Center. The hotel was very clean and our hostess was very helpful in arranging our trips and taxis. As soon as we settled into our room, we walked to the Darwin Center. It was great seeing the tortoises but it was a bit of a zoo like setting and we longed to see them in the wild. The following day we took a day boat trip to Las Padres. We got off the boat and walked around the island where we saw lots of land Iguana and Sea Lions as well as beautiful scenery.
We took the punishing, wave pounding, two hour ride to Isabela. You know you’re in trouble when they pass out barf bags on the boat and trust me, at least half the people took advantage of them. I was never so happy to be on land when we arrived.
On Isabela we stayed at Casa de Marita. We had a balcony overlooking the beach and it was very close to town. We did three day trips: Tuneles, Tintorea and the Sierra Nevada Volcano tours. At Tuneles we swam with the white tip reef sharks and at Tinorea there were quite a few sea turtles (they get “cleaned” by the fish in the bay). One day we did the walk almost to the Wall of Tears, just far enough to see the tortoises in the wild and some Flamingos.
We then repeated the boat trip back to Santa Cruz which was still wave pounding but for some reason more pleasant.
If I had to do it again, I would have spent probably 2 more days on Santa Cruz and less on Isabela so we could have done more day trips to other islands. These day trips only leave from Santa Cruz.
Here’s some information that I hope will help others planning a land trip.
When you land at Baltra, you take an airline bus to the shore of a narrows between islands and then a boat taxi to Santa Cruz. From there it is a 45 minute drive to Puerto Ayora. We had our hotel arrange for a taxi to meet us which was very helpful because our driver met us at the airport and handled our luggage from bus to boat to taxi. I can’t imagine trying to get on a little rocking boat with no gangplank and lifting my suitcase behind.
If you want to do day boat trips from Santa Cruz, ask your hotel to arrange them prior to your arrival or ask them to give you direct contact information. We went to Las Padres because it was the only boat trip with seats available.
Bring some US dollar bills with you. The boat taxis cost anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar and you need to take them to board your boats leaving the port. Isabela does not have a bank or ATM. It’s about 50-50 as to merchants taking credit cards, so bring enough cash. We found at least one place that charged 23% more to use a credit card, so ask before you use your card.
If you decide to do the land version of Galapagos you will enjoy it.
We stayed on Santa Cruz for 3 nights and Isabela for 6 nights and ended with one more night in Santa Cruz. We saw everything we wanted to see including lots of sea turtles, a sea horse and reef sharks while snorkeling and giant tortoises and iguanas on land. We saw blue footed boobies up close…one of them even lifted herself off of her nest to show us her eggs and beautiful blue feet.
On Santa Cruz we stayed at Galapagos Suites. This was a perfect choice for a hotel. It was off the main street so it was quiet but close enough to walk to restaurants and the bank as well as the Darwin Center. The hotel was very clean and our hostess was very helpful in arranging our trips and taxis. As soon as we settled into our room, we walked to the Darwin Center. It was great seeing the tortoises but it was a bit of a zoo like setting and we longed to see them in the wild. The following day we took a day boat trip to Las Padres. We got off the boat and walked around the island where we saw lots of land Iguana and Sea Lions as well as beautiful scenery.
We took the punishing, wave pounding, two hour ride to Isabela. You know you’re in trouble when they pass out barf bags on the boat and trust me, at least half the people took advantage of them. I was never so happy to be on land when we arrived.
On Isabela we stayed at Casa de Marita. We had a balcony overlooking the beach and it was very close to town. We did three day trips: Tuneles, Tintorea and the Sierra Nevada Volcano tours. At Tuneles we swam with the white tip reef sharks and at Tinorea there were quite a few sea turtles (they get “cleaned” by the fish in the bay). One day we did the walk almost to the Wall of Tears, just far enough to see the tortoises in the wild and some Flamingos.
We then repeated the boat trip back to Santa Cruz which was still wave pounding but for some reason more pleasant.
If I had to do it again, I would have spent probably 2 more days on Santa Cruz and less on Isabela so we could have done more day trips to other islands. These day trips only leave from Santa Cruz.
Here’s some information that I hope will help others planning a land trip.
When you land at Baltra, you take an airline bus to the shore of a narrows between islands and then a boat taxi to Santa Cruz. From there it is a 45 minute drive to Puerto Ayora. We had our hotel arrange for a taxi to meet us which was very helpful because our driver met us at the airport and handled our luggage from bus to boat to taxi. I can’t imagine trying to get on a little rocking boat with no gangplank and lifting my suitcase behind.
If you want to do day boat trips from Santa Cruz, ask your hotel to arrange them prior to your arrival or ask them to give you direct contact information. We went to Las Padres because it was the only boat trip with seats available.
Bring some US dollar bills with you. The boat taxis cost anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar and you need to take them to board your boats leaving the port. Isabela does not have a bank or ATM. It’s about 50-50 as to merchants taking credit cards, so bring enough cash. We found at least one place that charged 23% more to use a credit card, so ask before you use your card.
If you decide to do the land version of Galapagos you will enjoy it.
