We are planning to go to the Galpagos next May. Is that a good time to go? I can get seasick and I read that the seas are a bit calmer till June , can anyone comment on that? Also, HELP with tour operators. A friend was pleased with Linblad , are there any other suggestions? We are in our late 50's and very active. Thanks,

On thing to consider when you're choosing the boat is what you want to see. There are different itineraries (nights/locations) for various boats/sizes of ships and that can be a major part of a decision (it was in our case because I wanted to see the flightless cormorants and that meant a large enough ship to go to the west side of Isabela) Suggest you get Barry Boyce's book A Travelers Guide to the Galapagos - lots of good info for picking the right cruise style for you.

Can't comment about time of year (we were there in February - pretty calm) - we were on the Eclipse which is about half the size of the Lindblad boat (I think) - advantage to the Eclipse is that it's large enough to smooth out the bumps and has 4 zodiacs that can simultaneously transport all passengers ashore which means you don't have to wait for shuttles. I believe the larger boats don't have equal zodiacs to passengers.

Eclipse was lovely - scroll down on the following blog link for pics - since we were on it they redecorated the cabins

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...th_/galapagos/

www.enchantedexpeditions.com best provider

Smaller ships are better 16 passengers or less because you
have dolly out to the islands on the bigger ones and it
takes forever. I will be going on August 30, 2009, the ship I am taking is the Voyager two and it has a nice hot tub on
deck. Have done a lot of research on all the ships etc. if you want to email me.
[email protected]

Oops correction the ship is the Catamaran Journey II not the voyager.
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Less chance to get seasick on a catamaran with double hull.

My husband and I have just committed to Celebrity Xpedition for May 2010. After much research and consideration, we had narrowed it down to Lindblad and Celebrity. We feel that this is the best, most comfortable choice for us. We will also be staying at a hacienda after our return to Quito. Good luck and enjoy the planning process.

Carole

WE are staying at Hacienda Zuleta which is actually a working
farm and rated number one in Ecuador.

We are planning to stay at Hacienda Pinsaqui in May 2010. Any thoughts on this one?

Look at larger ships if sea sickness is a concern, the Legend, Explorer II, Xpedition and Santa Cruz are the larger ships in the Galapagos.

Hi, Just finished posting a trip report about a Galapagos cruise that we took in late April. I thought the weather was perfect then because it was sunny, no garua, and the water temperature was about as warm as it gets.
I can't totally recommend our ship, the Legend, as you'll find out if you read my trip report. Afterwards, we stayed at Hacienda Cusin...had lunch at Hacienda Pinsaqui, and heard that Zuleta was very nice, but it's a bit out of the way along a very rough road, that's OK if you just want to stay there and ride horses, but if you want to some sightseeing, I'd stay at either of the first two. The food seemed better at Pinsaqui, but I liked the grounds and staff better at Cusin. Didn't see a room at Pinsaqui. Good luck! By the way, most people recommend a week's cruise, but we felt 4 nights was plenty.