Best time to go to Galapagos
 

Hi,
Am interested in finding out information on the Galapagos- when is the best time to go- I was thinking January. Also in looking up some of the cruise boats that go thre, it seems very expensive. I will be going alone and am wondering if there are tours I can pick up when I get to Guayquill (sp?). It sounds like a wonderful trip and I'd like to pursue the idea. thanks for your help.

I always sound like a broken record when I reply to questions about traveling to Galapagos but here goes!

I think the best place to start is Barry Boyce's book - Travelers Guide to Galapagos. It is an invaluable way to figure out what you want to see, where it how, how to get there, is snorkeling important, on which kind of boat and when to go

http://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Guid.../dp/1588433897

It is pricey but there are some less expensive boats - naturally the accommodation is commensurate. A friend of mine when with GAP Adventures and was very happy......

http://www.gadventures.com/destinati...ica/galapagos/

We were there in February - it was a great time for us - water was pleasant for snorkeling and the seas weren't too rough (that's a time of year consideration)

Hope this helps - here's a link to our blog - lots of animal pics!

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

thank you

Have been a fair amount cheap cruises are possible there

are many other options... weather2travel.com Jan-May

usually best deals decent weather... last fall

www.guanguiltagua.com dennistourguide.com had a 2 for

1 on the Galaven for $600 and a short cruise on Seaman II

a cat fo $700... so might check with Dennis for best rates.

These cruises are scammed more than ANY other thing on the

Travel Boards particularly on TripAdvertizer the "experts"

are scammers putting you on puke boat motor sailers for

thousands more then you need to pay...

Anothe option is exploradiving.com hosteriamadala.info

Isla Plata Ruta del Sol very similar vibe got great discounts

with Dennis.. have seen many complaints with GAP middlemen.

Best package value currently smartours.com BBB.org A+ rated.

Do be careful deal direct with great locals like Dennis

to save and not get scammed by my recent personal experience.

Feel free to PM if needed but Caveat Emptor on Tripadvertizer

Happy Planning if short on funds mainland is AWESOME!

[email protected] is his new EM great fellow

speaks perfect english and taught me more about wildlife

than anyone ever has and I thought I knew a lot...

We also stopped to rescue baby animals like birds(trogon)

and baby iguanas that were on the road in danger...

what I liked about him most in my tour.

qwovadis- does Dennis only do diving tours? Or is he a guide on the galapagos and are you saying he does day trips? Not sure I understand.

Susan300,

The rain season is from May to Dec, so going in Jan is a good idea although it is a higher tourist time. I would recommend if you are looking to save money waiting to book anything until you are on the island, if you are already going to wait as long as you get to guayaquil. You can fly with LAN or tame directly to Santa Cruz or San Cristobal from quito or quayaquil. Its slighly cheaper from Guayaquil than Quito but i think quito is much safer and worth the extra cost to leave from, plus its a prettier city to sightsee at. When on the island you can shop around.

If you want you can send me a PM I can send you the scanned copy of the book of all travel agencies and boats that you can get from the tourist offine while you are there. I personally recommend Sharksky although there are cheaper options. I work with one of the volunteer organizations on San Cristobal. I have never actually been on a multiday cruise though cause you can see soo much from just going between the islands and I have managed to see all the islands other than the far northern ones.

Hi Susan,
I visited the Galapagos in March of 2011 - It was an INCREDIBLE trip with lots of amazing wildlife. The weather was perfect and the seas not too rough. You'll have a wonderful time.

We went on the Aida Maria, which was a nice sized boat with an excellent crew, and relatively inexpensive. We booked the boat through Robin at Sangay Touring (http://www.sangay.com/), and found the company to be very good. Robin answered all our questions, and was very nice when we met him in person in Quito.

On our trip, about half of the people had booked ahead (using various tour companies) and the other half booked in Puerto Ayora after arriving in the Galapagos. The last minute group all got better rates, since they booked a day or two before leaving. However, they also didn't have the same choice of where they wanted to go. Booking ahead allows you the freedom to choose the best tour for you. So it depends what is more important to you - choice of islands or cost.

We went in early June and the weather was perfect - clear skies and in the high ''70s - low '80s F during the day and low '70s at night. My husband and son normally get seasick, but the water was absolutely calm the whole week. We planned the trip month in advance and got heavily discounted offers (up to half price) from everyone we contacted.

Hi Crosscheck,

Remember me from the Africa boards. We are also in the early stages of planning a Galaapagos trip. What tour company did you use? How many passengers?

Long2Travel

By all means, go! You'll have a fantastic time.

I went last May, and it was wonderful. I was on the Isabela II (48 passenger ship, with a light load of only 27 people on that sailing -- it's pretty high-end; fancier than my preference, but I wasn't complaining! :-) ). I booked through ExpeditionTrips.com, whom I recommend highly after they saved my bacon when an Antarctica trip got disrupted. (I have a bunch of trip reports I've been meaning to write forever...) The ship is run by Metropolitan Touring, who are supposedly one of the very established operators in the Galapagos and have several ships, all highly regarded.

I second Elizabeth_S's recommendation of Barry Boyce's book. If I had to buy only one book, that'd be the one. Unfortunately, it's kind of out-of-date now, including helpful info on where to buy film, cash travelers checks and other obsolete stuff. And it's unabashedly subjective, which I don't mind, but some do. But it's the only book I saw that was very comprehensive, from a tourists point of view, covering everything from tour operators and the check-in experience at the airport to the specific landing sites and what wildlife to expect at each.

I also liked the Princeton pocket field guide for more info and pictures of wildlife.

Long2,
Of course I remember you! Just got your email and will answer soon - I'm in Santiago, Chile at the moment for work.

Mr. Crosscheck insisted on one of the large 90-person boats because he thought he'd get seasick, so we went on the Explorer II. We chose it because we got a terrific offer for four of us, it was the only one of the larger ships that was available on our exact dates. I thought it wouldn't be our style because it looks like a mini-cruise ship, but it turned out to be perfect for our family because there were a lot of other teens on the boat. We had friends who were traveling at the same time on the Lindblad, which looked more up our alley - like a real expedition boat, but their itinerary was identical and the price was triple what we paid. We also went on a terrific post-Galapagos excursion to Hacienda Cusin.

Susan,
Sorry to highjack this thread.

self-propelled,
Agree about Barry Boyce - extremely outdated, and way too much detail for me. Our boat had a library of guidebooks, plus continuously-running Discovery Channel/BBC documentaries about Darwin and the Galapagos. I don't normally like television on trips, but those films, including one about Darwin, were better than any printed guide.

I also read the Galapagos chapters of Darwin's journal, "The Voyage of the Beagle" while there - a terrific travel memoir - in a way more fascinating culturally than scientifically - He was a young, seasick kid in his early 20's at the time. His account of interactions with Europeans and islanders was priceless.

good info, I would like to book a trip with a reliable company, any idea about it

Went with http://tierradefuego.travel They were nice and gave a good price, too :)

How is August? Any recommendations or concerns for traveling and explorign at that time of year?

There is never a bad time to visit Galapagos in my opinion! August is smack dab in the middle of the cool season. Now "cool" is approximately 70F/20C. This time of year is one of the best times for diving, however (although cooler waters than other times of year), due to the mixing of the water currents at this time of year. The currents will be blowing in nutrient rich waters that mean wildlife-rich snorkeling and diving!

We just got back a few days ago. It was overcast much of the time, which meant that it was more comfortable for the day hikes, not to mention spectacular clouds, light, etc. No rain, other than a little bit while visiting the tortoises in the hills. The water was pretty calm most of the time as well. I opted to rent a wetsuit for snorkeling and was glad I did, although a lot of people in our group didn't and were fine. I suspect all the comments about there being no bad time to go are probably right!