Galapagos in August?
 

Hi! We have had the Galapagos on our travel list for a long time and are trying to decide where to go at the end of August... I have heard stories of cold weather and choppy waters that time of year. Obviously, this will be a pricey trip and we don't want to 'waste' our Galapagos trip if the weather is indeed bad enough to prevent us from doing things we would otherwise be able to do in nicer weather. Is it worthwhile to go at the end of August or should we hold off ( probably for a few years) until we can go in the spring instead? Thanks!

Hey, we read that September is when things start rockin' and rollin', but it's still a great trip. Might be better prices since everyone's back in school and tourism drops a bit. We booked with CNH Tours, a great operation who has a ton of info to share. You can also look at Trip Advisor forum for Galapagos; there's a lady name Tina who knows everything about when to go and where to go.

weather2travel.com Climate Guides

Have been in August the nourishing Antartic Humboldt current predominates wildlife more active cooler a bit foggier but not bad at all good prices. Can get rough anytime transdermscop.com a must for me.Seaman II and galavengalapagos.com on 2 for ones from $600 per person there for me in the past. guanguiltagua.com and galapagosislands.com best discounts on the smaller Cats my fav. Celebrity Xpedition nice bigger ship deals vacationstogo.com . I pay only with CC and am careful with agents trolling as "experts" who will charge you thousands for cruises that really cost hundreds. Have seen some good packages sales with smartours.com lately.

Good luck!

We just booked a Galapagos 6 day cruise on the "Millenium" for Aug 31- Sept 5. We had the same concerns you do. Our ship is described as a "first class" vs. a luxury ship. However, it seems pretty luxurious to us! Small - only 16 passengers.

We paid with CC through Paypal, however, we were advised that Paypal adds on a 4% charge! We could have paid with a bank transfer, but like the security of a CC. Just paid the 30 down payment so far. The company we used also booked our flights Quito/Galapagos/Quito.

Always ask the agent: "Can you do better on the price?

That is "30% down payment"

You can probably get a really, relatively cheap cruise, if you book at the last minute and are flexible. However, we don't have that luxury and needed specific dates.

We were in the Galápagos in Sept., 2009--in the middle of the "rockin' and rollin'" month. The weather was superb, at least by our standards--temps in the mid-70s, only occasional mists in the highlands and otherwise lovely, sunny skies, low humidity. The water temps will be a bit cooler, so you might want a wet suit (either your own or check whether the boat you're on has them). The waters were rough only on one of the open-water passages (to and from Genovesa). They were INDEED lively, but we did the crossing at night. Everyone showed up for breakfast the next mornings bright-eyed and ready for our next adventure.

I've heard others say that they've read that one shouldn't visit the archipelago in Sept. What a dreadful statement! It's a lovely time. The odds of your having rougher water in open-water crossings is higher, to be sure. But waves can happen any time. And the number of visitors dramatically declines toward Sept. Some days, we felt like we had the landings completely to ourselves. It's a great time to go!

Tina (yes, THAT Tina ;-))
trip report at http://galapagos2009.wordpress.com/

I've contacted a few agencies that book Galapagos cruises. Seem they add an extra "surcharge" if paying by Paypal or if sending payment directly to them via your CC.

I know this is against Paypal vendor agreements as I spoke with a Customer Rep there yesterday and they told me that was the case and that I should ask for my "surcharge fee" back. However, it seems to be the "thing" that these agencies do - pass their credit caard fees onto their customers.

Anyone else have this experience?

Oh, yeah, it's pretty common in South America. Those bank fees really add up and these small businesses' profits are already pretty small.

I organize cruises in Galapagos - and do not accept credit card or PayPal because of the high fees. Typically, fees go down for high volume businesses, but that's not the case for many Galapagos cruise agents. So, the credit card / Pay Pal folks charge us about 4% of the TOTAL being billed to the client, and we have to pay that out of our commission, which is a fraction of the bill. This means that we lose a lot more than 4% from our commission, but rather 20% or more - just to pay for the transaction fee. Hence the tendency for many to have the client pay for the privilege of using a credit card or pay pal. I accept only cheques (no fee for anybody) or wire transfers (small fee for the client, and a lower overall cost to me).

Warmest regards

Heather Blenkiron

Great time to go. I did. More rolling than other times of year, but over the counter Bonine was enough to keep my stomach happy and I even get car sick. My gut is wimpier than average.

The weather was fine in Aug.

Link to rain and sun in Galapagos :
http://www.junglephotos.com/galapago.../climate.shtml


Strange as it may seem, in the Galapagos usually the rainiest months are also the sunniest. During the rainier months of Dec to June it rains, then clears up. In the "dry season" running July to Nov there is often a stagnant mist called garula. So it is misty but the mist does not yield much actual precipitation.

I was there in August and often wore a windbreaker. I was also there in April. In April there were days when it was uncomfortably hot. Snorkeling was warmer in April than August, but every guest wore a wetsuit on every snorkel regardless of the month. We saw more sea turtles while snorkeling in April than August. Also the frigate birds were displaying (puffing up their red chests) in April and I did not see that in Aug.

It is also possible to have families on board in Aug, when kids are out of school. Less likely in April. Strict rules mean kids can't get out of hand on the islands. The kids were fine on land, but one adult tried to push the limits. On board, the dynamics and mealtimes can be affected especially on a 16-passenger boat when 6 passengers are under 21.

I’ve questioned guides on what month they prefer. The consensus is November due to the weather conditions and the fact that fewer Americans travel then, especially as it nears Thanksgiving. So less crowded.

From a wildlife aspect only Jan-Mar has missing species. Jan, Feb, Mar are the months when the Waved Albatross are out to sea and not on the islands.

If Aug works, then go and have a fantastic time! If you decide to go another month, rest assured there is no bad time in the Galapagos.