Galapagos Islands
 

Considering a trip here. Any suggestions for tour operators and time of year to go. Interested in small group, fairly active. We are 60 year olds who love to travel.

HI Virginia,
Any time of year is a good time in the Galapagos :) Dec. to April hot season (Feb and March are EXTRA hot!), May to November the cooler season with misty periods throughout the day, but still with sunny periods. Sept-Oct the seas are a bit rouhger. I have used www.columbusecuador.com before and would highly recommend them. The majority of ships in the Galapagos are for 16 passengers (although there are some with 12 and some with 90!), which is a great small size of group. If there is particular wildlife you are interested, then it would be worthwhile choosing a boat with a corresponding itinerary (ex: Waved Albatross on Espanola only). The range of ship styles go from economical to luxury...it all depends on your travel style. Good luck and have fun !

Let me put a pitch in for September. It is the least popular month for visits. We were there Sept., 2009. The seas indeed can be rougher due to the shift in the Humboldt current and the waters can be cooler. (This year, it sounds like they were downright frigid, thanks to a La Nina event.) But it is a spectacular time to go for a number of other reasons. Although the waters CAN be rougher (the odds are higher), we only had one transit--to Espanola--that was anything other than placid. With so few visitors, we often had the landings completely to ourselves. We often had the anchorage completely to ourselves--heavenly! The temps were moderate--mid-70s--and the humidity was low. Just how we like it. Breeding seasons were still going for the wildlife--all 3 species of booby, Waved Albatross--although not for the smaller songbirds. Insects--non-existent. Baby Galapagos Sea Lions and their mothers littered every sandy beach we landed on. Despite its being garua season, we had crystal clear days every day but 1; in the highlands of Santa Cruz, we had our rain jackets on for an hour and it cleared up. The shifting Humboldt current makes the waters a bit murkier with all of the nutrient mixing up. But that brings the marine life in very close and they tend to be so busy eating that they don't really notice you. (Well, except for the sea lions. They'll be in your face any season.) If you live for vegetation, though, this is not your month to visit, though. Definitely not the green season. And if you want to snorkel, considering bringing your own wet suit, unless your boat offers them. (However, only a handful of our group of 16 had wet suits and almost everyone snorkeled every time with no problems.)

Really, any time is wonderful. But, as a champion of the underdog month, I urge you to consider Sept. You won't be sorry!

Tina
trip report at http://galapagos2009.wordpress.com/

www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/ecuador

August September best rain wise lots of sales too

Best for me to support most knowledable LOCAL ECUADORIANS

like www.galapagosXpeditions.com

which has a great sale on the Eric Lety Flamingo boats

right now...careful lots of foreign expat tout middlemen

on the forums who rip of the tourists and locals alike

Particularly on TripAdvisor where for prfit foreign owners

are allowed to post as "experts" .

Do careful research and Caveat Emptor!

www.insuremytrip.com always cheap and wise...

Happy Hunting,

FYI Columbus foreign owned books large blocks of

boats on purpose to hurt local Ecuadorian operators.

Will not even allow locals to book some of their upscales

Very sad...always best to support the locals for

eco and financial sustainability...Have Fun,

I think the best place to start when planning a trip to Galapagos is with Barry Boyce's book...

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

Time of year is discussed, as well as which animals/birds are on what island - that is an important thing to understand before you start considering boats/itineraries, IMO

We were there in February, staying a month in Puerto Ayora and spent a week on the Eclipse. It was HOT is PA but the heat was less an issue on the boat due to the breezes. (some of the excursions were scheduled for early AM to avoid the heat of the day).

Link to our blog for pics of the Eclipse - a 40 passenger boat that was lovely. We chose it due to its itinerary - we wanted to go to the western islands to see the cormorants and that typically is done by larger boats due to the longer sea journey. 40 was a nice size though - not too large..

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

I enjoyed my trip on Seaman II, (see http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/2010...seaman-ii.html and earlier pages) booked via http://www.galacruises.com/. Occasionally they have discounts, so look for those. Check the "Promotions" tab at the top. Happy Gringo, http://www.happygringo.com/ also book the boat and are worth contacting to see if they have a better offer.

thanks to all for this wealth of information! I will proceed to follow your leads and wise advice.

We went for a 15 day trip with Galapagos Travel on a 16 passenger boat and it was fantastic. We, too, are in our 60's and like active vacations and this was it. We hiked, snorkeled, etc. Since we were a small group we were on the islands early and late...the guide was fantastic and we would highly recommend.

PS As you mentioned age, I should have mentioned that I am 63.

Cheers, Alan

mirsy, with which group did you travel?

ttt

Dec-Mar the Waved Albatross are out to sea and not on Hood. I second the Barry Boyce book. I went 2x with Galapagos Travel, the company Mirsy mentioned, and also had a great time. Barry Boyce owned the company at the time. Either he still does or his long term staff members do now.

Hope you go and have a wonderful time.

One thing I found helpful when planning my trip was a weather and wildlife calender, which tells you the average temperature, precipitation. etc for each month. More importantly, it tells you what animals and wildlife you can see each month, which for more was the deciding factor. I decided to go in September too, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. As ztsipapu said, the wildlife activity during this month is phenomenal. From what i hear though, anytime really is good to go as the weather stays comfortable all year long and the wildlife is always going to be spectacular. There is a really good weather and wildlife calender here:

http://www.galapagosisles.info/galap...vel/index.html

The company I went with was Nature Galapagos & Ecuador (www.naturegalapagos.com) I was initially looking at a hotel-based island hopping tour because they are cheaper, but when I asked for information on cruises they offered me a great last minute price on the Archipel I, which was a really great boat with an excellent staff, even better food, and really great facilities. I guess that´s the benifit of being unorganized and not booking my cruise until a month before leaving!

There is a thread on here with a wildlife calendar as well, that highlights reptiles, mammals, and birds posted by both Tina and I. It would be a great way to see what each month has to offer, as Will_lax mentions!

thanks so much!! will keep you all posted. this is so helpful!