Galapagos Islands Cruise with young kids
 

Wondering if there is a good cruise line out there that takes young children? I have seen the minimum age of 5, but are there any that take younger kids? My children are 6 and 2. We were going to wait until at least 2014, making them 8 and 4, but that still leaves the youngest too young to go on any of the cruise lines I am aware of that take children. I am sure they must exist!

Thanks
Karen

Have you considered a land based trip instead? That way you can stay in a hotel in Puerto Ayora and do day trips.

Or the boat we were on the Eclipse (which was great) offers fixed family departures for kids 4+

http://www.eqtouring.com/galapagos-cruises/eclipse.html

Two years old? Think that's a bit young.

I'd also second looking at the land based option, it's much more flexible and private for families with younger children, since you are not stuck on a boat and doing all excursions in a group of other people.

Some boats like the Eclipse do offer certain departures which are family focused, so other passengers that may not be with kids know what they are getting themselves into.

There is a wonderful luxury safari camp on Santa Cruz island, run by an expat couple that have two young children of their own. They offer some family focused programs for kids your ages, where you still go out to uninhabited islands during the day by boat but then your kids can run around at the camp once you are back at the end fo the day. check out www.galapagossafaricamp.com

You could also do a cruise/land combination, doing a shorter cruise in combination with a couple of land based nights.

I'm also with two very young kids (3 years and 2 months) and am biding my time until I can take them to the Galapagos.

As parents with young children, we have traveled several times to Galapagos and Ecuador and had wonderful family trips. We would recommend working with a tour company that is able to tailor a trip to your family's exact needs. Being land based as other posts mention is the best bet, then you can explore the islands using small boat cruises. There is plenty of lodge accommodation that offers comfort and security for young kids. Good luck!