Galapagos tour operators
 

We eill visit the Galapagos either in May or June 2010. Iam leaning towars Lindblad Expeditons which is partners with National Geographic. Dow anyone have any experience with them or have other recommendations of tour companies? Also, any thought wheter May or Jne is better?

We went on the Lindblad trip to the Galapagos in May 2008 and loved it. It was definitely on the higher end of the pricing scale, but we felt it was worth every penny. The ship was very comfortable, the guides were great and the activities were thoughtfully planned. May was a great time of the year to go, too. The weather was perfect and the water was clear and for the most part, very calm.

We traveled to the Galapagos in May 2009 with Galapagos Travel. It was a 15 day trip on a 16 passenger boat...the Tip Top IV. We had a wonderful experience. The guide and naturalist were both great and we had lots of island time because we were a small group.
We have traveled to the Baltic with Lindblad/NG and they are first class too, but we liked the smaller group and longer time to visit more islands.

You can check this link for weather. Either May or June would be nice.

I too went with Galapagos Travel 2x, spending 11 days in the islands. I'll probably use them if I go back one last time. Everything was great and they went out of their way to help with an airline ticket problem I had, solving it for me.

If time for snorkeling or kayaking is important to you, ask about that.

we went with adventure_life and spent 7 days on a catamaran with about 16 other people. The cataraman goes so fast that we we were able to beat out the other ,larger tour boats and get to the islands ahead of the crowds. Make sure you take a tour company that includes swimming with the seals! That was as much fun for us as it was for them.

As the last poster mentioned, the size of the boat can make a big difference and the Lindblad/NatGeo ones are on the larger end of the scale, so it takes longer to cycle everyone on and off the approved sites in zodiacs. They also spend lots of time in nature lectures as opposed to just chilling on the deck with a glass of wine. Nothing wrong with that if it's what you expected, but make sure it's what you want before paying that premium. Bigger boats can be more stable, but can't get to as many spots. Here's a nice story on one with Angermeyer cruises, one of the 16-passenger options. http://www.luxurylatinamerica.com/ec...galapagos.html

Does anyone know about the company whose website is www.cruisetoursonline.com, thanks.