Galapagos trip planning - May 2024
 

Planning a trip for my family of 4 (2 kids over 18 yrs) for next May to the Galapagos Islands. Would like to do 8-9 days in total. Interested in seeing blue footed boobies, giant tortoises, sea lions mainly. Understand that there is a lot more to see but can't do 2 weeks. Won't combine with Peru, etc.
One person in our party does not swim/snorkel. We are all prone to seasickness so I think 4-5 days on the boat is about all we can handle. Have been doing research and can't figure out if I should consider land-based tours or ship-only. Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Have you all used the Scopolamine patch before? I generally despise cruises -- both because I get really bad seasickness and because I'm not into being confined on a boat -- and the only two cruises I've ever done are the Galapagos and Antarctica because that's the best way to see those two places. (Both are amazing.) The patch is a gamechanger for avoiding/minimizing seasickness.

I'd seriously consider trying to make a cruise-based Galapagos trip work, as a land-based trip will be far inferior. On a land-based tour, you will cover very little ground. Most good trips are a week, so if you think you can handle 4-5 days, 7 days isn't really that much more.

The snorkeling is really excellent, but even if one of you doesn't snorkel, it'll still be very worth going.

Thank you! We have not tried the patch so that is now on my list. Same here - we are not into cruises. And only considering one now for this location since it does seem to be the best way to see this place. Okay, so now I will do my research on cruise based tours.

I should add that a Galapagos cruise is hardly some Carnival / Royal Caribbean thing. Look for a cruise on a small ship where the focus is on the wildlife and with a good guest/guide ratio. That type of ship will attract like-minded people who are there for the wildlife, not for on-board spas and dressing up for a black tie dinner.

We were on a 10-room / max 20 persons ship with a company that was really focused on the wildlife; there were 2 naturalist guides, so it was 10 people max per guide. The operator was Ecoventura. They were excellent but this was about 10 years ago, so you should check more recent reviews if people are still happy with them.

I used a small Ecuadorian company, Cometa Travel. They own the small yacht Angelito I. If you are very lucky, ask if your time frame matches with Maja's guiding. They book their own yacht but also it can be found at other agencies. They were a pleasure to work with, and can advise on which leg has the greatest risk of seasick (Maja herself is susceptible). If you are going in May, I would encourage you to include the visit to the Waved Albatross colony on Española. See the final link for a detailed A itinerary. They includes some snorkel activity but it was not every day. The final leg on Day 8 is a throw away but the official first day is good. I flew in a few days early and met the group back at the airport.

They split the A itinerary into a 5 +4 with the midpoint being Santa Cruz Island where you visit the Charles Darwin Center (and for some itineraries the highlands). You can add days before and after on Santa Cruz.
https://angelitogalapagos.com/itineraries/

https://www.cometatravel.com/about-us/

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LAX_Esq and mlgb - thank you for the recommendations! Very very helpful. Great start to my planning.