The Galapagos Islands are a bucket-list destination for many travelers, myself included. But unlike a lot of travelers, I am not content to daydream about that bucket list. I want to check each place off, one by one, knowing I’ll never complete the list because every trip begets new additions to the list. So, one year, I spent my Christmas vacation on a Galapagos Islands cruise. Here’s all the info you need to choose the best Galapagos cruise and how to plan your trip to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands.
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Getting to Galapagos Islands
Most Galapagos Island trips start in Quito, Ecuador. We chose a cruise package that took care of everything from the moment we landed in Quito until we departed from Quito ten days later. I’ve done a lot more solo international travel since then, and looking back, I absolutely wish I’d planned to spend more time in Quito before or after our Galapagos Islands cruise. We did have one day on each end of the trip, but it was all a bit rushed.
Quito is easy to reach with direct flights from Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, and New York. From Quito, getting to Galapagos Islands involves a 45-minute flight to Guayaquil, followed by a two-hour flight to the Seymour Airport on Baltra Island. There are two main airports in the Galapagos Islands, the one on Baltra Island and the San Cristobal Airport on San Cristobal Island. Your tour agency will tell you which airport to fly into if they aren’t making the interior flight arrangements for you. Regardless, getting to Galapagos Islands from mainland Ecuador is super easy. We didn’t even de-plane when we stopped in Guayaquil.
Galapagos Islands: Cruise or Land-Based
You don’t have to take a cruise to see the Galapagos Islands. Trust me, I am not a “cruise person” so the thought of signing up for a traditional cruise was out of the question. I was not even sure about this smaller cruise, but I ended up loving it. You can plan a land-based trip, which is a good way to see the Galapagos Islands on a budget. However, your travel will be more limited based on where you stay. There are a few ferry lines between the larger islands, but I highly recommend a Galapagos Islands cruise to maximize what you can see. They are expensive but so worth it.
Galapagos Islands Weather
Ecuador lies on the….wait for it…The Equator! This means the weather is warm nearly year-round, so there really is no best time to visit the Galapagos. However, there is a rainy season (December through May) and a dry season (June through November), so Galapagos weather does have a slight pattern to it. The biggest shock to me was not the Galapagos Islands climate, rather the water temperature around the Galapagos Islands. After spending the two previous Christmas holidays in the Virgin Islands, the cold water of the Pacific Ocean was surprising! We absolutely needed wetsuits for snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands.
See my full Galapagos Islands packing list here!
How to Choose the Best Galapagos Cruise
Once you’ve decided to see the Galapagos Islands from a cruise, you have to choose which Galapagos cruise ships best fit your travel style. You will not see any mega-cruise ships here, at least they weren’t around when I visited. However, there are much larger ships than the Galapagos trip that I chose.
Browse Galapagos Islands Excursions
The largest ship we saw was a National Geographic cruise, which holds around 100 passengers. Needless to say, I was quite happy with our small ship. The brochure called our boat, the Nemo III, a yacht, but that sounds so pretentious. It was more like a Galapagos liveaboard sailboat. I believe this boat had 8 cabins to accommodate up to 16 passengers. Small enough to get to know everyone, but large enough to get a good rapport with the crew and other guests.
Galapagos Islands Cruise Itinerary
Our cruise itinerary called for eight days sailing the southern route of the Galapagos Islands. There are two routes that most cruises take, southern or northern, but we made our decision based on dates, not on the route. We loved every stop along the way, so I can highly recommend the southern route, however, I’m sure the northern route is just as good. If you are interested in Galapagos diving, it may be worth researching the two options a bit more.
Other than the first and last day at the airport, we only visited 1 town, Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. That meant no wireless or cell service for pretty much the whole week!
Most days were structured the same, so we had a nice routine. At dinner each night, our guide Carlos gave us the run-down of the following day’s activities. We pestered him with questions like what kind of shoes to wear and how much water to bring, but he was very patient with all of us.
Each day began at 7 am with fresh juice and a breakfast buffet, usually including eggs, meat, and cheese, granola and yogurt. At 8:00 we’d jump in the dinghy for our first hike of the day. We would then return to the boat, usually to some waiting snacks and juice, then change into our wetsuits for some Galapagos snorkeling. Lunch is served at noon, starting with soup. Lunch was more like dinner portions – pasta or meat, always with fresh fruit for dessert. Afternoons included another snorkel and another hike, another snack, followed by some downtime before a 7:00 dinner. Needless to say, we were well-fed on Nemo III! Our crew and chefs were amazing!
Galapagos Islands Animals
The Galapagos Islands are best known for their wildlife. It’s funny that the passport stamp and the guide logo are a Giant Tortoise and a Hammerhead Shark – both of which were less common than you would think. I guess those look better than a lizard and a sea lion as the official mascot. However, we saw so many Galapagos animals and one of the coolest things was seeing them all together. In the photo below, you see a bird and a big iguana, but if you look closer, you’ll see a bunch of black iguanas, plus a few crabs here and there.
Some of my favorite Galapagos Islands animals were the sea lions and the turtles, both sea turtles and the Galapagos giant tortoise. We saw newborn sea lions several times and one of the highlights of the trip was watching a sea turtle make the long journey back to the ocean after laying her eggs on the beach.
Of course, there are the famous Galapagos Tortoises, which we saw only on Santa Cruz – first at a farm/sanctuary and then again at the Darwin Research Center.
The most colorful Galapagos animals are the Sally Lightfoot Crabs. The bright color on these guys is a defense from birds – bright colors usually mean POISON!
Birds of Galapagos
And then there’s the birds….so many birds of the Galapagos Islands. Surprisingly, the famous Darwin finches are mostly all black and their diversity is more in diet and habitat, not appearance. Here are a few of the birds of Galapagos that you can expect to see on your Galapagos trip.
On the very last day of our Galapagos cruise, we finally got to see penguins, which I was most looking forward to. Aren’t they cute?! I felt so lucky we spotted these guys before heading back to mainland Ecuador!
Other Galapagos Wildlife
And last but not least, our cold-blooded reptile friends. So many iguanas (land iguanas and marine iguanas), lava lizards, chameleons, etc. There were places where you really had to watch your step because they were just everywhere, soaking up the sun.
Galapagos Islands Trip Cost
All in all, this was absolutely the trip of a lifetime! At about $6,000 all in, it was the most expensive vacation I’ve taken so far, but definitely worth every penny. Aside from the trip cost, flights and tips, there really wasn’t much to spend money on – I bought 1 T-shirt and a tote bag at the airport. Definitely not a shopping kind of trip.
2022 Ecuador Travel Requirements
Upon entry to Ecuador, all travelers 3 years and older must provide:
- A COVID-19 vaccination card with QR code or a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing the traveler received a complete series of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to entering Ecuador, or
- Proof of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to boarding the flight to Ecuador
Wow you saw some incredible wildlife! I’d love to visit the Galápagos Islands. It’s so cute that you saw a sea lion pup too!
I love all of the animals! What an amazing trip. I have never been to the Galapagos Islands, but would love to experience this for myself one day. Thank you for sharing!