The Galapagos Islands are located at the Equator so there is not a lot of seasonal variation. Air temperatures tend to run in the 70s-80s year round, making the islands a great place to visit at any time. However, the month of December brings seasonal changes to the Galapagos. Here are a few highlights on what you can expect during a Galapagos tour in December: Warm: Warmer season begins and [...]
Lonesome George, the famous Pinta Island tortoise of the Galapagos, has died. George was a beloved icon of the Galapagos Islands and his death comes as a shock to some. Scientists estimated his age at around 100 years which may seem old in human years but is actually middle-aged for giant tortoises who live to be 200 years. George was also the last surviving member of the Pinta Island subspecies [...]
Adventure Life is attending the annual members meeting of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) this week. The theme this year is both ambitious and admirable: Defining and Achieving Sustainable Tourism in the Galapagos. Adventure Lifer, Erin Corriea, is attending and she’ll be in fine company — special guests and speakers include Swen Lorenz, Executive Director, Charles Darwin Foundation; Eliecer Cruz, Director, World Wildlife Fund; Oswaldo Rosero, Operations Director, [...]
As of February 2012, Adventure Life travelers have raised over $83,000 for conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands. Those are impressive numbers – you should be proud of yourself, I know I sure am! These monies where raised through our Galapagos Traveler-Funding program; a program we launched with IGTOA (International Galapagos Tour Operators Association) in 2006. Here’s where your dollars went in 2011: CDF (Charles Darwin Foundation) received a total [...]
UPDATE Jan 9, 2012 – For both Aerogal and TAME flights, fuel surcharges can now be paid in advance to our offices. There will no longer be any payments made locally at the airport. Please see additional details in comments section below. All flights starting on January 1, 2012 to the Galapagos, will be subject to a fuel surcharge. It does not matter when the flights were booked, and applies [...]
Last month, the Galapagos National Park Service announced they are closing visitor access to two of the tortoise corrals at Santa Cruz’s Fausto Llerena Tortoise center — due to some irresponsible behaviors by, reportedly, both some select travelers and naturalist guides. Behaviors reported include littering and violating the park’s rules against touching and coming within two meters of the animals. It was also reported that visitors were observed walking on [...]
Adventure Life’s Brian Morgan is recognized by Travel + Leisure’ A-List 2011 — the annual list features the world’s best agents and operators in the travel industry. We are thrilled to be listed as the go-to for advice on Galapagos cruises and Peru travel. Travel + Leisure “evaluated thousands of agents to come up with this highly selective list of the best in the businesses,” says editors at T+L. “With [...]
To tip or not to tip – or what to tip!? Questions regarding tipping etiquette are some of the most common concerns travelers have when visiting a foreign country. To make matters even more confusing, there is no universal language for tipping; in fact, in some countries a tip is considered an insult or an act of arrogance. Unfortunately, there is not a straight-forward, yes or no, answer to the [...]
Earlier this week the Galapagos National Park and the Ecuadorian Navy seized a boat that was illegally fishing in Galapagos Islands marine reserve — the boat was longline fishing in the protected waters for sharks and swordfish. Sadly, 357 dead sharks were found on board the boat. The species found were: 286 bigeye thresher, 22 blue sharks, 40 Galapagos sharks, 6 hammerhead sharks, 2 tiger sharks, and 1 mako shark. [...]
UPDATE 6/27/2011: WE HAVE A WINNER!! Congrats to Charles Wood — Charles’ name was randomly selected from those who enter, and gets to walk away with the great Eagle Creek gear! Many thanks so all who entered, and stay tuned for more great giveaways. 1. Post this blog or video to your Facebook page anytime between June 10, 2011 and June 26, 2011. To post the video copy/paste this URL [...]
