A non-stop, whirlwind experience that took us from the highlands of Ecuador to the islands of the Galapagos. We had the chance to stay in lovely haciendas, hike the rim of a beautiful volcanic crater lake, bargain for textiles at a local market, and soak in natural hot springs with some wonderful humans in the mainland. In the islands, we swam with penguins, got a little too close and personal with some pelicans, and encountered beautiful landscapes and amazing wildlife at every turn.
99% of travelers planning their Galapagos trip ask the same question: “Which islands are best?” The biggest comparison in question is between the western and eastern islands.
While it is the most commonly asked question, it is one that does not have a good answer. The honest-to-goodness truth is that both sides of the islands are equally amazing and you will be hard-pressed to find an itinerary that will not give you a fantastic overall experience.
Genovesa - El Barranco/Prince Phillip's Steps - in search of owls (Erin Correia)
If you consult the lists created by the experts, you’ll find the same islands make an appearance on their “top islands” lists: Isabela, Fernandina, Genovesa, Espanola and Floreana. You’ll find some others that make an appearance here and there, but these five dominate overall. The one thing that these islands all have in common is that they are the outliers; these islands are the farthest south, west and north in the archipelago. Any five-day itinerary will typically have at least one of these islands included, and any eight-day itinerary generally has two or three of them.
Unless you are someone who is an extreme birder, or who has some “must-see” creature that can only be found on one island, ANY itinerary will do! The quintessential, most sought after creatures in the islands (sea lions, blue-footed boobies, tortoises, frigate birds, sally light foot crabs, iguanas, sharks, turtles and finches) can be found in all corners of the national park, so any direction you choose to travel will be fantastic.
Genovesa - Darwin Bay - Red footed booby (Erin Correia)
Genovesa - Darwin Bay - loving the sea lions! (Erin Correia)
The one big wildlife difference that stands out would be the birds. While most can be found throughout the islands, you can only see the waved albatross on Espanola (in the southeast) and you can only find the flightless cormorant on Fernandina/Isabela (in the west). If these two birds do not make a difference to you, you can relax and choose the ship, dates or budget that fit you best, rather than getting caught up in the islands your cruise will visit. After all, everyone who has been to the islands swears that the area they visited was “the best” – and they are all correct!
My travel consultant went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly, everything from the flight reservations to the final booking.
johnw
3 weeks ago
I have traveled solo with Adventure Life many times. The process is always easy peasy. They are very helpful with documents and payments. So far so good on my next adventure to Equador.
Anita
3 weeks ago
Working with a company that is in USA and had english speaking helpers.
tamara helland
1 month ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
4 months ago
Great Experience! My trip planner, Jane, was available and knowledgeable. She made suggestions that suited the kind of adventure travel I like, still keeping within my physical limitations. She was very forthcoming with all of the details I requested. And she was always pleasant to speak with.
Charlene West
6 months ago
My travel consultant went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly, everything from the flight reservations to the final booking.
johnw
3 weeks ago
I have traveled solo with Adventure Life many times. The process is always easy peasy. They are very helpful with documents and payments. So far so good on my next adventure to Equador.
Anita
3 weeks ago
Working with a company that is in USA and had english speaking helpers.
tamara helland
1 month ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
4 months ago
Great Experience! My trip planner, Jane, was available and knowledgeable. She made suggestions that suited the kind of adventure travel I like, still keeping within my physical limitations. She was very forthcoming with all of the details I requested. And she was always pleasant to speak with.
Charlene West
6 months ago
My travel consultant went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly, everything from the flight reservations to the final booking.
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