What to Look for in a TourYou are contemplating a visit to Galapagos. You have dreamed of this trip for years and now you are ready to go. Which tour are you going to chose? Today there are many tour companies offering trips to Galápagos, all professing to be the best, and it can be a bewildering and belaboring chore trying to find the best for you. In order to narrow down your selection, first think of your priority needs. 1. What is your BUDGET? 
While the most expensive tour does not necessarily
mean the best, the least expensive tours are usually lacking in quality of
service. While choosing a trip that will be affordable to you beware that
cost alone is not necessarily indicative of quality. While figuring your
budget remember to add the cost of your round-trip flight out to the islands
(about $385), hotel nights in Quito or Guayaquil, the park entrance fee
(about $100), if not included in the cost of the tour. Also remember tip
money for your crew and guide and spending money for t-shirts and other
souvenirs.
2. How many DAYS can you spare? Most tours are 8 days in Galápagos, with 3-4 day options, as well as longer, 10, 11 and 15 day trips. Remember that ˝ of the first and last day are taken up in travelling from and to the continent. In addition, beware of cruises which go into port to pick up and drop off passengers midway through a one week itinerary. These companies offer half week cruises. Those passengers who book the full week by combining the first half and second half of the lose out as they have to wait while the boat drops off passengers, picks up incoming passengers and refuels. Usually the number of days quoted for a tour include the days in Quito. Make sure you are clear as to how many days are spent in Galápagos. For example an advertised 15 day trip may actually mean only 11 days in Galápagos with extensions such as a visit to Otovalo or Cotopaxi, on the mainland making up the rest of the trip. To fully enjoy the Galápagos we do not recommend anything less than an 8 day tour. With the right itinerary an 8 day trip can include the best sites, but a 10 or 11 day trip is ideal. A 15 day trip does not necessarily add significantly to the number of visiting sites but the pace is more relaxed. 3. What SIZE of group do you wish to travel with? In Galápagos you can find tours on vessels ranging from 6 passenger yachts to 100 passenger cruise ships. Boats carrying 10 to 20 passengers are the norm. Unless you are specifically aiming for the comfort and luxury provided by a cruise ship, a smaller ship offers a more intimate visit to the islands. The advantages of a small boat are that you are in a smaller group, you get a more personal feel for the islands, photography is better if you are not sandwiched between large groups of people, and it allows for a more flexible schedule. While the very smallest boats are usually slow and have limited itineraries, the mid size 10-20 passenger vessels offer the intimacy of a small group with more of the comfort and speed of the larger ships. 4. What level of ACTIVITY do you feel comfortable with? Most tours cater to people of all ages with low to normal activity levels, while others advertise earlier starts to the day and more hiking and snorkeling opportunities. A few offer additional incentives for the fitter, more active traveler. To maximize your enjoyment of the islands, chose a tour with a high activity level. You can always choose not to do a hike if you are not feeling up to it, but it is better to have the opportunity to do so in the first place. As Greg says "It is not unusual to see groups arriving late in the morning at a visiting site and then staying on shore for only an hour or two. Snorkeling is often not an option for these groups. When one sees the abundance of wildlife both on land and in the water it is a tragedy to spend so little time taking in the wonders of Galápagos on a once in a lifetime experience." 
In addition to your priority needs, there are three equally important B.I.G. features, which don't immediately spring to mind, but which are essential for a successful tour. The BOAT, the ITINERARY, and the GUIDE. Boat There are several classes of boats in the islands ranging from motor sailers to cruise ships. While the sailing vessels are arguably the most beautiful they are not necessarily the best option. Sailing between islands is not realistic due to the distance and time involved. These yachts motor between islands and while the sails may be put up for a short time this is more for entertainment or stability than for speed. Motor yachts, while maybe not quite so beautiful, are wider and more spacious for the number of passengers they carry. And of course the cruise ships are the most spacious; in a sense they are floating hotels. All boats have double occupancy cabins with the option of a cabin to yourself if you pay more. To fit your desired comfort level look for the following features: do the cabins have private or shared bathrooms, bunks or adjacent beds, port holes which cannot be opened or windows which open, and air-conditioning? Make sure the boat has all the requisite safety features: G.P.S., radar, EPIRB, smoke detectors, life jackets and life boats. Itinerary Look for a superb itinerary. If this is your one big chance to visit the famous Galápagos Islands, make sure you see as much as possible. Visitors to Galapagos have different priorities when it comes to what they want to see most of all. The giant tortoise, marine iguana, sea lion and blue footed booby rank high on the list. And all of these are normally seen in a cruise in the islands. But others, like the flightless cormorant, Galápagos penguin, waved albatross, Galápagos fur seal, Galápagos land iguana, red footed booby, vermillion flycatcher and flamingo are not always seen. And furthermore even though you see a giant tortoise, marine iguana, sea lion or 
blue footed booby, you may not have a chance to see tortoises in the wild,
marine iguanas by the hundreds, sea lions frolicking underwater or blue
footed boobies doing their courtship dance. You will have a chance to see
all of these if you have the right itinerary.
An ideal itinerary includes the three "Biggies"; Fernandina , Espańola and
Genovesa. Ask anyone who has been to the Galápagos what were their
highlights and they are bound to mention one of these three islands.
Fernandina to see hordes of marine iguanas and the flightless cormorant in
one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, Espanola to see nesting
blue footed and masked boobies, colorful marine iguanas and, between April -
December, the waved albatross, and Genovesa (the 'bird island') to see
nesting red footed boobies, frigatebirds, storm petrels and red-billed
tropicbirds. All three islands offer outstanding opportunities for great
photography.
Unfortunately, on most trips often one or more of these islands are missing from the itinerary. It is impossible to include them all on a 3-4 day trip, and difficult on an 8 day trip, due to their widely spread positions at the periphery of the archipelago; Fernandina is the most westerly island, Espanola the most southeasterly and Genovesa is up in the northeast of the archipelago. Be sure to look for an itinerary which includes at least 2 of these 3 outstanding islands. Guide There are over 300 naturalist guides in the Galápagos but not all are fluent in English, with a university level education and years of experience working as a naturalist. These guides are in high demand and usually go with the more expensive trips. Some trips include both a naturalist guide and a tour leader who provides additional lectures. You may prefer a trip which advertises an experienced and university educated guide who is fluent in English. Your guide is not only there to provide information on the natural history of the islands but to maximize your enjoyment of the islands while acting as the park's policeman.. He or she is there to make sure the park rules are upheld by anyone at the visitor site. Greg Estes is experienced working as both a guide and an expeditions leader, having worked with many of the top international tour operators for the past 19 years. The trips listed in the Trips Page are all guided or led by Greg Estes who has dedicated his life to promoting conservation of Galápagos through his work as a licensed naturalist guide of the Galápagos National Park. Greg has a degree in Biology from the University of London, has done research on the marine iguana, sperm whale and Galápagos petrel and has published on Darwin' s historic visit to the Galápagos Islands. Greg knows how to maximize a visitors enjoyment of the islands. As he often says "We disembark earlier than most other boats and spend more time on shore followed by ample time to snorkel through multicolored fish and acrobatic sea lions." |