Traveler Spotlight: Combination cruise & hotel stay

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In this month’s Traveler Spotlight – where we interview tourists about their experiences of visiting the Galapagos Islands – we spoke to Susana Cueva, who visited the islands by combining a cruise with a hotel-based stay.

  • What type of trip did you go on in the Galapagos? I took a four-day cruise and also stayed independently on San Cristobal Island.
  • What yacht did you choose for your cruise?  The yacht was called Amigo, it was a tourist-class boat. It was a wooden-hulled boat and a little old, but the service made up for it. The chef was excellent and the food was varied and delicious. The staff were very friendly.
  • How long did you stay for? I spent four days on the cruise, and two weeks staying on San Cristobal.
  • Which islands did you visit? Santa Cruz, Floreana, Española and San Cristobal.
  • What was your favourite experience on the islands? The best part for me was seeing the animals, who are so friendly with humans. It was wonderful to see so many species that are unique to the islands.
  • Would you have done anything differently? I would have loved to have gone diving!
  • What advice would you give to people planning to take a trip to the Galapagos islands? Take a great camera with you! Make sure you organize your trip well in order to make the most of your time on the islands. I think to make the most of your time, it’s best to take a cruise. Also, make sure you have extra money on you – things are more expensive in the islands than in mainland Ecuador.

 

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Photo credit: Waved Albatrosses on Española Island Flickr/Island Conservation 

Traveler Spotlight: island-hopping in the Galapagos

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In the second of our monthly Traveler Spotlights – where we interview tourists about their experiences of visiting the Galapagos Islands – we spoke to Lynn Min, who visited the islands on an island-hopping tour.

  • What type of trip did you go on in the Galapagos Islands? A land-based tour.
  • Where did you say? We stayed at the Crossman Hotel (Santa Cruz island), Paraiso Isabela (Isabela island) and Blue Marlin (San Cristobal island). We liked all of them; Blue Marlin was our favourite.
  • How long was your trip? 8 days, 8 nights.
  • Which islands did you visit? Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristobal.
  • What was your favorite experience? Many, top three being Kicker Rock [off San Cristobal Island], Volcan Chico [Isabela island] and the Highland Tour [Santa Cruz island]. Swimming/snorkeling with white sharks, tortugas and the sea lions was priceless.
  • Would you have done anything differently? We are glad that we chose the land based tour rather than a cruise. In addition to being more affordable it gave us far more flexibility, enabled us to enjoy great local food (the kiosks in Puerto Ayora), absorb local culture (we also took the Christmas train ride in Puerto Ayora; husband/son played soccer on turf with local men at Puerto Villamil), and sleep in late if needed.

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Photo credit: Flickr/Allan Harris

Traveler spotlight: Galapagos Islands cruise

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Starting this month, we will be publishing a monthly Traveler Spotlight where we chat with a tourist who has visited the Galapagos – we’ll find out about their experience and get some great tips. For this month’s spotlight, we spoke to Jena Davidson, who visited the islands on a five-day cruise.

  • What type of trip did you go on in the Galapagos Islands? A cruise.
  • What yacht did you choose? What did you think of it? I stayed on the Fragata yacht. I thought the boat was nice given its reasonable price and excellent itinerary. It was not luxurious, but was comfortable nonetheless. The cabins and common spaces were clean and spacious enough, and the sun deck was a great place to relax, sunbathe, and watch frigate birds and pelicans soar overhead.
  • How long did you stay for? My trip to the Galapagos was for seven days: a five-day cruise, followed by two nights in Puerto Ayora.
  • Which islands did you visit? During my time, I visited Fernandina, Isabela, Santiago and Santa Cruz islands. On Santa Cruz, I specifically visited Puerto Ayora, Tortuga Bay and Las Grietas.
  • What was your favorite experience on the islands? One of my favorite experiences was snorkeling at Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela island. It was surreal swimming among penguins, sea lions, giant marine turtles and lots of other colorful fish. They did not seem at all bothered by my presence and swam right up to me!
  • Would you have done anything differently? I don’t think I would do anything differently, except maybe staying longer! Now I know for next time. I also think a more luxurious boat would have enhanced my experience but I did not have the budget to take one at the time; the more moderate boat did not put a damper on my experience, though!
  • What advice would you give to people planning to take a trip to the Galapagos islands? I would definitely recommend considering adding a land extension to your Galapagos cruise, either before or after your tour. That way, you get both the boat-based and land-based tour experience and can extend the range of your trip. From both Puerto Ayora and Puerto Villamil, there are several free visitor sights, and it is also possible to schedule day trips to neighboring islands. You may even consider spending a few days scuba diving or getting your scuba diving certification. Both towns are nice places to stay and have their own charm.

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Photo credit: Flickr/Steven Bedard 

South Plaza Island

Travellers’ Top Galapagos Experiences

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Here at Insider’s Galapagos we have been asking travelers who have been to the Galapagos Islands what their favourite experience was – we think it’s a great way of inspiring other travelers who are planning a trip. Here we pool their answers to give you our top Galapagos Experiences!

Galapagos memories

  • “Visiting Kicker Rock [located off the coast of Isla San Cristobal], snorkeling on Isabela (we got to swim with turtles and penguins). We loooooved Tortuga Bay [on Santa Cruz]”. (Miriam Ventimilla, Galapagos land-based tour).
  • “Our favourite island was Isabela. We preferred the laid back, quieter atmosphere there to Santa Cruz.” (Annie Crowley, Galapagos land-based tour).
  • “I loved the contrast of the lava formations with the beautiful bright green and red plants on South Plaza. Isabela was beautiful, and a cruise that visits it lets you see so much incredible variety of terrain and animals. The hikes were just amazing at every turn.” (Lisa Hartland, Galapagos Cruise Archipell II).
  • “I loved snorkeling. Seeing hammerhead sharks was amazing.” (Myriam Gallegos, Galapagos land-based tour).
  • “Top three…Kicker Rock, Volcan Chia [Isabela Island] and the Highland tour [Santa Cruz Island]. Swimming/snorkeling with the white sharks, tortguas and the sea lions was priceless”. (Lynn Min, Galapagos land-based tour) 
  • “Discovering the nature and the wildlife, and swimming in the amazing Pacific Ocean.” (Cécile Clavel, Galapagos land-based tour). 

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