Galapogas Islands Cruises and
Tours
The Galapogas Islands are so
famous that many people think they’re are a country in their
own right! They’re not – the islands are a province
of Ecuador, even though they lie nearly 1000km off the Ecuadorian
coast. The government of Ecuador has forbidden passenger travel on the
boats that supply the Galapogas Islands so the only way in is to buy a
flight (prices are controlled by the state) from the mainland of
Ecuador. San Cristobal or Baltra are the two airports of the Galapogas
Islands, and depending on the length of your Galapogas cruise, you may
fly into one island and out from the other. Ask your travel agent for a
Galapogas Islands map so that you understand what is included on your
cruise itinerary.
The Galapogas archipelago
consists of a group of volcanic islands that have also been known as
the Enchanted Isles and the Archipielago de Colon. Thor
Heyerdahl’s historic Kon-Tiki expedition on a balsa raft
showed that prehistoric people from the coasts of Ecuador and Peru
could have reached the Galapogas Islands, perhaps using them as a
seasonal base for fishing. The first reliably documented visitor
arrived by accident in 1535 when his ship was swept off course. The
social history of the Galapogas Islands is a sensational mix of
pirates, whalers, castaways, slaves and tyrants. In the 1930s, the
lives of European settlers on Floreana seemed like something out of a
soap opera, with a bizarre German ‘philosopher’, a
mad baroness and her two lovers, and a string of scandals, mysterious
disappearances and deaths.
The Galapogas Islands are
renowned worldwide as a unique ecosystem in which many endemic species
have developed. Charles Darwin recognised their role as an evolutionary
laboratory when he visited the Galapogas Islands in 1835 and wrote
about the trip in his 1845 book ‘The Voyage of the
Beagle’. His observations of the ecology in the Galapogas
Islands led him to develop his theory of evolution and natural
selection. When Darwin finally published his famous book ‘On
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’ in 1859,
explaining his theory of evolution, it changed the way that scientists
viewed the natural history of the planet (and shocked religious figures
of the time for its controversial contradiction of the biblical view of
creation).
The Galapogas Islands are a
UNESCO World Heritage Site and World Biosphere Reserve, in recognition
of the importance of their unique ecology.
The Galapogas
wildlife is fearless and is the big attraction for visitors
to the Islands. Examples include the Galapogas giant
tortoises, penguins, sea lions and
seals. The most famous resident of the Galapogas Islands is probably
Lonesome George the giant Pinta tortoise, believed to be the last of
his kind until the recent discovery of a giant tortoise from Isabela
which has some of the same genes. You might see whales and dolphins
round the islands further west in the archipelago. The Galapagos
penguin is the only penguin in the world which lives and breeds on the
equator and (just) in the Northern Hemisphere.
Bird life is abundant in the
islands and everyone can spot pelicans, albatrosses, Galapogas hawks,
Darwin’s finches, frigate birds and the famous blue-footed
boobies that have almost become a symbol of the Galapogas Islands.
Serious bird watchers will find themselves in a birdwatcher’s
paradise here and will want to make sure they have a Galapogas guide
who is knowledgeable about birds. Ideally, look for a specialist
Galapogas Islands birdwatching cruise or tour itinerary so that the
rest of the group will be bird watchers too and share the fascination
for identifying every bird species on the list! Birdwatchers should
note that the flightless cormorant is found only on Isabela and
Fernandina, waved albatrosses are found in EspaNola and there are large
colonies of seabirds on Genovesa, in the far north east of the
Galapogas archipelago.
A good guidebook
to the
Galapogas is useful for understanding the history, natural
history and
culture of the islands. Take along a reference book or field guide if
you want to identify the unique mammals, reptiles, birds and insects of
the Galapogas Islands, and let your tour guide know if you have a
particular interest in specific types of Galapogas wildlife.
Amateur photographers will be
in seventh heaven here in the Galapogas Islands – the
wildlife really does not run away, so you don’t even need a
zoom lens to get close-up photos! (Professional photographers will want
to seek a specialist photography tour of the Galapogas Islands, with
extra time allowed to photograph all the amazing wildlife). No matter
how little experience you have of taking photos, you should get some
great images here in the Galapogas Islands. Colourful Sally lightfoot
crabs scuttle across dramatic volcanic rocks while iguanas sunbathe.
Galapogas fur seals and sea lions lounge on the beaches, posing for
your camera. You can take great wildlife photos even with the most
basic camera equipment. Remember that photography supplies are limited
or non-existent in the Galapogas Islands, so bring with you all the
camera equipment, film, memory cards, batteries and lenses that you
need to capture your images of Galapogas.
A Galapogas cruise is the best
way to see the islands but it is not a cheap option. Galapogas cruise
prices depend on the level of luxury and comfort of your cruise boat
cabin. Before you decide, check a Galapogas Islands map to see your
itinerary, make sure the guide will speak your language, and know how
many land tours and island visits you will make each day, and how many
hours you will spend cruising. Check what is included on the budget
Galapogas cruise boats – you might end up paying top prices
for bottled water on some of the cheaper boats. Also find out the size
of the vessel – the choice ranges from luxury catamarans and
small boats with just 10 or 12 guests to the larger, more stable but
less exclusive cruise boats with almost a hundred passengers where not
all the cabins have sea views. Make sure there will be room to sit out
on deck, but shaded from the tropical sun.
There are strict regulations
controlling travel and tourism in the Galapogas Islands and the tour
itineraries are carefully designed so that you see the maximum variety
of Galapogas wildlife with the minimum possible impact on the ecology
of these unique island environments. Your licensed guide should follow
the designated footpaths and stick to the tour itinerary.
The budget way to see the
Galapogas Islands is perhaps a hotel-based tour – base
yourself in a Galapogas hotel on one of the islands, explore that on
foot and take day trips to some of the other islands. Of course, you
will not be able to see as many of the islands this way, but it is a
more economical option for a Galapogas tour if your budget does not
stretch to a luxury Galapogas cruise. Also you will get to see some of
the 3% of the Galapogas Islands territory which is private land, not
part of the Galapogas National Park, and is inhabited by the lucky
citizens of this island paradise. The Galapagos sea lions seem to like
their human neighbours – they come into the harbour and
snooze on the moored boats!
Diving tours in the Galapogas
Islands offer the experience of a lifetime – where else can
you dive with sealions, penguins, turtles, iguanas and (harmless)
sharks all in the same archipelago? Currents in the Galapogas Islands
are strong and cold (the Humboldt current passes through), so this is
for experienced divers only, but if you know how to dive this could be
the dive of your life. Check carefully with your travel agent what your
Galapogas diving cruise will include and what diving equipment you will
need to take.
Think about the Galapogas
weather before deciding when to book your island cruise, as this will
affect your Galapogas cruising experience. As a rough guide, the warm
wet weather season is from January to June – the sea is
relatively warm, the air temperature is up to about 30°C and
heavy but short bursts of rain interrupt the sunshine. July to December
is the cool dry weather season – the sea is chilly and
choppy, the air temperature is in the low 20s and there is very little
rain, though the weather is usually overcast and visibility can be
lower, especially in the mists of September.
The timing of your Galapogas
cruise does not depend only on the weather. As you would expect,
Galapogas prices go up during Easter week, Christmas and school
holidays. The cruise boats and flights are booked up well in advance
for these peak holiday times, so don’t leave booking your
Christmas, Easter or summer vacation until the last minute.
Galapogas time is one hour
behind the mainland of Ecuador, i.e. in the time zone GMT minus 6
hours. The entrance fee to the Galapogas National Park is US$100. The
capital of Galapogas is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristobal
Island.
The Galapogas islands are
usually known by their official Spanish names, but some people also
know them by the original names chosen by the English pirates
– here in brackets: Baltra (South Seymour), Darwin
(Culpepper), Española (Hood), Fernandina (Narborough),
Genovesa
(Tower), Isabela (Albermarle), Marchena (Brindloe), Pinta (Abingdon),
Pinzon (Duncan), Rabida (Jervis), San Cristobal (Chatham), San Salvador
(Santiago, or James), Santa Cruz (Indefatigable), Santa Fe
(Barrington), Floreana (Charles), Seymour Norte (North Seymour),
Tortuga (Brattle) and Wolf (Wenman).
Galapogas
Islands Cruises & Tours:
wildlife vacations, diving holidays, hotel tours, birdwatching,
Galapogas information, weather, Darwin, evolution, social &
natural history in the Galapogas Islands
