Galapagos recs?

[amberlyrose]

We're going to Ecuador for Thanksgiving and I have no idea what I'm doing. We'll have about 5 nights in the Galapagos, but I'm not sure which island is best to stay on. We're mostly relax and chill type, but would love to do a few hikes. 

[amberlyrose]

miso

[amberlyrose]

Aug 26, 2016 17:55:40 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

amberlyrose - are you set on doing a land vacation? I think the vast majority of posters who have done the Galapagos (myself included) have done a cruise. They do shorter ones (say 3-4 nights), and I think they're so prevalent because they really open your options up, re: visiting more of the islands and seeing more wildlife.

If you are set on staying on land, I'd look at Santa Cruz, specifically the town of Puerto Ayora (where the Charles Darwin Research Center is). I'm pretty sure Puero Ayora is the largest town in the Galapagos, so I imagine it would give you the most day trip options - all of which will require a boat trip, FYI.

Definitely not opposed to a cruise!!

[lightbulbsun]

I went to the Galapagos last summer with H and another couple. We did a 5 day cruise (if you can call a boat with 16 passangers and 4 crew a cruise), and then stayed 2 nights on San Cristobal and 3 nights on Santa Cruz. On land, we stayed in apartments we rented through airbnb.

The cruise we took started on Santa Cruz, and went to Floreana and Espanola, and ended on San Cristobal. I liked that we had such a small group, and a lot of the time we were the only people at a specific location at any time. We also got to see things that you can't see in a land-based tour. We saw basically all of the animals that they listed.

www.galapagosislands.com/mid-range-cruises/xavier/xavier-motor-yacht.html (5 day cruise option A)

On San Cristobal, we stayed in Puerto Baquerizo. We spent one day hiking from the Interpretation Center, which had a lot of great walking paths both up the mountain (great views and a frigate bird mating area), and down to the beaches (snorkeling with sea lions, sea turtles, iguanas, and a ton of fish). We brought our own snorkels and masks, which ended up being a great idea because we could snorkel anywhere without having to be with a group or find equipment to rent. We only had carry-ons, and they didn't take up that much room. The second day we took a taxi to Puerto Chino beach. It was more crowded, which meant that the ocean was a little foggier from people kicking up sand.

We took a water taxi from Puerto Baquerizo to Puerto Ayora, which took about 3 hours, and cost $14 per person. It was really rough, and I get seasick, but I was fine with dramamine. If you're sensative to other people being sick, then consider spending more money to fly, because about 1/3 of the people on the boat were puking.

In Puerto Ayora we spent one day walking through the Darwin center, which has tortoises from each island, as well as a bunch of land and sea iguanas. We also went up to the Tortoise Reserve, where we took a tour of tortoises in the wild.

The second day we hiked to Tortuga Bay, which was about an hour each way. There's a beach where the locals go to swim, and we saw some cool birds and lizards along the way. The snorkeling isn't great there because of the people, but there are supposed to be nurse sharks. In the afternoon we took a short water taxi to Las Grietas, which was another hike to a river between 2 cliffs.

On the third day we took a day trip to Bartolome. That was a very cool trip, and I loved the landscape, and the view was amazing.

ETA: I should add that when I travel I care more about what I see than where I stay.  We "splurged" for a boat that had hot water, lol, but it was not fancy.  If you are looking for a luxury trip, do not book the Xavier.  The apartments we stayed in were nice and clean.  The hot water was spotty, but they did have a/c!  

[ksun]

When my mom went, she did a cruise.

[Champagne Supernova]

We did a cruise as well.

We started in Quito, explored the city, then flew to Baltra, drove from Baltra to Puerto Ayora, explored the town and checked out the massive tortoises and then we boarded the Isabella and we were on board for 5 nights. Lots of hiking and snorkeling everyday. I can't wait to go back.

[chimera]

Our first trip we did a cruise on Celebrity Xpedition 7 night trip out of Baltra - amazing! I'm not sure what their current itineraries look like as they changed after we went in 2010. Our next trip we are planning will be a dive trip to the Northern islands on one of the liveaboard dive boats, but they are a bit longer than what you are looking at.

I think underwaterrhymes is the poster with family who lives there, but I might have people mixed up.

[underwaterrhymes]

My sister and her husband have a dive shop in Puerto Ayora.

They're actually not living there anymore because educational opportunities for older kids aren't good, but they still have their shop for now and my sister's husband (who is from Galapagos) goes back frequently.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to pass them along.

[trigal]

We just came back from the Galápagos. We did not do a cruise as we wanted to give more business to the land-based businesses.

We stayed 3 nights on Santa Cruz (visited Tortuga Bay, Charles Darwin Center, Lava Tunnels, El Chato and other places.
We also stayed 3 nights on San Cristobal. Did some snorkeling and biking.
You can't do everything, so pick and choose.

We