Galapagos Trip Report

[VillainV]

We just got back from 8 days in the Galapagos. We booked through National Geographic/Lindblad.

We had to book flights to and from Guayaquil, Ecuador. From arrival, all hotels and transfers were included in our trip booking, and everything was very well organized and ran like clockwork.

When we landed in Guayaquil we were met by at NatGeo agent who directed us to our bus for transfer to the hotel. We stayed at Hotel Oro Verde in Guayaquil, which was great. We arrived and our bags were brought to our room very quickly. The next morning we had an amazing buffet breakfast (included) before transfer back to Guayaquil airport for a flight to Baltra Island.

When we landed in Baltra we took a short bus ride to the dock, then zodiac to the boat (National Geographic Endeavor II). At the dock we saw our first marine iguanas and sea lions!!

Once on board, we had lunch and our bags were quickly brought to our cabins.

This was a VERY small boat. There were fewer than 90 passengers, and about 65 crew. About 20 passengers were kids. Lots of large family groups like ours (grandparents traveling with adult children and grandchildren — youngest child aboard was maybe 7, lots of 8-10 year olds, a few teens). There were no TVs and very little access to WiFi, so the kids didn’t have screens. They spent a lot of time playing cards/chess/checkers in the library, and there was some special programming for the kids.

The ship-board service was outstanding. Everything was included from specialty coffee, beer/wine/cocktails, soda, all food and snacks. The small crew and guest count meant that the servers were very in tune with what drinks people preferred, how they took their coffee, etc. All crew spoke English, and most passengers spoke at least some Spanish.

All excursions were also included. There were several daily options for guided nature walks, zodiac rides, snorkeling (all gear provided), swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding. The ship-board naturalist guides were outstanding, and we got to see a LOT of wildlife (notably: sea lions, fur seals, penguins, blue-footed boobies, marine and land iguanas, lots of bird species, green sea turtles, giant tortoises, and so many others). The animals there have always been protected and visits to the islands highly regulated, so the animals have no reason to be afraid of people and they will let people get very close (park rules require people stay six feet from wildlife, but many animals will approach much closer).

The naturalists also gave daily lectures on geology, oceanography, photography, and human history of the area. There was at least one kid-centered activity daily, and kids who filled out their “field notebooks” got a prize at the end. They also let the kids learn how to drive the zodiacs, and let them practice throughout the week.

It was a VERY busy week. Most mornings we were up around 6, and in bed at 9:30. We stayed very active, but there was some downtime during the days for naps or relaxing. The kids played together a lot, and the adults got to know each other very well too. It was clear that NatGeo/Lindblad has put a lot of thought into providing an experience that appeals to all generations and levels of physical ability. They really emphasized conservation and education, and have done a lot to operate responsibly, and raise money for conservation and restoration efforts.

At the end of our trip, we flew from San Cristobal island back to Guayaquil, then another night at Hotel Oro Verde, and transfer back to the airport the next day for our flight back to the US.

Overall, it was a really outstanding experience and I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to experience the Galapagos!!

[wanderingback]

This sounds great!
How much did it cost?

This is the type of trip pre-kid that I would do solo because it’s not exactly my partner’s vibe and getting up at 6am on vacation would be torture to him haha. I actually went to Ecuador solo before but didn’t go to the Galapagos.

Anyway, sounds like a great trip with a kid who isn’t a baby anymore so would love to add this to my list of family trips and I’m sure my daughter could convince my partner to come along

[buckeyegirl]

This sounds like my dream trip. I’m glad you had a great time!

[mrsGreeko]

This is something I want to do so badly, but probably when my kids are grown because getting them out of bed as teenagers is absolutely torture plus also every time I’ve looked it didn’t seem like it was cost effective for 5 people so I’m also curious on the cost and what the rooms were like, especially with a kid in there with you.

[dcrunnergirl52]

This sounds amazing! Did you feel like 8 days was enough/too much?

[VillainV]

Jul 10, 2023 9:38:37 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

This sounds great!
How much did it cost?

This is the type of trip pre-kid that I would do solo because it’s not exactly my partner’s vibe and getting up at 6am on vacation would be torture to him haha. I actually went to Ecuador solo before but didn’t go to the Galapagos.

Anyway, sounds like a great trip with a kid who isn’t a baby anymore so would love to add this to my list of family trips and I’m sure my daughter could convince my partner to come along :)

It was about $8000/person for the 8-day trip, before airfare. My parents paid our fare because they wanted the big family trip. It was definitely more expensive than any vacation we’ve been on before, but it was VERY nice that it was all-inclusive and we didn’t feel nickel-and-dimed like most cruises. The experience was so wonderful that we are re-thinking our upcoming travel, and want to save up to take fewer trips with NatGeo/Lindblad instead of more frequent vacations of other types.

Our cabin was pretty small — about the size of an indoor cabin on a major cruise line, except we had a large window. It had a king-sized bed, and a fold-down bunk that C slept in. My sister/BIL/two nephews had two cabins (nephews was configured for two twin beds instead of one king).

The cabin was plenty large for 3 people. We barely spent any time in it except changing clothes or sleeping. The boat had good public spaces for hanging out.

The smaller boat did mean that the boat moved around a lot more, and motion sickness affected some people. Most seemed fine with bands or motion sickness patches.

[VillainV]

Jul 10, 2023 11:05:03 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

This sounds amazing! Did you feel like 8 days was enough/too much?

It was about right! Toward the end i sort of wish we could have stayed longer, but we were exhausted from being so active. There were a few more islands we didn’t get to see, but they would have had similar wildlife to what we did see.

[CrazyLucky]

Did you see the Phillie Phanatic's relatives? That's where he's from. LOL

[VillainV]

Jul 10, 2023 19:18:08 GMT -5 CrazyLucky said:

Did you see the Phillie Phanatic's relatives? That's where he's from. LOL

I just googled him! We didn’t see anything that resembled Phillie Phanatic.

I did learn that the modern version of Godzilla was modeled after the Marine Iguana (only found in Galapagos).

(Not my photo)

[RockNVoll]

Super helpful, thank you for sharing! This is on our bucket list but after doing Antarctica last year I need a little time before I brave a ship-based trip again. I get very seasick and will not soon forget the Drake Passage experience, LOL.

[lightbulbsun]

I'm glad you had such a good trip! Although it's funny that you described that as a very small boat. When I went to Galapagos the boat I went on had 14 passengers and 8 crew! Your boat sound much nicer, we only had one guide and the food kind of sucked, lol.

[fortnightlily]

This is a dream trip of mine. Thanks for sharing! For the swimming and snorkeling how cold and rough was the water?

[dutchgirl678]

What a dream trip! Thanks for sharing!

[VillainV]

Jul 14, 2023 6:30:23 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

This is a dream trip of mine. Thanks for sharing! For the swimming and snorkeling how cold and rough was the water?

The water was between 78-80, which is unusually warm for this time of year due to impending El Niño. It’s typically 65-68. The boat provided shorty wetsuits for snorkeling, but we didn’t use them because of how warm it was. The water temp changes seasonally.

We mostly snorkeled in protected coves and bays, so it wasn’t too rough. Visibility most days was exceptional.

ETA: even though it’s not particularly warm, the sun is VERY strong since it’s on the equator, so we also snorkeled in longer shorts and long sleeved rash guards for sun protection. Nothing worse than getting a bad sunburn on your back and backs of your thighs….

[Pibs]

I've always wondered about NatGeo tours. And the Galapagos has always seemed so fascinating to me -- this seems like a really great way to do it!

[mrsukyankee]

Sounds super cool. My parents did a Nat Geo trip before and said it was one of the best they'd been on. Glad you had a similar experience.