Galapagos Islands Trip Reviews

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The Galapagos islands, situated around 600 miles west from the continent of South America, is very probably the best area to see evolution throughout their natural splendor.

Named, in Spanish language, after the species that’s without any doubt the most popular of the island archipelago: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos boasts a number of groups of small dainty islands which all are created of undersea volcanoes eruptions.

Placed on the equator, the Galapagos gains all of the rewards of such a perfect location in that all the 16 islands have warm climatic conditions all through the year! If that wasn’t good enough they are at the crossroads for 2 essential trade winds: The North East trade winds (from North and the South East trade winds (coming from South America). These winds are in all probability exactly what started the influx of sustainable life around the island chain – and are believed to have been responsible for the large woods spreading over the higher mountains of the islands.

These island of overwhelming natural splendor have triggered the evolution of many diverse, and distinctive, environments which have in turn permitted the regional wildlife, both plant life and animals as well, to evolve in manners that in simple terms has many researchers stunned.

The rest of the Galapagos island chain is yet another scenario of extraordinary, not forgetting amazing fauna.

When is a good time to travel to the Galapagos?

The Galapagos is a place that can be been to anytime. There’s two seasons. The hottest is between December to May when the atmosphere is generally transparent and the sun shines powerfully. If you love to dive, a good time to travel is around June and November because the temperatures are a little cold, and you will have a far better probability to see the Galapagos’ famous marine life.

The Galapagos were discovered by chance at 1535 by Father Tomas Berlanga, priest of Panama.

Because of the long distances involved, the only practical way to explore the Galapagos is by live-aboard boats, which travel between islands, largely at night, and create different stops every day. More than 80 vessels are licensed to operate in the archipelago and there are an infinite number of combinations of stops and routes. Most cruises go ashore two times a day: 10 full days on the ship typically means 20 shore landings, 10-20 snorkels, and several panga rides (pangas are small, open outboard-powered ships) to approximately 10 different islands.

Exploring on your own is much more difficult. Getting around separately is catchy and all traffic should be accompanied by a licensed naturalist guide at all landing sites. However four islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Floreana and Isabela) do have hotels of varying sizes and criteria and a few boat operators provide day-trips.

Some cruises leave from Baltra (the pier is a five-minute drive from the air terminal). Other people go out of Puerto Ayora, the tourist hub on Santa Cruz and a relatively crowded city, with a bank, ATM machine, taxis, pubs and even a cinema.

GalapagosInformation.com offers a variety of tailor-made live-aboard tours on a lot of different vessels carrying from 4 to 16 passengers.

Wildlife activities diverge, and every month has its own highlights. For example, green turtles start their own egg-laying in January; penguins interact with swimmers on Bartolome mainly from May until the end of September; humpback whales begin to arrive in June; July through to the end of September is the best period for most seabird action; peak pupping for sea lions is around August, while their pups play aqua-aerobics with snorkelers at November; and December is the month for hatching giant tortoise eggs. So, always there is something about to happen.

The seas are usually calmer and clearer at this time of year (using 60ft-80ft visibility average) and the water temperature averages 79° F (26°C), so this period is ideal for snorkeling.

The trendy, drier, windier year (with occasional drizzle or mist) is from June to November. Sea temperatures in the time of year drop to as low as 66F (19C) and visibility often goes to 30ft-50ft, whilst sea swells may make some landings tricky.

Sierra Negra Volcano: Hiking enthusiasts are sure to adore the chance of the steep ascent to the rim of Sierra Negra Volcano. The hike up takes around two hours, with great vistas all around. Upon reaching the top you can feast your eyes on the planet’s third-biggest caldera, surrounded by lush vegetation and home to many kinds of finch. Horse riding provides another perspective of the gorgeous location.

Moreno Point and Elizabeth Bay: bursting a bit further north, Moreno Point presents terrific dinghy excursions, complete with terrific bird-spotting opportunities. As an alternative, you may enjoy scenic hiking through the lava stones and look for whale-tip sharks from the waters. Climb to a little dinghy to explore the little islets off the shore of Elizabeth Bay, watching unique mangrove forests, observing penguins along with blue-footed boobies on the craggy rocks, and getting near sea lions and various fish species with some snorkeling adventures.

Bolivar Channel: Lots of Isabela island cruises sail throughout the Bolivar Channel, a station that separates Isabela Island and the neighboring Fernandina Island. The coldest waters at the Galapagos area, it is common to see whales and dolphins swimming close to your cruise boat.

Vicente Roca Point: At the north of Isabela Island, Vicente Roca Point is a high place for snorkeling and boating. The twin coves shield a variety of unusual species, including sunfish, seahorses, and puffer fish. Bird lovers won’t be disappointed either, with terns, blue-footed boobies, and penguins, among others.

Giant Tortoises

The giant tortoises of Galapagos are among the most well-known of the unique fauna of the Islands. While giant tortoises once thrived on the majority of the continents of the Earth, the Galapagos tortoises now represent one of the remaining two groups of giant tortoises in the whole world -another group living on Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The Galapagos Islands were known for their giant tortoises; the old Spanish word galapago meant saddle, a term ancient explorers used for the tortoises on account of the shape of their shells.

The closest surviving relative of the Galapagos giant tortoise is the small Chaco tortoise from South America, although it’s not a direct ancestor. Scientists believe the initial tortoises came to Galapagos two–3 million years back by traveling 800 kilometers from the South American coast on vegetation rafts or on their own. They were already massive beats long time before coming in Galapagos. Colonizing the eastern-most islands of Española and San Cristobal first, then they spread throughout the archipelago, finally establishing at least 15 separate populations on ten of the biggest Galapagos Islands.

Although there is a good amount of variation in size and shape among Galapagos tortoises, two main morphological forms exist -the domed carapace (similar to their ancestral form) as well as the saddle-backed carapace. Domed tortoises are normally considerably larger in size and don’t have the up thrust into the front of the carapace; they live on the larger, islands with humid highlands where forage is usually abundant and readily obtainable. Saddle-backed shells evolved over the arid islands in response to the absence of accessible food during drought. The front part of the carapace angles upwards, letting the tortoise to expand its mind higher to reach the higher vegetation, such as cactus pads.

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