Best Places to visit Galapagos Islands

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The Galapagos islands, located about 600 miles west from the continent of Latin America, is fairly probably the best possible destination to witness evolution throughout their natural beauty.

Called, in Spanish, after the animal that is without any doubt the most famous of the island archipelago: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos offers a number of clusters of small dainty islands which all are created of below surface volcanoes eruptions.

Positioned on the equator, the Galapagos gets all the rewards of this global position because all the 16 islands have sunny climate all through the year! If that wasn’t sufficient they are at the crossroads for two vitally important trade winds: The North East trade winds (coming from North and the South East trade winds (coming from South America). All these winds are likely exactly what started the influx of self-sufficient life around the island chain – and are thought to have been responsible for the vast woods spreading over the higher hills of the islands.

These island of extreme natural charm have generated the evolution of several varied, and extremely exceptional, habitats that have in turn helped (or even forced) the regional wildlife, both flora and fauna alike, to change in a manner that basically has many researchers stunned.

The rest of the Galapagos island archipelago is also a scenario of extraordinary, not forgetting fairly gorgeous wildlife.

When is a good time to travel to the Galapagos?

The Galapagos Islands, situated on the Pacific Ocean, about a thousand kilometers west of Ecuador, have a unusual weather, tropical and semi-arid, which has an incredibly hot and relatively rainy season through January to May, along with a dry and cool weather, as well as cloudy and misty, from July to November.

The landscapes of the Galapagos are barren, with the exception of the highlands of the larger islands, which usually obtain much more rainfall. As was already mentioned by Charles Darwin, who as we know observed the details of the species located in the islands, their climate is colder than an individual could expect from a place positioned near the Equator, due to the Humboldt Current, which often reaches the area after flowing in the ocean west of Latin America. Anyway, here the weather is not the same from one year to another, since there are diverse marine flows which encounter or take turns in the area (additionally there is a hot current from Central America, which runs at no great length and is far more powerful on the periods El Niño), therefore, the weather is challenging to forecast.

As stated, in these islands there is two seasons: a hot season from January to May, with highest temperatures around 29/30 °C (84/86 °F), as well as a relatively cool season from July to November, called Garua, having day temperatures around 24/25 °C (75/77 °F). In the latter, night-time conditions stay appropriate, around 18/19 °C (64/66 °F), although you’ll notice often mists, which cause the condensation of very small droplets (named garua from which the season takes its title), and the atmosphere is usually covered by low clouds (due to the thermal inversion created by the cool water current). This period is the least rainy of the year in coasts and flatlands (considering that the Garua really doesn’t create substantial rain accumulations), though away from the coast, there can be numerous substantial rains. The highest peak is the Vulcan Wolf, 1,707 meters (5,600 feet) high, situated on Isabela Island.

On the shorelines, the rainfall comes down to lower than 700 millimeters (20 inches) a year, so it’s in no way considerable. This is the common precipitation in Puerto Baquerizo; we can easily see the simple fact that on the dry period, small amount of millimeters per month accumulate, because of mostly to drizzle and dew development.

Interestingly, tourists run to the beach locations through the rainy period of time, simply because in addition to being the sunniest, it’s the one in that the ocean is the most warm.

It must be declared rainfall is unpredictable, and can be abundant in the seasons of El Niño. During the more strong El Niño years, for example 1982-83 and 1997-98, the climate of islands turns into absolutely tropical, having high temperature conditions and also considerable precipitation. In the periods of La Niña, on the other hand, the rains are more scarce, and there’s a reduction in equally air and water temperatures.

When to go

Generally, the Galapagos may be traveled to throughout the year. However, a good time to visit Galapagos, in case you also wish to swim and also sunbathe, runs from February to May, because it’s the most warm and sunniest, although there could be a few downpours or thunderstorms in the morning.

The cold season, from July to November, can be highly recommended to explore the outdoors, because it hardly ever rains in the plains and the climate is pleasurable, even though you need to take into account mists, haze and cloudy skies. From September to November the water could be a little tough, and this situation can affect people who are afflicted by movement illness, during boat journeys from one island to the next.

What clothes you should pack

From December to May (warm cycle): light outfits, a lightweight sweatshirt for the evening, light raincoat or umbrella for rainfall showers; sun hat. For trekking in the hills and the Vulcan Wolf, a bit more comfortable sweatshirt and raincoat, hiking shoes.

From June to November (cold cycle): light clothes, t-shirt and lightweight coat for the evening hours.

For the reef, gear for surfing, water shoes or rubberized soled footwear.

Choosing a Galapagos Cruise

There are several factors to take into consideration when choosing a Galapagos Cruise: Boat size: a smaller boat provides a more intimate encounter while a bigger ship moves less in the water for people prone to sea sickness. A catamaran will offer you the advantages of both options.

Sail boat vs motor ship: all boats need to use their motor to travel between visitor sites, therefore a sailboat may be more quaint, but you are going to be using the motor most any time you’re moving.

Cost: you get what you pay for in the Galapagos in the kind of a more comfortable boat and greater quality manuals.

The Way to Get to the Galapagos Islands

The Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil (GYE) receives flights from U.S. cities of Miami and New York, European cities of Amsterdam and Madrid, and major cities of Central and South America. Mariscal Sucre International Airport of Quito (UIO) receives flights in the U.S. via Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and New York; from Europe via Madrid and Amsterdam; also out of many Big cities in Central and Southern America. We advise you to arrive in Ecuador at least 2 days ahead of your Galapagos Cruise begins and grab your international flight home at least two days after your stay in the Galapagos. You can take benefit of these two days by visiting Quito, Guayaquil, or even their surroundings. Once you have your trip to mainland Ecuador, getting into the Galapagos Islands is simple. Located nearly 1,000 km (600 miles) from Ecuador’s coast, the only way to travel is by airplane. Whether from Quito or Guayaquil, there are several flights daily that require passengers to the archipelago. TAME, AVIANCA and LAN are the airlines which run these routes. If you’re flying from Quito, you’ll almost certainly have a short stop in Guayaquil on your way into the islands. Reserve your Galapagos tour before you purchase flight tickets to ensure correct dates. Check with your Galapagos tour or cruise company for information on booking your flight to the Galapagos including optimum arrival times to the Islands according to cruise/program plans.

Many tourists in Galapagos are amazed to be greeted by desert-like vegetation–most are expecting a continuation of the lush greenery that they witnessed on mainland Ecuador. In reality, the majority of the archipelago’s land area is covered by the brown and gray vegetation often found in deserts. The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Dry Belt, and in typical years only the highest altitudes of the larger islands receive enough rainfall to support tropical plant life.

Coastal plants are observed in the narrow zone close to the shore and are distinctive because of their tolerance to sour conditions. Mangrove trees are one of the most frequent plants found within this zone, and they serve an important role since the breeding sites for many birds, like pelicans and frigate birds. They also provide much needed shade areas for iguanas and sea lions, in addition to refuges for sea turtles.

The dry region has become easily the most extensive zone in Galapagos and is comprised of plant species which are highly adapted to drought-like conditions, such as succulent cacti and leafless shrubs that blossom and grow leaves just in the short rainy season.

Located over the dry zones would be the very green and lush, humid zones. The humid zone is only located on the bigger, higher islands. The majority of islands in the archipelago do not rise in altitude over the arctic zone.

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