Galapagos Islands Family Trips

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The Galapagos islands, located approximately 600 miles west of the continent of Latin America, is quite possibly the best possible spot to see evolution throughout their purely natural glory.

Named, in Spanish language, after the animal that is without doubt the most well-known of the island archipelago: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos offers quite a few groups of little dainty islands which are born of below surface volcanoes eruptions.

Situated directly on the equator, the Galapagos gets everyone of the bonuses of this overseas placement because all the 16 islands have bright and sunny temperature throughout the year! If that wasn’t good enough they are in the crossroads for 2 essential trade winds: The North East trade winds (from North and the South East trade winds (from South America). All these winds are in all probability what started the influx of self-sufficient life on the island chain – and are believed to have been responsible for the vast woods spreading over the higher hills of the islands.

These island of significant natural beauty have triggered the evolution of various diverse, and very rare, habitats that have in turn allowed (or even caused) the native wildlife, both plants and creatures likewise, to develop in a manner that in simple terms has a lot of researchers surprised.

The rest of the Galapagos island archipelago is also a place of unique, inter-dependent, as well as quite stunning fauna.

Galapagos Islands Climate and Weather

It is a regularly asked question: When is the perfect time to go to Galapagos? You can find a number of replies, depending on what you need from your Galapagos trip. If you want to see the reptiles and mammals that the Galapagos Islands are famous for, you might want to consult this calendar to help you plan your journey.

Just like the birds, the reptiles and mammals in Galapagos follow certain phases of mating along with other life functions. These behaviors change during different moments of the year and from island to island. For instance, if you would like to find the bright red-and-green “Christmas Iguanas” of Española, you should go in December or January.

The Galapagos Islands are probably the most well-known wildlife-watching destination on the planet.

This remote archipelago is a land of stark lava formations, cactus forests, lush green highlands, turquoise bays and quintessential tropical beaches. However, best of all, it’s packed with wildlife at every turn. Within minutes -sometimes seconds- of landing onto this dot in the center of the Pacific Ocean, you may be face-to-face using more strangely adventuresome and curious creatures than anywhere else on Earth.

Roughly 620 miles from the coast of Ecuador, and slap-bang on the equator, Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles” include a bunch of 13 “appropriate” volcanic islands (bigger than four square miles) and six smaller islands and more than 100 islets. Every one has its own particular setting, identifying landscape and inimitable wildlife.

You may view everything from penguins living in the tropics and boobies with bright blue toes to tool-using woodpecker finches and male frigate birds turning their wrinkled throat sacs in to extraordinary, fully inflated red balloons. One day you might be watching time-worn giant tortoises in the misty highlands, and the next you could be snorkeling with playful sea lions in crystal-clear water. You could be sunbathing on black lava rocks next to prehistoric-looking marine iguanas or sitting with waved albatrosses as they play their bill-circling, swaggering courtship displays (they look rather like Samurai warriors doing Lord of the Dance).

All this said, 170,000 tourists visited the Galapagos last year therefore, not surprisingly, it’s starting to feel a little cramped. It’s a high-profile location and a lot of people want to view it. The consequence of such an onslaught is that wildlife tourism is much more tightly controlled in the archipelago than anywhere else on the planet. You’re only permitted to see tiny pockets of the federal park, you can disembark (from small ships) only at designated landing spots, you need to walk just on clearly marked paths in strictly disciplined small groups, and you must come with local accredited guides. Regulating tourism with this kind of military efficiency may feel intense, but it is essential under the circumstances. Ultimately, though, there needs to be a limit and in the not-too-distant future, visitor numbers might need to be capped.

How to Get to the Galapagos Islands</h3

The Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil (GYE) receives flights out of U.S. cities of Miami and New York, European cities of Amsterdam and Madrid, and important cities of Central and South America. Mariscal Sucre International Airport of Quito (UIO) receives flights in the U.S. via Atlanta, Houston, Miami and New York; from Europe via Madrid and Amsterdam; and out of many major cities in Central and Southern America. We advise you to arrive in Ecuador at least 2 days ahead of your Galapagos Cruise starts and catch your international flight home at least 2 days following your stay in the Galapagos. You can take profit of both of these days by visiting Quito, Guayaquil, or their environment. Once you’ve your flight to mainland Ecuador, getting into the Galapagos Islands is easy. Located almost 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off of Ecuador’s coast, the only way to travel is by plane. Whether from Quito or Guayaquil, there are several flights every day that take passengers into the archipelago. You can land on Baltra Island or in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. TAME, AVIANCA and LAN are the airlines that run these routes. If you are flying from Quito, you will almost certainly have a brief stop in Guayaquil on your way to the islands. Reserve your Galapagos tour before you buy flight tickets to make sure correct dates. Check with your Galapagos tour or cruise company for information on booking your trip to the Galapagos including optimal coming times to the Islands based on cruise/program plans.

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

In Geological terms, the islands are youthful, and much of the island’s plant life demonstrates this; many species appear to be in the middle of the evolutionary process, making classifying them a challenging endeavor. So far, the islands are believed to be home to between 552 and 614 native species of vascular flora and approximately 825 introduced species, the majority introduced by humans. Over 100 of those introduced species have become established in the wild, with many of them exceptionally invasive and of major concern. Three introduced plant species have been eradicated. Mainland Ecuador, on the other hand, has about 20,000 species. The disproportion between species number on the Islands and the southern highlights the reality that the Galapagos Islands are divided from the continent with a hostile saltwater barrier reducing the potential for birth and, after a plant has arrived, establishment is difficult because of the harsh environment. It’s worthy of notice that more than 30% of native plant species located in Galapagos are endemic (not found anywhere else in the world).

The structures of Galapagos could be grouped into three significant vegetation zones: the coastal zone, the arid zone, and the humid highlands.

Coastal plants are found in the narrow zone near the shore and are distinctive due to their tolerance to salty conditions. Mangrove trees are one of the most common plants found within this zone, and they serve a significant function as the breeding sites for many birds, such as 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 area is the most broad 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 flower and grow leaves just in the brief rainy season.

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

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