Galapagos Trips Reviews

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The Galapagos islands, located about 600 miles west from the region of Latin America, is very possibly the best possible spot to watch evolution throughout its purely natural glory.

Named, in Spanish language, after the species that is without doubt the most popular of the island archipelago: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos boasts many groups of minor dainty islands which are created of below surface volcanoes eruptions.

Placed entirely on the equator, the Galapagos gains all the rewards of this global placement in that all the 16 islands have warm weather all year long! If that wasn’t enough they are at the crossroads for two really important trade winds: The North East trade winds (from North and the South East winds (from South America). All these winds are likely precisely what initiated the influx of self-sufficient life around the island chain – and are believed to have been responsible for the vast forests spreading over the higher slopes of the islands.

These island of extraordinary natural charm have triggered the evolution of countless diverse, and quite exceptional, habitats which have in turn permitted (or otherwise pushed) the local wildlife, both flora and fauna the same, to grow in ways that basically has some experts shocked.

The rest of the Galapagos island chain is also a scenario of rare, inter-dependent, not to mention quite gorgeous wildlife.

When is the best time to travel the Galapagos?

The Galapagos Islands, based in the Pacific Ocean, about a thousand kilometers west of Ecuador, have a very distinct climate, warm and semi-arid, with an incredibly hot and comparatively stormy couple of years from January to May, as well as a cool and dry period, but also cloudy and misty, through July to November.

The surroundings of the Galapagos are barren, with the exception of the larger islands, that receive much more abundant rain. As was already mentioned by Charles Darwin, who as we know examined the peculiarities of the species located in the islands, their climate is colder than one would likely be expecting from a place found nearby the Equator, due to the Humboldt Current, which usually reaches the location right after flowing in the sea west of South America. In any case, here the climate is not the same from one year to another, because there are completely different ocean flows that meet or take turns in the region (there is also a warm current coming from Central America, which usually runs at a little range and is much more powerful in the years of El Niño), which means conditions are challenging to predict.

On the shorelines, the rainfall comes down to less than 500 millimeters (20 inches) annually, so it’s not copious. This is the typical rainfall in Puerto Baquerizo; we can see the simple fact that within the dry season, not many millimeters per month accumulate, due mainly to drizzle and dew configuration.

However, visitors flock to the beach locations during the rainy period of time, due to the fact in addition to being the sunniest, it is the one in that the sea is definitely the warmest.

It must be stated that rainfall is irregular, and can become more rich in the seasons of El Niño. During the more intense El Niño years, for example 1982-83 and 1997-98, the climate of islands turns into absolutely tropical, with high temperature ranges and plentiful precipitation. In the years of La Niña, on the other hand, the rains become more rare, and there’s a reduction in each air and sea temperatures.

When to go

Typically, the Galapagos may be visited throughout the year. However, a good time to visit the islands, in case you also would like to swim and take sunbathes, runs from February to May, since it is the warmest and sunniest, though there might be many downpours or thunderstorms in the afternoon.

The low-temperature season, from July to November, can be encouraged to explore the outdoors, because it almost never rains on the plains and the temperature is pleasurable, even if you need to take under consideration mists, haze and cloudy air. From September to November the water could be a little tough, and this situation could bother people who are afflicted by movement illness, during boat travels from one isle to the other.

What clothes you should pack

From December to May (warm cycle): light outfits, a lightweight sweatshirt for the evening hours, light raincoat or umbrella for rainfall showers; sun cap (of course, we’re at the Equator). For walking in the hills and the Vulcan Wolf, a bit warmer sweatshirt and raincoat, walking shoes.

From June to November (cool cycle): light clothes, sweatshirt or sweater and light jacket for the evening.

For the reef, equipment for knee boarding, water shoes or rubberized soled shoes.

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 traveling between islands, mostly at night, and make various stops every day. Over 80 vessels are licensed to operate from the archipelago and also there are an infinite number of combinations of stops and paths. Most cruises go ashore two times a day: 10 total days on the boat typically means 20 shore landings, 10-20 snorkels, and many panga rides (pangas are little, open outboard-powered boats) to approximately 10 different islands.

Exploring on your own is considerably more difficult. Getting around separately is catchy and all visitors should be accompanied by a qualified naturalist guide at all landing websites. However four islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Floreana and Isabela) do have hotels of varying dimensions and standards and a couple of boat operators provide day-trips.

Some cruises leave from Baltra (the pier is a five-minute drive in the air terminal). Others go from Puerto Ayora, the tourist hub on Santa Cruz and a comparatively busy town, with a bank, ATM machine, taxis, pubs and even a theater.

GalapagosInformation.com provides an assortment of tailor-made live-aboard tours on a lot of unique boats carrying from 4 to 16 passengers.

Wildlife activities vary a lot, and every month has its own highlights. By way of example, green turtles begin 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 the end of September is the ideal period for most seabird activity; peak pupping for sea lions is around August, while their pups perform aqua-aerobics with snorkelers in November; and December is the month for hatching giant tortoise eggs. So, always there is something about to happen.

The seas tend to be calmer and clearer at this time of year (with 60ft-80ft visibility typical) and the water temperature averages 79° F (26°C), therefore this period is best for snorkeling.

The cool, drier, windier year (with occasional drizzle or mist) is from June to November. Sea temperatures at this time of year fall to as low as 66F (19C) and visibility frequently goes down to 30ft-50ft, while sea swells may make some landings catchy.

Each of these Galapagos’ official guest sites has something special to offer, but travelers are going to be able to experience the greatest strikes — sea lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards, endemic birds — on the majority of islands. Here are a couple of the most well-known spots.

Santa Cruz includes the Galapagos’ most populous “town,” Puerto Ayora, and is the island chain’s main tourism hub. The island offers people the sole chance to experience the Galapagos’ inside high-lands, one of a few areas to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Even the Charles Darwin research center, a visit to which is included on each travel, is also situated there.

Champion Islet’s oceans change into an aquarium teeming with life through September and October, when the water temperatures drop. Sea plants thrive, which brings the marine monsters, which then brings from the sea creatures. Sea lions, especially the interested juveniles, frequently zip past and around the awkward humans in fins and masks.

South Plaza encompasses less than one-tenth of a mile in place and is one of the Galapagos’ smallest visitor sites. But the very small island, that was shaped by volcanic uplift, makes a strong impression with its color-changing ground vegetation, sea birds and colony of Galapagos land iguanas. The effective male iguanas could be seen standing guard before a cactus tree, waiting patiently to offer a hungry female with a part of prickly fruit.

Rabida: creates a bold statement when you arrive at its iron-rich red beach. Just inland is a brackish lagoon where people often see flamingos, heads plunged submerged to scoop up crustaceans and algae with their bowl-like beaks.

Fernandina, the Galapagos’ youngest and westernmost island is famous for its not-infrequent volcanic eruptions, the latest of which was in 2009. It’s located at the locus of the “hot spot” which generated, and is still forming and creating, the Galapagos. As people step across lava flows and around the massive population of land iguanas, they develop a first-hand comprehension of the geological origins of those islands.

Floreana is the place you can find the Galapagos’ famous barrel-mailbox at Post Office Bay. For centuries, those seeing the famous Ecuadorian isles relied upon the unspoken duty of pirates and whalers to get letters to an intended destination. A mariner would render a dispatch, then select through the stack for missives he can deliver (travel program allowing). The tradition continues today; cruise passengers visiting the website can depart and take postcards from a (contemporary) barrel. Floreana is home to the Galapagos’ famous barrel-mailbox in Post Office Bay. For centuries, those seeing the famed Ecuadorian isles relied upon the unspoken responsibility of fellow pirates and whalers to Puerto Villamil and Nearby Areas – Isabela Island Cruises take in an assortment of interesting points around the massive island. Puerto Villamil is a small vent in the south east of the island, and it’s home to the clear majority of the island’s population. You can enjoy the fishing-community vibe, sample yummy freshly caught seafood, participate with the cheerful children, shop for souvenirs from the stores that are vibrant, and admire the islets that dot the coast. Stroll along the boardwalk, leading through mangroves, and see flamingos, gallinules, whimbrels, and much more. The Tortoise Breeding Center sits in the end of the boardwalk, helping to conserve sea tortoises. The harbor is frequently filled with little luxury yachts and other sailing vessels, many of which carry passengers on exciting Galapagos cruises.

Isabela Island Cruises allow guests to find the natural splendor of the largest island of the Galapagos. Straddling the Equator, Isabela Island is located in the western part of the Galapagos archipelago, close to the volcanic Galapagos hotspot that created the island group. A lesser-visited region, it is also one of the most varied, which is no mean feat in an area that is already known for being one of the most diverse areas on the planet.

Galapagos Animals

The Galapagos penguin is the only available in the northern hemisphere and to breed in the tropics.

A Galapagos tortoise can weigh around 595lb (270kg) using a carapace of 4ft (1.2m) and outlive most humans.

The endemic Galapagos fur sea lions are the smallest among the world’s seven species of such animals

The Galapagos Islands are home to the world’s largest cormorant and the only one struggling to fly.

Galapagos has among the planet’s rarest ecosystems where the herbivores on peak of the food chain are reptiles.

Galapagos Swallow-tailed gulls are the only gulls on earth to feed at night .

The Galapagos boasts the world’s largest and only red-footed booby colony.

There are 23 species of reptile from the Galapagos and all but two of those are endemic to the archipelago.

The Galapagos is one of those very few areas of the planet where turtles continue to be a frequent sight.

At 30cm in length and using a large set of venomous jaws, the endemic centipede (Scolopendra galapagoensis) is one of the Islands’ most feared creatures.

A lichen survey in June 2010 from the Charles Darwin Foundation uncovered over 60 brand new species in the Galapagos with an estimated ten species new to science.

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