Galapagos - Land Based for Spring Break

Shoot a note to LSU assistant prof Dan Holstein

LINK

He and other faculty have run a field-study class in Galapagos and should be a good source of advice.

LINK

Boats are still the best way to see things, but the government of Ecuador has been pushing for a better land-based experience. Be careful about food poisoning...very common.

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I have no advice to offer but whatever you do, be sure to come back and post your experience. This one's been on my list a while.

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This. Very interested. Also interested in what people add on as in from their cruise start?

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You need to buy a GoPro if you don’t already own one, you will absolutely regret it if you don’t.

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Yeah, I actually bought one yesterday, just for this reason.

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Also interested in what people add on as in from their cruise start?

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We are doing a 5 days cruise in April. Before that we are spending 9 days in Ecuador. Split between Quito and Baños. Day trips from Quito to bike down Cotopaxi volcano, hiking in the cloud forest, middle of the world monument and another place my wife wanted. Plus it’s during Easter and I hear Quito has some unique celebrations on Good Friday.

Baños is the “adventure capital of Ecuador” so we will be canyoning, rafting, paragliding, ziplining, biking, hiking, etc.

We going in April. We won’t go if it’s closed

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This El Niño is supposed to be the worst in a long time

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Don't know where you getting this info from but it isn't correct. El Nino is peaking right now and its a moderate one - will be back to neutral/La Nina by July/August

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I guess I didn't realize there was 7-10 days of stuff to do in the Galapagos? A lot of those cruises are 7-10 days? They are pricey as hell too, $7000-1000/ head?

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Most people would say that it isn't worth going for less than a week. (By the way, JetBlue changed their MSY-FLL flight time from late evening to mid-afternoon, which is now going to give me a seventh day on the islands.)

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They are pricey as hell too, $7000-1000/ head?

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Boats have to be small. These are boats with 100 passengers, not 4000. But they aren't all that much. If I were to do one, it would be a diving cruise, and you can find a lot of them for a lot less: LINK. But some of the diving boats are rather basic and not luxury.

The Galapagos is an elite diving and surfing destination. Otherwise, it's about observing unique wildlife, both above and below the water.

But my tentative plan is:

Day 1: Fly to GPS and check in to Royal Palms (late afternoon) and relax
Day 2: See giant tortoises in the wild and at the Darwin Research Center. Explore lava tube cave. Hike Los Gemelos (sinkholes, part of a collapsed lava tube cave)
Day 3: 7:00 AM Ferry to Isla Isabela, Las Tintoreras tour
Day 4: Los Tuneles snorkeling tour, 3:00 PM ferry back to Isla Santa Cruz
Day 5: Diving excursion from Puerto Ayora (TBD), night in Puerto Ayora
Day 6: 7:00 AM ferry to Isla San Cristobal, land tour to El Junco (only freshwater lake in the Galapagos), snorkel at La Loberia with the sea lions
Day 7: Dive Kicker Rock (seriously, look at that video)
Day 8: TBD, maybe morning surfing lesson, 1:40 PM fly from SCY airport to Quito.

Right. The whole point of the cruise is to enable the passenger to connect with nature, and that's impossible to do in the presence of a large group of people.

I'm arriving on Isla Santa Cruz on March 30th, the day before Easter.

Since my last three nights are on San Cristobal, and I'm leaving from there on the 6th, our paths won't cross, unfortunately. But I'll try to post some pics and reports nightly -- you'll be able to preview a few things that you'll see and do.