Planning Trips to Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands straddling the equator in the Pacific Ocean some 500 miles from the Ecuador coast and are a part of Ecuador.

The islands were first made famous by Charles Darwin when, whilst voyaging on the “Beagle” he visited the islands and it was this visit that inspired him to write “Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection”.  It was not necessarily the quantity of different indigenous species that he found on the islands, more the ease in which they were able to be studied, as if having no concern about a human presence.

Since that time Galapagos Islands trips have become increasingly popular especially amongst research groups, professional and amateur. If your flight has landed in Quito, you can take buses en Ecuador  to everywhere on the mainland of Ecuador, but not these islands. To get to these islands, you should take a flight because getting their by boat can take a lot of time.

Trips to Galapagos are not cheap and so you should plan accordingly. If you are planning to travel on a budget, you can do so as far as, and including Quito but you will then have to fly to the islands as even the freight ships are prohibited from carrying passengers. Once there, there are cheaper cruises that you can take around the islands but even the “cheap” ones can be pricey. A cheaper option can be to stay at a hostel on one of the islands and then take day trips to others. This may not allow you to see the outer islands but each particular island may be ideal for seeing different creatures, check before you leave, as the ones you are interested in may be on the near ones anyway, or stay on an island that best suits your intentions.

Where to Stay for Galapagos Islands Trips

To make the best of your holiday and maintain that budget, it is sometimes necessary to book some things in advance. Perhaps Galapagos trips may be one of those times or at least for the part when you are actually on the islands.

If there is something in particular you would like to see on the islands, Giant Tortoise, Penguins or Sea Lions find out if they are on all the islands or just certain ones. Then look for a hostel on an island best suited to your needs. The hostels are more expensive than what you are used to on the mainland but there again, you are in the middle of the ocean.