It’s not surprising that a trip to the Galapagos Islands “tops many travellers’ wish lists”, said The Times. The “far-flung Ecuadorian archipelago” is home to “astonishing landscapes” and an array of rare wildlife from blue-footed boobies to marine iguanas and giant tortoises.
It is best navigated by a small ship, all of which are “strictly regulated” in order to protect the “pristine natural area known to have inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution”. These vessels are limited to a maximum of 100 guests, and travel with “resident naturalists” to share fascinating insights about the surroundings.
We took an early morning flight from Quito to Baltra Island in the centre of the archipelago before boarding the National Geographic Islander III, said Marc Shoffman in The Independent. With just 48 guests it’s an intimate boat: you won’t find any waterslides or ice cream shops, but my daughters were happy “snorkelling among the turtles, parrot fish and manta rays in the unseasonably warm waters”.
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There are “a few rules” to follow. Guests must travel in groups of up to 16 and be accompanied by an expert guide to “keep crowds down”. You can’t take anything home with you, however tempting, and you must always stand six feet away from the wildlife. The reward is how close you can get to the incredible creatures that seem “unbothered” by human presence.
It’s worth getting up early to avoid the heat and “capture the wildlife at its calmest”. On South Plaza Island we were greeted by “sleepy sea lions and the region’s unique swallow-tailed gulls”, and on Las Bachas “rare birds such as the red-footed booby and shiny white Nazca boobies simply waddled by”. The best moment, though, was watching the “famous giant tortoises as they calmly ate grass at the Rancho El Manzanillo, unfazed by our gawping”.
If you love the water, Celebrity Cruises is a good option, said The Telegraph. During the seven-night itineraries guests have plenty of opportunities to “splash around with the archipelago’s diverse and diverting marine wildlife”. Snorkelling sessions are a great way to get close to sea turtles, reef sharks and, if you’re lucky, the “darting, bullet-like form of a Galapagos penguin”.
Or if birdwatching is more up your alley, try one of Silversea’s luxury expeditions exploring the Outer Loop. The first stop is Genovesa, dubbed Bird Island for its incredible variety of avian life including the “hard-to-spot short-eared owl” and magnificent red-throated frigatebirds.
