Galapagos Cruise Aboard the Galaxy Yacht

Tamara is just back from a 5-night Galapagos Islands cruise on board the Galaxy Yacht. She was hosted on this trip by Galaxy Expeditions but all opinions are her own. Galaxy Expeditions operates a number of yachts in the Galapagos and also can arrange for land travel in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The Galaxy Yacht has eight cabins for a maximum of 16 passengers. Episode Highlights You need to fly to the Galapagos from either Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador (1.5 - 2 hours) At the airport before leaving the mainland, you need to purchase your tourist card and have your luggage inspected and zip tied to protect the islands from bringing in invasive species A delegate from Galaxy Expeditions met her at the airport to walk her through the process Once you arrive in the Galapagos, you need to pay an entrance fee to support the National Park ($200 per person) and they reinspect luggage, which takes about an hour on arrival You then meet your group and take a bus to the port where you load onto zodiac boats to get to the yacht A 5-night cruise was a nice amount of time to reach many of the islands and see a ton of wildlife but longer would be more tiring and could get a little repetitive Most of the cruises in the Galapagos are 16-32 or maybe 50 passengers If you are prone to motion sickness, you will feel it, especially at night as they moved from place to place The engines are also loud so bring ear plugs or a sound machine to help drown it out I'd recommend bringing Dramamine or seasickness meds as well as sleep aids On board, there were two solo travelers, a few couples and a mother-daughter duo from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and the USA The food was really good and breakfast was usually a buffet and lunch was a buffet or served and there were usually two options for a dinner entree They also served light snacks and fresh juice or tea after excursions Excursions and meals are included (alcohol is not) Excursions start early and stay busy all day. The first excursion of the day is usually at 6 - 7 am There are typically two hikes per day and one to two snorkeling excursions per day They provide wet suits and snorkel gear on board The week started busy and got a little less so towards the end, which was appreciated Tamara saw sea turtles, fish, penguins, frigate birds, blue, red, and brown-footed boobies, sea lions, iguanas, and Galapagos tortoises There is a naturalist guide on board that leads every excursion and provides so much information about the wildlife and ecosystem The islands Tamara visited on Galaxy Yacht itinerary C are: Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Bartolome, Santiago, Genovesa, South Plazas, and San Cristobal Related Episodes Land-based trip to the Galapagos Mother daughter trip to Machu Picchu Atacama desert in Chile