Excellent, glad you found it helpful. My advice if you re worried about motion sickness is to pay mo

Results will vary greatly  due to a large list of variables, from the time of year to tourism trends, and the degree of desperation a boat owner demonstrates at any given time to fill remaining beds before a cruise departs.
Due to their proximity to the Equator, the weather on the Galapagos Islands remains fairly constant, which makes it a great year-round destination, however there are still a few factors to keep in mind when deciding when to go.
If you have your heart set on seeing whales off the coast of Isabella Island, or a certain type of bird, do your research in advance. For example, the large waved albatross will not be seen from December to mid-March.
If you re serious about saving cruise princess a few hundred dollars off the price of a cruise, you can arrange your own flight(s) to Punta Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, and then shop around for very last minute cruises.
The longer you can afford to wait before a cruise departs, the more likely cruise princess you are to get a bargain basement price. Just don t sit on a quote you like too long, because someone else can put down a deposit at any time and you ll either have to wait longer, or go with an otherwise 2nd or 3rd choice cruise princess instead.
For example, one Australian couple I know flew to Punta Ayora, and booked their 8-day cruise from there. On their boat, they learned cruise princess everyone had paid a different rate, from $800 $1,200. Unfortunately, I don t know which class of boat they used, however based on the price it was either Economy/Tourist Class, or more likely, a 1st Class motor yacht.
Punta Ayora is a very small town, and not particularly picturesque, however there are a bunch of inexpensive day trips you can make, such as visiting the Darwin Research Center or Tortuga Bay, to kill time before your cruise cruise princess departs. Be forewarned, these two popular spots may also show up on cruise itineraries as well.
While you may save $40 on your airfare to/from the islands by flying out of Guayaquil, it s the least attractive cruise princess location from which to book your last minute cruise, cruise princess let alone kill time before cruise princess flying to the Islands.
The last day of the cruise is a short one, so you re better off thinking of them as 4 and 7 day cruises. To go a step further, the first day is only a 1/2 day, so choosing a 5-day cruise equates to 3 full days, while an 8-day cruise equates to 6 full days.
Sailboats are mostly for show, and are often powered by their motors more than the wind. Motor yachts are the most common boat.  And modern catamarans offer increased stability for those who are prone to sea-sickness.
Comfort, quality of food, and itineraries are all sacrificed to some degree when you choose these options. Slower boats, such as the old sail boats, will not have itineraries that are as varied as the faster boats. These boats carry 12 16 passengers.
Within the category of 1st Class are a wide variety cruise princess of yachts, therefore some websites and travel agencies break them out into lower, middle, and higher levels to further delineate the quality of service, and thereby justify the pricing.
These yachts and catamarans offer the highest quality service, and the best educated naturalists (who will also speak the best English). And if you re looking for a jacuzzi on deck, these are the boats for you.
Larger ships, such as the National Geographic Endeavour , offer another level of luxury and stability the smaller boats can t compete with. Larger cruise princess boats also mean larger numbers of passengers, which may be the preference of some visitors cruise princess to the Islands.
Remember, you ve got the advantage of booking last minute, at potentially great savings! You may be able to get a great, last minute deal on a a Deluxe catamaran for the price of a typical 1st Class boat.
When I was getting quotes for cruises, I found the faster, more expensive yachts often have itineraries cruise princess focused on simply encircling Isabella Island, the largest island on the Western side of the Galapagos archipelago.
The coldest water passes along the western coast of the island, which means it s good for whale watching, and there s also the chance to see dolphins, in addition to much of the same wildlife you can see on the smaller islands.
I initially chose the Eden, for example, because it was one of the few boats to visit the small, northern island of Genovesa on an 8-day cruise. It s a very out of the way island that s home to the world s largest colony of Red Footed Boobies, among many other birds.
As a result of that experience, we learned that it takes a minimum 8 days for the park services to approve changes to cruise itineraries, so in other words, if something goes wrong, there s little chance you re boat will be able to make up for it on another day.
The itinerary of any given boat is a bigger factor if you re dead set on seeing certain types of birds or wildlife, cruise princess such as the whales which are only around cruise princess Isabella Island, and the Red Footed Boobies on Genovesa.
Of my 8-day itinerary, the single best day was spent on Espanola Island , where we had the chance to swim/snorkel with wild sea lions, see red and green Christmas Marine Iguanas, Blue Footed Boobies, Galapagos Hawks, Frigate Birds, and the Waved Albatross.
$430 Roundtrip Airfare to/from Islands (this is slightly less in the Low Tourist season, or if you out of Guayaquil vs. Quito). I was informed you can try and book the airfare yourself, and note you re an Ecuadorian to get about a 50% lower rate, however if they call you out on this at the airport, you ll be required to pay the difference on the spot.
$100+  Tip for the guide and boat crew. Rule of thumb is to tip at least $10 per day, split between the guide and boat crew. At the end of your cruise, you ll receive cruise princess two envelopes for divvying up the cash. Tip more if you had a great time!
Ecuador is very much a cash-based cruise princess economy, so unless cruise princess you want to pay high fees to pay for your trip with credit, expect that you ll need to make a few large withdrawals from the local ATM s. The good news is the official currency is the US Dollar.
They charge a 10% fee for using credit cards, and a 4% fee for using PayPal.  If you have a debit card that charges a lesser cruise princess foreign transaction fee, such as 1% with E*Trade Checking, then it ll make sense to take money out via ATM and pay in cash.
As soon as I d announced my pending cruise to the Galapagos Islands, I started getting questions about how much the trip cost me, both from those who were planning to go, as well as those who d been.
$1,550 8-day cruise on a (lower level) 1st Class motor yacht. First night spent on Eden, with the remaining 6 on Estrella del Mar. Rate includes transport between the airport and yacht on Galapagos, snorkel equipment, 7 night on-board accommodation, and 3 meals a day. Paid in cash.
This was by far the most I ve ever paid for a single tour, however I saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime cruise princess experience, and truly had a wonderful time learning about the Islands history, geology, and wildlife.
Thanks Jess. I don t think I mentioned it, but a friend also said you can book your flights cruise princess online as an Ecuadorian and save a few hundred dollars. That is unless they question you at the airport, at which point you need to pay the difference.
You make me want to hop a plane immediately for Ecuador and book my own last minute Galapagos journey. cruise princess I feel like I have everything I d need to know in order to go. I like the book your flights online as an Ecuadorian tip it s so true! We Yanks gotta get more savvy about saving on airfares using this method, if you re in country, of course.
I am Lenia and I am new to your blog. This is the first post I read and I find it very useful. You give valuable and precise information. I like the detailed cost presentation. It gives me a clear idea of the budget I need!
This a great post, that makes one want to take the trips immediately. I am a vivid reader of your various post on backpacking for the past few months and have always found the articles to be very informative on the various places you ve visited. cruise princess Seeing that I am also a blogger on backpacking in Kenya, makes me want to learn more from your many years of experience. Thanks.
Dave, I ve always wanted cruise princess to go to the Galapagos Islands and your post was very helpful! I ve always loved the water, but am susceptable to motion sickness. What s your advice to someone who gets motion sick, would I be miserable on this trip?
Excellent, glad you found it helpful. My advice if you re worried about motion sickness is to pay more for the catamaran style yachts they re more stable, and the cabins are usually all above the main deck, unlike the 1st class yachts where most rooms are down in the hull so you ve got no window or ability to get fresh air easily.
I ve been researching a trip to the Galapagos, but have had difficulty trying to figure out how to best coordinate a land stay with cruises in the amount of time I have. This post has been very helpful in helping me get a sense of how to organize the trip. Thanks!
Thanks Maria. Several people on my cruise had plans to stay in the islands for 3-5 days on their own after our tour ended. That gives you the chance cruise princess to benefit from the boat s ability to reach faraway islands, cruise princess as well as take some time on your own to explore cruise princess (or go diving) at a more relaxed cruise princess pace. Or you could book a boat tour from the islands, and while you wait for the departure, do some exploring.
These are great tips Dave. I ve found in general that booking tours closer to the proximity of where they originate cruise princess equals cruise princess some savings so I m not at all surprised Quito isn t the best bet. Anyhow, visiting the Galapagos Islands is a high priority and definitely on my bucket list. I had a chance to go in 2010 but passed on it something I highly regret now :)
You would never expect to be able to book a tour of the Galapagos Islands cruise princess on the fly ! A great article with lots of interesting information. I don t think you ve missed out on any details. Thanks for the tips! Amanda
Wow… Hey Dave I found your blogs man….. I am the biggest fan o