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

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