The Galapagos is a year-round destination where you’ll see different things at each point of the year.
January to May : warm and wet season (average 30C) – better snorkelling visibility, warmer waters and less choppy on the boats. Mating season for many species, nesting season for sea turtles.
June to December : cool season (average 25C) – marine life is much more abundant. Whales start migrating through, it’s nesting season for many marine birds.
A typical day on a Galapagos boat is very busy! Immediately after breakfast there will be a shore excursion, before coming back on board and changing for a snorkel trip. Snacks and juices are provided every time you come back aboard the vessel after an excursion. Lunch is taken aboard the vessel, and there is time for a siesta before the afternoon shore excursion. Occasionally there is also another snorkelling trip in the afternoon. In the evening before or after dinner, the naturalist guide will brief you on the islands to be visited the following day. You are ferried from the yacht to shore via small boats called pangas. Landings are either 'dry' or 'wet', where you may have to wade ashore in shallow water, and the naturalist guide will accompany you during all excursions.
No matter which trip you decide to take, you can expect to see marine iguanas, sea lions (and possibly their pups), land iguanas, blue-footed boobies, finches, giant tortoise and lava lizards. Other wildlife that you may encounter, depending on which islands you visit are: frigatebirds, Galapagos penguins, Galapagos Hawk, sharks, sea turtles, Sally Lightfoot crabs, flightless cormorant and swallow-tailed gulls, among countless other species.
Yes, please speak to the Reservations Team
Santa Cruz Island - Tortoises in the wild (Highlands), Lave Tunnels, Puerto Ayora, Charles Darwin Station
Santiago and Bartolome Island - Most photographed place in the Galapagos; Pinnacle Rock and Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island – volcanic landscapes, Chinese Hat Snorkelling – penguins, turtles, reef sharks, rays.
Santa Fe and Rabida Islands - Land Iguanas, cacti forest (Santa Fe), Large sea lion colony – can be seen on the beach but also to snorkel with (Santa Fe), Red Sand Beach (Rabida), Sea lions and the smallest marine iguanas in the archipelago (Rabida), White-cheeked pintails, boobies and finch (Rabida).
Sierra Negra, Galapagos Penguins, Flightless Cormorants, Huge populations of marine iguanas, Diving boobies.
Red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, Blue-footed boobies, Tropic birds, Frigate birds.
Espanola Island - Waved Albatross, Christmas iguanas, Blue-footed and Nazca boobies, tropicbirds, Sea lion colony, Gardner Bay – excellent snorkelling, reef sharks, sea lion pups, turtles and rays.
Floreana Island - Post Office Bay, Flamingos, Green Sand Beach, Coral Beach, Snorkelling – Devil’s Crown, Floreana Community restaurants and guest houses (first community-based tourism initiative in the Galapagos).
Sea lions everywhere, Interpretation Centre, Cerro Colorado, Kicker Rock – snorkelling site, lots of hammerheads, turtles and rays.