Tailormade Galapagos Cruises
Galapagos is a year round cruising destination with warm and mostly sunny days all year.
From £2995 per person inclusive from the UK.
Contact us for a tailormade quote.
We advocate using small personalised boats both for your enjoyment and from an environmental perspective
Each Galapagos cruise includes one year’s annual membership to the Galapagos Conservation Trust
Every year Discovery Initiatives donates over £12K to the conservation of the archipelago
We have specialist staff who are passionate about Ecuador and the Galapagos, have personally experienced the islands and visited the boats and can tailormake each journey to suit your interests and wanderlust.
Galapagos cruise – A chance to experience the wonders of Galapagos wildlife
It was Charles Darwin’s famous 1835 exploration of the Galapagos, whilst serving as a naturalist on the British Ship HMS Beagle, and his subsequent 1859 publication ‘On the Origin of the Species by Natural Selection’ that first brought the world’s attention to the islands.
The Beagle spent just 5 weeks in the archipelago but her itinerary took her to most of the principle islands. The collections made by Darwin during his short stay and the notes and impressions he carried away inspired him for the rest of his life. They contained the seeds which later produced a revolution in human scientific thought.
Today the Galapagos remain a living laboratory of evolution where birds and animals have no fear of man. The stunning Galapagos wildlife, Blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, land and marine iguanas and giant tortoises roam freely as they did thousands of years ago and anyone interested in natural history, wildlife and ecology will find a Galapagos Islands cruise an unforgettable travel experience.
Located some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago is now a National Park and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in an effort to preserve the islands.
Your experience of these enchanted isles will differ little from that enjoyed by Charles Darwin all those years ago. There are 13 isles in total and dozens of smaller islets and rocks, all the result of volcanic activity with exotic plant life, unique wildlife species and an extraordinary landscape fringed with blue sea.
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Best times of year for your Galapagos Island cruise
Galapagos is a year round destination. High seasons include November to April and June to August, with low seasons (less tourists) generally in May/June, September and October. Seas are very calm from January to July and cool a little for the rest of the year but outside temperatures remain warm to hot throughout the year and seas do not get very heavy because of the extraordinary geology of the islands.
Visas and Health
No visa required for British Nationals at present. Full passport which must be valid for at least six months. We recommend the following inoculations: typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A and B. Malaria is present in certain regions of Ecuador but not the Galapagos, but we nevertheless recommend that you consult a medical practitioner. Reasonable fitness is recommended to make the most of your Galapagos wildlife cruise as some walking is involved, and getting in and out of boats and onto shore from wet or dry landings.
Clothing and kit
You will need a swimsuit(but you can hire one), good walking shoes/boots, mosquito repellent, sun hat, sun block and good sunglasses, torch, a sweatshirt and fleece and small backpack for the island visits. Camera, plenty of film and binoculars. A short wetsuit is advisable though not essential for snorkelling as the Humboldt current cools these tropical waters.
Tailormade extensions
Combine your Galapagos voyage with one of our other journeys into the rainforests or stay in the High Sierras to enjoy a further week or two in the Andes and the Avenue of Volcanoes. Call us to discuss your exact requirements or visit our Ecuador tailormade section and add it to your trip.
This Trip Supports..
Galapagos Conservation TrustOur partners in the Galapagos and Ecuador
Our representatives, agents, cruise boats and accommodation providers in Ecuador and the Galapagos are chosen for their commitment to responsible small scale tourism, our own Codes of Conduct and more specifically their commitment to wildlife conservation, where this is possible.
Travelling with us to the Galapagos and Ecuador will contribute to this ongoing support, as we make you a member for a year of the Galapagos Conservation Trust and fund an important section of the Charles Darwin Research Station each year.
Further we support on the mainland the Rainforest Concern charity through your travels with us, a number of whose projects are in the Ecuadorian Amazon and cloudforest of the Andes.
Joining us on a Galapagos wildlife cruise is one step closer to an altogether better holiday.
You will travel with expert guides and enjoy the best naturalists in the wilderness regions you visit with us.
Our selection of the very best cruise boats are chosen as much for the quality of their naturalists on board as for their comfort zone! In the Galapagos the best and most highly qualified guides will be on the best boats!
All our ground agents, Galapagos wildlife experts and regional representatives are chosen to ensure that we do not compromise on this expertise, professionalism and experience.
Our aim is always to give you privileged insight into the natural world.
Our Feedback
Should you wish to get direct feedback from any number of our numerous clients who have enjoyed a Galapagos Island cruise with us please do contact us and we would be delighted to help put you in touch.
You can also order a copy of the BBC Holiday Programme with Jack Davenport in the Galapagos islands, screened three times over the last three years that was run by us in 2001.
Alternatively feedback from our own special charters is on our Galapagos group itineraries.
“This was a really brilliant trip. There were many factors in addition to the intrinsic fascination of the places visited, the planning and preliminary information from your company was excellent, the Alta is an endearing boat, the party were good friends before we started, the weather was just right and both the guides were really outstanding, extremely well-informed, patient and charming. As a long-term Charles Darwin fan, I was thrilled to follow in his footsteps and more than ever impressed that he managed to make so much sense of the Galapagos ecology. Visiting Quito and its environs easily exceeded our high expectations. We really cannot see how the trip could have been much improved.”
Mr & Mrs J Barnes 2007
“Thank you both for all your efforts on our behalf – we had the holiday and experience of a lifetime. So many wonderful memories. Yours sincerely Joan”
Mrs Joan Boulton travelled to the Galapagos March 2007
“We are now back in the UK after our trip to the Galapagos Islands. I would like to say a huge thankyou as it was the most fantastic 5 days ever spent. We do now wish we had gone for longer, but 5 days was amazing. The boat was superb, the guide, Billy was wonderful and extremely knowledgeable (and funny) and the other staff on the boat couldn’t do enough for us. I will recommend you to anyone else I meet who is going to the Galapagos (and other places) and thank you for all your help in organising our trip.”
Mrs Cringle June 2006