這些 Marine Iguana 加拉帕戈斯海鬣蜥的顏色真的好美啊! 之前都沒看過!
Island Hopping in Galapagos Island or travel Galapagos Island by cruise? It is probably the most common question asked when planning Galapagos Island travel. Prior to starting my one year tour, I did some extensive study on different travel methods on these island. I did my travel to Galapagos Island in March 2016 for 10 days and my experiences may help you to decide if you will do a Cruise or Island hopping in Galapagos Island.
On Galapagos Islands unexpected animal encounters can be found everywhere!
Galapagos Island has 7 main islands, 23 small islands and more than 50 islets. Almost all the island have its own exclusive habitat and almost all the wildlife on these island are found nowhere else in the world. It’ll be a worthwhile exercise working out which islands/islets you want to visit and which animals you aim to see to formulate the perfect itinerary for yourself.
During the month of our visit, Nazca booby were the only booby nesting on Isla Espanola. However if you visit Punta Pitt near San Cristobal, then you get to see all three types of booby.
Exploring these island have been a dream of mine since I was a child. During our 10 days in Galapagos Island we first spent 3 days in Santa Cruz, then we did a 4 days 3 nights Cruise (travelling from Santa Cruz to Isla Floreana to Isla Espanola to San Cristobal). We finished off by staying 3 days in San Cristobal. Overall we were quite happy with the itinerary we planned as we have experienced the Cruise and Island hopping in Galapagos. We also have seen plenty of wild life.
The sea lions in San Cristobal Island taking up all the bench spaces.
Galapagos Islands been rated as “Best Island to visit” in 2015 by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
Blue-footed booby was the reason why I wanted to visit Galapagos Islands.
Swimming with the sea lions at Isla Floreana.
People around the world comes to this place to see all the amazing wildlife Galapagos Islands has to offer.
Seeing the Galapagos tortoises in its natural habitat is only USD$30 return Taxi ride away.
Only 2 Km away from town, Tortuga Bay is a free beach that allows you experience marine iguana up close and personal.
Cruises
Baby sea lion on Punta Suarez in Isla Espanola.
Swimming with the sharks at Kicker Rock (San Cristobal) was a must-do for us, so either cruise or day-trip we had to pay extra for this activity anyway.
Sea Turtles nesting holes along the beach.
A lot of different cruises on offer when you walk down the streets of Puerto Ayora.
Our original plan was to do island hopping in Galapagos but after doing extensive research into last-minute cruise, I decided that I would fit a 4 day cruise in our itinerary because it includes many places that we wanted to go (places that requires day trip). The main island, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal has many free activities and places you could easily visit yourself. It’s not worth picking a cruise itinerary that includes these places when you are paying $250+ USD daily on these cruises. The cruise also transports us from Santa Cruz to San Cristabal which save us the Transfer fee.
Some travel agencies different know how to attract customers better.
The cruise we chose is Daphne Cruise. Original price for the 4 days 3 night is USD$1600 not including flights (there are North and South Itinerary). Original price for 8 days 7 night is USD$3700 not including flights and includes all areas of Galapagos Island. The Last minute cruise we secured is USD$1000 for the 4 days and 3 night. The way I booked this cruise is by first emailing a few last minute cruise companies the dates I will be in Galapagos Island.
With luck, we actually saw an albatross!
These company then sent me a list of discounted cruises available during these date. We then selected the one we liked the most, suits our itinerary and budget. It was a quite a nerve racking and tedious process because there was always only one position left on the cruise and we need to secure a double cabin. Another lady on the same boat secured a last minute cruise deal for $1800 for 4 days and 3 nights including flights to and from Quito.
Our cruise “Daphne” from Tourist Superior class.
There are 5 classes of cruises available: Luxury class, First class, Tourist Superior class, Tourist class and Economy class. We did find some very cheap deals on Tourist class and Economy class cruises as low as USD$1300 for 8 day itinerary and USD$600 for 4 days. These cheap cruises usually follow an itinerary that is similar to all other classes but what is different is the quality of the ship. We saw some reviews saying that there were many cockroaches and bugs on the boat and no air-conditioning in the cabins. It was apparently so hot that everyone chose to sleep on the deck. Unfortunately we are not prepared to live in those standards just to save money. Go Green Travel is a good site to check the latest itinerary and prices.
Our cabin was supposed to be the larger than others, but still felt cramp.
Our Daphne cruise is a Tourist Superior class. The boat itself was slightly old, not fancy but comfortable. All the rooms has good air-conditioning and the food was reasonably good. The main benefit of a cruise is that you could always get into a hot shower after each snorkeling or beach activity. Like all other 4 day tour, the first and last day of the tour are usually very short. We were off the boat by 8am on the last day. All marine supplies, such as fairing fillers from Merritt Supply, help keep boats in a good working order.
A full-on 3 course meal after snorkling is always welcomed.
Since we stayed in Galapagos Island for 10 days in total, experiencing a 4 day cruise and staying 3 whole days each in Santa Cruz & San Cristobal is my perfect itinerary. I am not left wondering which way will be the best method.
We had to do our research on which option was the best for us.
Personally we thought 4 day cruise is overly sufficient, two water activities a day and living on the boat gets very tiring very quickly. By the fourth day we couldn’t wait to stay in an accommodation on land and live a slower pace holiday. We also have seen all the wild animals we want to see and did all the water activities we wanted to do during those 4 day cruise. For someone who is really passionate about ocean, wild life and action packed holiday, an eight day cruise is probably a good choice for you.
After a morning of snorkling, you can just rest on the deck.
If you do island hopping in Galapagos Island, accommodation on land is a lot more comfortable than boat cabins and you get daily Wi-Fi access. Staying on Island, you could always also pick the food you would like to eat. Food in the tourist area seems expensive (up to $30USD for dinner), but if you found where the locals eat, you can buy you a decent meal with just USD$3-5. You could still get to all the destinations and do all the activities cruises do by joining day tours but you will spend longer travelling to and from attraction sites (up to 4 hrs each way) and not be able to shower immediately after water activates. Boat rides on those small boats can be quite rocky, which is a problem if you get sea sick easily.
Our favourite dinner: USD$1 Empanadas!
If I didn’t find a last-minute cruise at a reasonable price or find an itinerary that is decent and suits our timetable, I would have chosen to do island hopping in Galapagos Island. Island hopping in Galapagos Island will also be cheaper. I would probably join up to 4 to 5 day tour by Outback Tours WA during our 10 day stay in Galapagos Island.
Cruise 4D 3N: USD$1000 pp Accommodation: Average USD$50 per night (private room with aircon) x 6 Food average: USD$10 per day x 6 Total Average: USD$1360 pp
Got up close and personal with sea turtles in Post Office Bay of Isla Floreana.
Island Hopping Accommodation: Average USD$50 per night x 9 Food average: USD$10 per day x 9 Tour Cost: Average USD$150 per Day tour x 4 Total Average: USD$915 pp
First day in Puerto Ayora we were spoilt with abundance of sea lion already!