www.ecuadors.org

[Delphy]

My husband and I plan to visit South America next year and a visit to the Galapagos is very high priority for us.

Our minds are really open about how/what to do while we're there - and time is pretty flexible.

Originally I assumed a 7 day cruise (leaning towards Isabella II) but now I'm thinking - why not stay in hotels on the Islands (1 or 2) and possibly do a cruise as well (4 days?) - I like the idea of just "being there" - and since we have the time to do it am interested in comments/ideas about that option.

Thanks in advance for your comments

[Zoilo]

We did a 4 day cruise last year combined with a few nights in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) afterwards. We enjoyed just relaxing and being able to do some exploring on our own in a non-group environment. We found the town of Puerto Ayora quite charming in a funky sort of way. It reminded me a little of places like San Pedro/Ambergris Caye in Belize, Cruz Bay, St. John or Island Mujeres, Mexico if you've been to any of those.

I'm glad we decided to linger a few extra days instead of flying straight back to the mainland after our cruise. It's a totally different experience than the cruise and one that not many people seem to include, probably because it's less wildlife oriented. If your primary goal is to see as much wildlife as possible, then a longer cruise would better serve that purpose. But an island stay shows you a different facet of the islands.

Santa Cruz has the largest population and choice of accomodations (largest being relative to the other islands), and I think there are also hotels on San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana. I believe all of the other islands are uninhabited. We didn't stay on any island other than Santa Cruz so can't offer any first hand experiences. Expect it to be very quiet.

I also don't know how frequent the transportation options are between islands. If you choose a cruise like ours which sailed from San Cristobal and returned to Santa Cruz, it might make the logistics easier.

Hope this helps.