Antarctica + Galapagos

[digitl]

We're back in Antarctica in January/February 2014 and are considering adding on a brief visit to Rio and then a Galapagos cruise before our return to the UK.

 

Has anyone any experience of doing this. Any advice to offer?

[dileep]

We're back in Antarctica in January/February 2014 and are considering adding on a brief visit to Rio and then a Galapagos cruise before our return to the UK.

 

Has anyone any experience of doing this. Any advice to offer?

 

That would be very intense! Are you doing the short one week Antarctica cruise, or the 2 week trip that includes Falklands and South Georgia?

 

Given that South America is a long way from home, I can see how you might want to combine the 2 destinations. Why Rio? Have you conidered Iguazu Falls instead?

[digitl]

We did the long Antarctica - South Georgia - Falklands trip earlier this year and finished it off with Iguazu Falls. The 2014 trip is the Polar Circle trip.

 

We've decided to add on the Galapagos cruise as South America is a long way from the UK for just a couple of weeks and it's unlikely (very unlikely) that we'll find ourselves in or near the region again: there are too many other destinations that interest us!

 

We're considering Rio as we have five days down time between our return from Antarctica and the start of the Galapagos leg. We've 'done' Buenos Aires on a couple of other trips and the other alternative, Machu Picchu, doesn't really interest us as we've seen 'similar' in other parts of South America and Asia. You can only take so many old ruins!

[dileep]

Machu Picchu is quite unique. I have been to Rio and other than the beach it is not of much interest to me. To each his own.

 

I totally understand why you want to tack on Galapagos and the 5 days in between will help break up the trip.

[Shawnino]

We're back in Antarctica in January/February 2014 and are considering adding on a brief visit to Rio and then a Galapagos cruise before our return to the UK.

 

Has anyone any experience of doing this. Any advice to offer?

 

Actually did this in the autumn more or less (I also had some other stuff to do in S. America). Like you, I figured "as long as I'm going to be down there...", and I couldn't justify the expense of going back in the future just for a few days in Galapagos: air travel from my neck of the woods (Nova Scotia) is expensive and long with poor connections.

 

Many people on the Antarctica trip had been to Galapagos in the past (usually with the same operator, Lindblad). They all said the same thing, with which I concur: Galapagos is worthwhile, but the experience is vastly different from Antarctica. Antarctica is a soft adventure of exploration. Galapagos is a rigidly guided walking-and-zodiac tour through a vast outdoor museum.

 

Everybody has their preferred style of cruise--mine's no secret: I posted on the Disabled Cruising board how the obtuse rules in Galapagos can be limiting for disabled and able-bodied travellers alike. But aside from my personal preference, all I can say is that expect Galapagos to be different.

 

While ashore in Galapagos you're very closely guided and minded. I want to stress that I have no complaints about the operator--if you check out that thread, you'll see I give the Lindblad staff high marks. But the park rules are poorly thought out and confining. You can still have a great time in Galapagos, I did, but in terms of experience is as different from Antarctica as American Football is different from Soccer. Both sports just call themselves "football" but there's not that much in common.

[digitl]

Thanks. It's the difference we're interested in and Celebrity's itinerary gives a good insight into what to expect.

 

As far as rules are concerned, we're used to having to follow them when they seemingly make little or no sense. We've just come back from India where we visited a couple of tiger reserves. The rules in each were supposed to be the same but turned out to be quite different in the way they were implemented. We just follow what we're asked to do and get on with enjoying ourselves.

[2552phxcrzr]

Why not skip Rio and do some time in mainland Ecuador before the Galapagos. It's a beautiful country, and there's a lot to see and do just around Quito ... and you can take it as slow or as fast as you want. Some people we met on the ship said they went to a spa/hotel in Papallacta while there to relax for a couple of days; others went to the Mindo Cloud Forest.

 

If you've got signatures turned on, you'll see the link to my blog posts for our trip.

[digitl]

Thanks for the suggestion. It's something we had thought about but Rio is one of those places we've heard about for more years than I care to think about and so is very tempting: especially as we don't intend to return to South America. It would also offer a complete contrast to Antarctica and Galapagos.

[dileep]

Why not skip Rio and do some time in mainland Ecuador before the Galapagos. It's a beautiful country, and there's a lot to see and do just around Quito ... and you can take it as slow or as fast as you want. Some people we met on the ship said they went to a spa/hotel in Papallacta while there to relax for a couple of days; others went to the Mindo Cloud Forest.

 

If you've got signatures turned on, you'll see the link to my blog posts for our trip.

 

We spent 2 days in Quito between Machu Picchu and Galapagos and thought there was enough to do. Also most flight to Galapagos fly through Guayaquil on the coast. Might want to check that out if you want ase levl stop. Quito is at about 12000 feet if I remember right and might be harder to adjust too.

 

[Shawnino]

H2SO4: How did you feel security-wise in Quito? Beyond the hoary admonitions of being careful wherever one travels, my wife got a letter from Lindblad effectively saying "Don't leave your hotel! Just kidding! OK, not kidding."

 

We spent our days separately. I had some (non-tour) meetings/etc. and travelled with exceptionally tight security. She refused to hang out in the hotel and, keeping the standard common sense in mind, just wandered about willy-nilly. It was rather obvious she was a foreigner (Slavic face, not five words of Spanish)and while a vendor tried to gouge her at the market, she never felt the least bit unsafe. If anything, she found the people friendly and was very much at ease.

 

On the one hand, there's the old saw about how One Can Never Be Too Careful. On the other, the Lindblad letter and my own arrangements seemed like ridiculous overkill.

[2552phxcrzr]

H2SO4: How did you feel security-wise in Quito? Beyond the hoary admonitions of being careful wherever one travels, my wife got a letter from Lindblad effectively saying "Don't leave your hotel! Just kidding! OK, not kidding."

 

We spent our days separately. I had some (non-tour) meetings/etc. and travelled with exceptionally tight security. She refused to hang out in the hotel and, keeping the standard common sense in mind, just wandered about willy-nilly. It was rather obvious she was a foreigner (Slavic face, not five words of Spanish)and while a vendor tried to gouge her at the market, she never felt the least bit unsafe. If anything, she found the people friendly and was very much at ease.

 

On the one hand, there's the old saw about how One Can Never Be Too Careful. On the other, the Lindblad letter and my own arrangements seemed like ridiculous overkill.

 

We felt quite comfortable wandering around on our own and did so extensively, even going to some sights in the outskirts of the city that don't see many tourists. Though might husband might easily be mistaken for a Latino, the same can't be said about me.

 

Frankly, we thought Celebrity went overboard with the guards and whatnot, and felt less comfortable when wandering the city as a group after we joined the tour than we did when we were on our own. I know there were people in the group that probably thought otherwise.

 

Of course, that said, a couple of guys in our group got held up at knife point not far from the hotel. It was the weekend, they were carrying shopping bags, and the streets were deserted even though it was fairly early in the evening.

 

We walked the same area on a weekday when it was crowded with locals going to work on foot and by bike, and it was fine. Returning from our outing that same day, however, we had grocery bags in hand and it was dark already, so we took a cab ($1 fare) back to the hotel. Moral of the story: use common sense no matter where you are.

[Shawnino]

Actually, we were told that taking a cab not arranged by the hotel was just about the most dangerous thing you could do. Drill was to let the hotel set up the cab and you were to pay the cab to wait while you ate/shopped/rubbernecked.

 

Bad news about the guys in your group. Like you, though, I felt far more conspicuous with security than without. I guess security is there to encourage the rogues to move along and look for another target.

[2552phxcrzr]

Actually, we were told that taking a cab not arranged by the hotel was just about the most dangerous thing you could do. Drill was to let the hotel set up the cab and you were to pay the cab to wait while you ate/shopped/rubbernecked.

 

Never had a problem with cabbies -- we do always try to make sure it is a licensed/registered cab no matter where we are. A surprising % of the cabbies who drove us in Quito had spent time in the US -- one in Maryland, not far from us.

[WA Bubbles]

We did the long Antarctica - South Georgia - Falklands trip earlier this year and finished it off with Iguazu Falls. The 2014 trip is the Polar Circle trip.

 

We've decided to add on the Galapagos cruise as South America is a long way from the UK for just a couple of weeks and it's unlikely (very unlikely) that we'll find ourselves in or near the region again: there are too many other destinations that interest us!

 

We're considering Rio as we have five days down time between our return from Antarctica and the start of the Galapagos leg. We've 'done' Buenos Aires on a couple of other trips and the other alternative, Machu Picchu, doesn't really interest us as we've seen 'similar' in other parts of South America and Asia. You can only take so many old ruins!

 

Wow Digitl, you gave me a great idea. We would like to plan the Anatartica on Celebrity in Feb 2014, and take an additiona cruise to end in Santiago, but I like Glapagos idea better, We have to travel from the Pacific Northwest and airfare co$t is high. Do you have a suggestion on a ship for the Galapagos?

[digitl]

Why not skip Rio and do some time in mainland Ecuador before the Galapagos. It's a beautiful country, and there's a lot to see and do just around Quito ...

We're going to do both. Four days in Quito (trips to Mindo Cloud Forest and Cotopaxi booked) and four days in Rio.

[digitl]

Wow Digitl, you gave me a great idea. We would like to plan the Anatartica on Celebrity in Feb 2014, and take an additiona cruise to end in Santiago, but I like Glapagos idea better, We have to travel from the Pacific Northwest and airfare co$t is high. Do you have a suggestion on a ship for the Galapagos?

 

You may be a little too late to book for February 2014, but have a look at Celebrity's Xpedition for Galapagos and Hurtigruten's Fram for Antarctica

 

If you've previously travelled with Celebrity there should be a 10% discount, the same for Hurtigruten.

[mj_holiday]

When we were going about the city and felt it was getting late enough we should take a cab; we went into a closest nice hotel and had a drink and then have the doorman get us a cab. That way we knew for sure it was a licensed cab.

[dtvmacdonald]

I would suggest a trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle. E.g. Sacha or Kapawi lodge. But check to see if you date is in a good season.