Galapagos Explorer Early November

[Tennessee Traveler]

Galapagos EXplorer early November. Any one else going with us? Going to Macchu Pichu prior to cruise with Smartours. Looking forward to this unique trip. Tennessee Traveler

[nbevins]

I am considering this company was wondering how you found it?

[lois1112]

I will be doing the gallapagos (on the coral II) and machu picchu in November of this year(woo hoo)...any hints? any advise? how was the weather in Machu Picchu?

[JustAud]

Been dying to find someone that 1) traveled to the Galapagos in November and 2) took a ship smaller than Xpedition! Can you tell me about your trip? How was the snorkeling this time of year? How did the animal viewing this time of year compare to what you expected? How was Explorer II, did you stay on the islands longer than "large" ship groups, did you visit places like Santa Fe, Rabida, and/or Genovesa?

 

Oh, anything you can share, would be most grateful. There is lots out there on Xpedition experiences, but very little on 16-passenger or 48-passenger ship types. Am trying to plan a trip for my 24ydaughter and I in either November or April/May.

 

Thanks!

 

Regent, Mariner - Alaska 2004

Regent, Explorer II - Antarctica 2005

Micato (not a cruise) - Kenya & Tanzania 2006

Regent, Paul Gaugain - French Polynesia 2006/7

A&K (not a cruise) -- Machu Picchu 2007

SeaDream II -- Caribbean 2007

Galapagos is in the planning stages!

[ShipsandDipper]

Been dying to find someone that 1) traveled to the Galapagos in November and 2) took a ship smaller than Xpedition! Can you tell me about your trip? How was the snorkeling this time of year? How did the animal viewing this time of year compare to what you expected? How was Explorer II, did you stay on the islands longer than "large" ship groups, did you visit places like Santa Fe, Rabida, and/or Genovesa?

 

Oh, anything you can share, would be most grateful. There is lots out there on Xpedition experiences, but very little on 16-passenger or 48-passenger ship types. Am trying to plan a trip for my 24ydaughter and I in either November or April/May.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I guess we're your folks. We went to Galapagos last November (17-24) on the M/V Alta, a 16-passenger sailboat. Absolutely the way to go! We dreaded seeing the 100-person ships come in, because they just brought so many groups on to shore. Our experience was so much more relaxed. At one stop one of our fellow passengers was talking to a person from a larger boat who mentioned dressing up for dinner. Our fellow passenger was dumbfounded that someone would want to do that on vacation in the Galapagos (and we discussed how dressing up for dinner on our boat meant putting on shoes).

 

Snorkeling wasn't that great - visibility in most places was poor. The exception was Bartholome, where the water was crystal clear -- and more than crystal cold. But we still enjoyed snorkeling with sea turtles (at one spot, more than a dozen) and saw some fish. Some members of our group saw a hammerhead at Genovesa. But our experience may not have been typical for November, as our guide seemed a little surprised at the poor visibility.

 

Animal viewing was everything we expected -- just like on National Geographic. The blue boobies at various sites and the waved albatross on Espanola were doing their mating dances. Lots of sea lions (more than 300 on one beach, including many young pups!), marine and land iguanas, giant tortoises on Santa Cruz, and many many birds.

 

I wouldn't say that we stayed on islands longer than large ship groups (although we all fit into the panga at once, so our transport time was probably shorter and we didn't spend much, if any, time waiting around). Since there were other ships at every other island, there were always other people around. But it was much nicer when it was only a couple of small ships. We also were able to vary our schedule a little bit (with permission from the Park Service) to try to snorkel where it wasn't originally scheduled.

 

The boat was very nice. Our room had more space than I expected (and the bathroom, while small, was still bigger than in some hotels I've been in). There was an issue with fumes the first night or so, but after that it was fine.

 

We visited Genovesa, Fernandina, Isabela (three sites), N. Seymour, Bartholome, Santa Cruz, Espanola, and San Cristobal.

 

Oh, by the way, the sun was FIERCE. We were putting on sunscreen three times a day (because of the snorkeling, etc.). Bring a big bottle! It was warm to hot in the middle of the day, and pleasant at other times.

 

Lots and lots of pictures can be found at:

 

http://kigiphoto.smugmug.com/Ecuador-2007

 

Feel free to contact me for more information.

[JustAud]

Thanks for the info on Alta. How about water temperature, keep hearing mixed info on how cold it really is during November versus May. I've only been snorkeling in Hawaii & the Caribbean, but swim at home in freshwater lakes that aren't very warm but I'm really not sure what "cold" really means . . .

 

How about your guides? The smaller ships are so much more expensive and seem to include less, are they really worth it for the smaller groups? How about motion (it doesn't really bother me, but crossing the Drake Passage was rough!)

 

Did they have snorkel equipment for rental? How expensive was it?

[drfun48]

I guess we're your folks. We went to Galapagos last November (17-24) on the M/V Alta, a 16-passenger sailboat. Absolutely the way to go! We dreaded seeing the 100-person ships come in, because they just brought so many groups on to shore. Our experience was so much more relaxed. At one stop one of our fellow passengers was talking to a person from a larger boat who mentioned dressing up for dinner. Our fellow passenger was dumbfounded that someone would want to do that on vacation in the Galapagos (and we discussed how dressing up for dinner on our boat meant putting on shoes).

You got bad info...I've been on the Xpedition twice---there is no dressing up for dinner.

There also were 74 passengers one trip,eighty the next and six naturalists.among the 66 crew.

The advantage of so many was the option of taking any of three trips each morning and three each afternoon---much more variety of excursions than my friends on smaller ships. No group I was with was larger than 12 ----some as small as four. And when two or three groups went to the same island thet split in different directions not to be seen until returning.

They also included a variety of mid afternoon snorkling trips targeted to skill levels.

The slide shows ,lectures and briefings prepared you magnificently for the next day.

The level of comfort made the excursions all the more enjoyable.

Lastly the food was excellent in variety and taste.

The open bat 24-7 didn't hurt either.

Don't kid yourself-THIS is the was to go.

[ShipsandDipper]

Thanks for the info on Alta. How about water temperature, keep hearing mixed info on how cold it really is during November versus May. I've only been snorkeling in Hawaii & the Caribbean, but swim at home in freshwater lakes that aren't very warm but I'm really not sure what "cold" really means . . .

 

How about your guides? The smaller ships are so much more expensive and seem to include less, are they really worth it for the smaller groups? How about motion (it doesn't really bother me, but crossing the Drake Passage was rough!)

 

Did they have snorkel equipment for rental? How expensive was it?

 

It was colder than Hawaii and the Caribbean, but probably not as cold as your lakes at home (except maybe Bartholome - that felt almost like icewater to me). At most places we were able to snorkel for 30-45 minutes or so at a time in a shorty wetsuit (some folks stayed in longer). I tend to get cold easily, so my definition of cold is probably more toward the "cold" side than others would be. I was usually one of the first ones out of the water.

 

We had one guide, but he was excellent. Extremely knowledgable and conscientious. Not sure what you mean about the smaller ships including "less" -- I guess because we were only interested in sailing ships so I never researched the options on the larger ships.

 

Only one night did we get a lot of motion (crossing back between Gnovesa (Tower) and Isabela). Not sure how we would have fared on a larger ship that night (probably would have had some motion, but not as much).

 

They had snorkel equipment on board. I don't recall if there was a fee (we brought our own). The shorty wetsuits were $30 or 35 for the week, I think.

 

Whichever boat you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

drfun48 - thanks for the different perspective. We went on a boat on that size in Alaska and had a great time. For Galapagos, though, I really liked the intimate feel of the very small boat and the group.