You spend a couple of nights in Quito, Ecuador's capital city, before heading off to the Galapagos. Quito is a fascinating city with a beautiful heart of old colonial villas and churches and a more vibrant new town with bustling shops and restaurants.
For any wildlife enthusiast or nature lover, a Galapagos Islands cruise is one of those ‘once in a lifetime' trips which, if you're going to Ecuador (or even Peru), you just HAVE to make time and budget for. It's not a cheap experience, but it is absolutely worth the money. A Galapagos Islands cruise has to be one of the very best wildlife experiences on the planet. Where else in the world does the wildlife, even the birds, have no fear of man?!
Each yacht has a highly qualified naturalist guide on board, and each day you will visit the islands. There are trails on all the islands, and you have to stick to these for the sake of the wildlife, but this is no detriment to your experience, and you still get very close to the animals and birds. Your guide will tell you all about the flora and fauna, and the history and geography of the islands. In addition to island visits you can go swimming and snorkelling, which often attracts curious onlookers such as sealions, penguins and turtles who come and swim alongside to see what strange creature you are.
In between island visits you will be cruising from place to place. In the daytime, it is not uncommon to get dolphins swimming alongside the yacht, which is magical. Longer journeys will often be undertaken at night, so please note you will be very aware of the sound of the engine. We are using small yachts, with a maximum of 16 passengers, as you can enjoy a much friendlier and more intimate atmosphere onboard the yacht with less crowding and waiting around for visits on the mainland, as can occur with the larger yachts.
At the end of your cruise, you will fly back to Quito to board your international flight. However, Ecuador is blessed with a variety of attractions all within easy reach of Quito. You can drive north to the famous market town of Otavalo head south to the famous Avenue of Volcanoes and Cotopaxi national park, or take a short flight to the Amazon rainforest.
This is one of Tribes' Down to Earth holidays. This is a great range of more affordable, set itinerary holidays, as opposed to our tailor made trips.
The Down to Earth holidays also have their own website where you will find lots more details about each trip.
