Cruising the Galapagos Islands
If you are thinking of cruising the Galápagos Islands then you are about to start out on one of the most fascinating journeys of a lifetime. When I say ‘journey’, I don’t only mean the cruise, I mean the learning before and the memories afterward.
Before I start, I’m not planning to regurgitate many facts about the islands unless they are directly relevant to your vacation. So here is a link to the Galápagos Islands Wiki Page, which is full of facinating information about the Geography, History and Biology of the Galápagos Islands.
Where are the Galápagos Islands?
There are many ways to answer this without looking at a map. The islands are 600 miles West of Equador in the Pacific Ocean. To put that into context, Hawai’i is 2,500 miles west of California, also in the Pacific Ocean. Both are archipelago and both are situated by themselves in the middle of sprawling Ocean.
The reference to Ecuador is because the Galápagos Islands are owned by the country of Ecuador and the islands are on the same latitude as Ecuador. The closest land neighbor to the Galápagos islands is also Equador.
There are flights to the Galápagos Islands that land at one of two airports. Seymour Airport is on Baltra Island. San Cristobal Airport is in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. However, flying to the Galápagos Islands is definitely not the way to visit.
Why go cruising in the Galápagos Islands?
I can’t really say to you why you would personally want to go to the Galápagos Islands. It probably wouldn’t be primarily for the food, the bar or the beaches, though all of those are very well catered for.
So here are a few bullet points to consider…
- Unspoiled natural habitat
- The oldest animals on the planet
- A completely unque eco-system
- Charles Darwin’s research
Apart from the unique animals on the planet, the Galápagos Islands are home to about 500 species of plants on, including 90 species of ferns. About 180 vascular plant species are only found in the Galápagos.
Which Cruise Lines Take Me There?
In 1986, the 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 sq mi) of ocean surrounding the islands was declared a marine reserve, second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. In 1990, the archipelago became a whale sanctuary. UNESCO recognized the islands in 1978 as a World Heritage Site and in 1985, as a biosphere reserve. This was later extended in December 2001 to include the marine reserve.
So… you can’t just dock your Huge White Cruise Ship in the harbour and head off to Senor Frogs for a cocktail. Nor would you want to.
There are only a handful of cruise lines allowed to sail into Galápagos. and, for example, the largest ship that sails from Hurtigruten is only 90 passengers. Celebrity Cruise has a 100 passenger all-suite mega-yacht, a spacious 48-passenger vessel (that was their first ship into the Galápagos) and a 16-passenger catamaran.