Top Destinations For Adventure Travel – Galapagos
One thousand kilometres off the coastline of Ecuador lay the world famous collection of islands known as Galapagos.
Described as Darwin’s ‘living laboratory of evolution’, the thirteen main volcanic islands and dozens of rocky isles are one of the most important ecological regions on Planet Earth. Located at the confluence of three major ocean currents, Galapagos have been described as a ‘melting pot’ of marine species and ongoing seismic and volcanic activity continues to reflect the processes that formed the islands.
It is these processes, together with the remote location of the equatorial islands, that have been responsible for the development of the unusual species which inspired Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution and have made the region famous for its endemic species and seemingly fearless wildlife.
A large range of endemic species can be found on the islands of Floreana, Genovesa, Española, Seymour Norte, Plazas, Santa Fé and Isabela. Santa Cruz Island is home to the famous Charles Darwin Research Station.
On a visit to Galapagos travellers are likely to encounter giant tortoise, blue-footed booby, flamingo, the Galapagos penguin, albatross, iguana and many species of finch. Those who snorkel or scuba dive will often find themselves swimming with fur seals, rays, non-aggressive sharks, marine turtles and an incredible range of colourful fish.
Here you will find a whole host of exciting adventure travel opportunities such as wildlife watching, scuba diving, snorkelling, swimming, walking and island hopping aboard tour boats. With its wealth of unusual wildlife, any activity that you partake in here is sure to be an adventure of a lifetime.
Hannah G is a writer for http://addictedtotravel.com – a site which provides detailed travel guides and which has collected together the best adventure holidays from operators across the globe.
Come and see our wide choice of Galapagos holidays.
Hello Hannah,
You might want to let your readers know that, like in most tourist sectors, there are numerous travel deals and discounts in the Galapagos like never seen before (including up to 40% discounts on cruises, 2×1 offers etc). If someone is planning of taking that dream trip to the Galapagos Islands, now is the time as prices are attractive.
“Choosing the right Galapagos Islands cruise” to help people get oriented in the planning process.
Excerpt follows: Today there is so much information on the Galapagos Islands cruises available on the internet to make your head spin. This can be very advantageous and helpful for the reader as information is readily available …. everything from island descriptions, weather details, island maps, wildlife details and cruise options.
But how accurate and honest is most of the information regarding Galapagos Island cruise on the internet?
Information (data) is only as good and useful as it is accurate, honest and up to date. Making one’s decision based on inaccurate, incomplete and/or out-of-date information can cause not only frustration but a sense of deception. With accurate information, and complete information, your choices and decisions are made easier.
Let me explain the most common information that is either out-of-date
or inaccurate.
With a Google search conducted on April 9th, 2009, I searched the following term: “Darwin Explorer” (a boat that, incidentally, that sunk in September 2005). There are dozens of agencies apparently offering cruises on a boat that no longer exists. The same holds true for other Galapagos boats that no longer exist, like the Spondylus, Parranda, Ambassador (to name a few).The same exercise can be applied to other frequent and wide-spread “errors” relating to Galapagos cruise details, which mainly include the following information that is inaccurate: (1) Cruise itinerary and/or departure days; (2) Classification of boats; (3) Images of boats (some are correct but have been ‘adjusted’); (4) Technical details (i.e., capacity, cabin types etc).
It is now wonder that many people are easily frustrate and confused during their Galapagos internet surfing as many inconsistency or conflicting information arises!
I have found that individuals’ experience and feedback comments on any given cruise are directly related to their expectations. If one’s expectations have been falsely (purposely or not) raised beyond the reality, the person will almost always be disappointed. If one’s expectations are in line with reality, one’s experience will be what you expect. A great deal boils down to one’s expectations. I would rather prefer to err on the side of caution and
have my clients have a slightly lower level of expectation about their Galapagos boat and be pleasantly surprised when the reality is better than expected. I have seen, all too many a time, that on the same Galapagos cruise that there is a wide discrepancy regarding the passengers’ overall review of the cruise – with some disappointed, others exactly what they were expecting and others extremely satisfied. It boils down to how closely their expectations matched the reality!
That being said, there is no one Galapagos cruise that is perfect for everyone. Each client has his or her particular likes and dislikes, expectations and requirements. Some prefer the large, comfortable Deluxe cruise ships that carry 40 to 100 passengers (i.e., Galapagos Explorer II, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Legend, Evolution, Eclipse etc) while most prefer a more intimate, smaller option. Of these smaller options, they can neatly be divided into the following type: motor, motor sailer (or sailer) and catamarans (motor or motor sailer).