The Galapagos Islands have been on my bucket checklist for years, particularly as soon as I spotted how a lot I like to journey to see distinctive wildlife. However the decisions in terms of Galapagos journeys appear infinite – and due to this fact a bit overwhelming – once you first begin planning.
The primary main determination you must make is whether or not you wish to go on a cruise, or attempt a land-based journey. I knew I wished to do a cruise, since you see a lot extra. (Plus, land-based journeys nonetheless have you ever spending fairly a little bit of time on boats to go to different islands, because it’s the one strategy to get round!)
Then there are the itinerary combos to select from (jap islands! central islands! western islands! jap and central! western and central! and so on.). And, for those who’ve settled on doing a cruise, you then need to determine what measurement ship you wish to sail on.
Ship sizes within the Galapagos
First issues first: you have to know that cruising within the Galapagos just isn’t like cruising within the Caribbean or Mediterranean. The “huge ships” within the Galapagos are tiny compared to a few of their mammoth counterparts elsewhere on the earth.
Due to laws within the Galapagos, cruise ships legally can’t maintain greater than 100 passengers – and a lot of the greatest ships crusing the islands prime out round 90.
These are due to this fact the three ship sizes you must choose from:
- Small ships – Often maintain as much as 16 passengers (and I am going to clarify why this can be a magic quantity a bit later!); good ship instance: Reina Silvia Voyager or Cormorant II
- Medium-sized ships – 40-50 passengers on common; good ship instance: Nationwide Geographic Islander II or La Pinta
- Giant ships – Round 90 passengers; good ship instance: Silversea Silver Origin or Santa Cruz II
And inside the smaller ship class, you may discover each single-hulled ship designs and catamarans.
After heaps and many analysis and comparability, my dad and I made a decision to sail on a small ship (with simply 16 passengers) on a central + jap islands itinerary. And I feel it was the BEST determination! Learn on to search out out why.
Why I selected a small ship within the Galapagos
I truly took myself without warning in selecting to sail on a small ship within the Galapagos! Stepping into to planning this journey, I used to be leaning in direction of reserving on a 90-passenger ship with Hurtigruten. However, the extra I learn concerning the completely different ships accessible, the extra I began leaning in direction of a smaller vessel as an alternative.
The deciding issue for me personally got here all the way down to a sequence of guidelines that Galápagos Nationwide Park enforces. The variety of cruise passengers within the Galapagos is very regulated, and the utmost group measurement on any land tour off a ship is 16 folks per naturalist information.
And whereas bigger ships get permits to take a number of teams on land without delay with a number of guides, on a smaller ship you do not have to fret about any of that. And to me, that sounded nice.
PROS and CONS to a small Galapagos cruise
We ended up selecting that smaller ship – the Reina Silvia Voyager, to be actual, which is presently contracted out by G Adventures. This catamaran-style ship has simply 10 state rooms and sails with 16 passengers, 8 crew, and 1 information. Our crusing had 15 passengers.
We selected this ship for two foremost causes:
- The itinerary matched my Galapagos want checklist
- The ship affords 2 devoted single rooms on board and would not cost a full single complement for them (the only rooms are barely costlier than what 1 particular person pays in a double room, however not exorbitantly so – they often run about 20% greater than the double room value, as an alternative of being double the value).
Need to see the precise journey I took? Check out the itinerary here.
After residing on this ship for a full week, listed below are all the professionals and cons I got here up with. Hopefully they may also help you make the identical determination I did about whether or not a small ship within the Galapagos can be proper for me!
PROS of a small ship within the Galapagos
1. One group, one information, no ready
Like I discussed above, Galapagos Nationwide Park strictly regulates cruise passengers within the islands. You can not have greater than 16 guests per 1 naturalist information, and there are additionally limits on how many individuals will be on land at any given time.
On a small ship with simply 15 passengers, it meant we may all do the identical factor on the identical time with our information, Venus. Nobody needed to wait their flip, and it meant all of us received to have the identical experiences with the identical information collectively.
On bigger ships, they divide all of the passengers into teams and assign them guides, however park guidelines generally imply that teams need to take turns doing actions. You must wait in your flip to get on land, and doubtlessly spend much less time there if there are extra teams ready for his or her likelihood.
I am certain this runs easily total, however I a lot most well-liked not having to waste time ready round for my flip to get right into a zodiac.
2. You get to know everybody
On a smaller ship – particularly one with simply 16 passengers! – you get the possibility to know everybody all through the course of your cruise.
Our ship solely had 2 eating tables, and we usually swapped seats for each meal so we had an opportunity to talk with everybody. By the top of our 7-day cruise, we felt like one huge household with group-wide inside jokes and recollections made collectively.
We additionally received to know our 8-person crew; it was good to know the names of everybody making the journey so memorable!
3. Extra time with guides/naturalists
Since a 16-passenger ship simply wants one naturalist information, it means you get to know them very well, too! We spent numerous time with our information Venus each day, from the early morning moist landings to the snorkeling excursions to the pre-dinner briefings.
Attending to know Venus and her infectious love for the wildlife within the Galapagos was half the enjoyable each day. She even took us to some secret spots solely she is aware of (like a spot the place we received to see nesting red-billed tropicbirds up shut), and edited a video of our entire journey for us.
I am undecided you get as a lot personalised expertise on the bigger Galapagos ships (although I am certain the extent of service remains to be wonderful).
4. You go locations huge ships cannot
One other main bonus of crusing on a smaller ship within the Galapagos is that you simply get to go to some spots that the massive ships merely cannot. We anchored in locations with different small ships, exploring elements of islands that visitors on the most important ships do not often go.
There are a handful of extra fragile spots within the Galapagos which can be actually solely visited by visitors crusing on the smallest ships – which is fairly cool!
On a smaller ship, we have been additionally in a position to sail nearer to sure factors of curiosity, like Kicker Rock and some different small rocky islands.
5. Some flexibility
I say “some” right here, as a result of Galapagos Nationwide Park strictly regulates all the pieces within the islands. They set the itinerary for each ship, designate particular instances for landings, hand out permits for issues like snorkeling, and dictate if/when modifications should be made.
For instance, in late 2023, there was an ongoing chook flu outbreak in South America, and there have been a number of particular chook colonies that have been closed to vacationers to guard the birds. This meant that our itinerary modified on a few days, however our crew and information had no say over the brand new actions we have been assigned to.
BUT, in different instances, our small group measurement did give us some flexibility.
In the future we got here again on board from snorkeling just for the crew to identify an enormous pod of dolphins within the distance. We loaded again into the dinghies inside minutes, and went out to see them earlier than they have been gone. That might by no means occur on a big ship.
Having only one group additionally meant that after we went on land, we may take our time and watch animals for so long as we wished (nicely, inside our allotted on-land time, a minimum of), since there was no second group ready to take their flip.
I by no means felt rushed throughout our landings, even once I was busy taking a whole lot of images of sea lions and birds.
6. Very nice ship choices
There are each funds and luxurious ships in every measurement class within the Galapagos, but it surely looks as if there are extra decisions in terms of the small ships. The smaller ships provide generously-sized staterooms (among the extra luxurious ships are all-suite!), and customary areas like lounges and solar decks.
You may not anticipate a ton of area on a smaller ship, however I used to be tremendous impressed with the Reina Silvia Voyager. Not solely do 8 of the ten rooms have personal balconies on this ship, however even the 2 single rooms on board had full-size beds, huge closets, and a bathe larger than the one I’ve at house.
Our ship additionally had a giant solar deck with a jacuzzi, a lounge with a small bar, and kayaks on board. Issues like wetsuits and snorkeling gear have been additionally included.
Some very good small ship choices within the Galapagos embody:
- Reina Silvia Voyager (the one I sailed on!)
- Grand Queen Beatriz
- Grand Daphne
- Cormorant II
- Infinity
- Ocean Spray
- Origin & Concept
- Beluga
CONS of a small ship within the Galapagos
There are in fact some downsides to picking a small cruise, although a few of these may not trouble you in any respect!
1. Extra likelihood of seasickness
The largest con on a small ship is that (generally dreaded) movement of the ocean. You may really feel the waves and currents extra on a small ship – and extra particularly on the smaller, single-hull ships.
I did not even sail in the course of the roughest season (and we have been on a extra steady catamaran), however there was a minimum of one night time once I could not sleep in any respect as a result of the ship was rolling a lot.
The excellent news, although, is that as somebody who DOES undergo from movement illness (seasickness, automobile illness, you title it and I’ve in all probability skilled it), I used to be completely high quality on this journey taking Dramamine (the less-drowsy kind). I took 2 tablets per day for the primary couple days, after which simply 1 pill per day after that. And I did not really feel in poor health as soon as!
In reality, nobody on our cruise received sick from the movement. Simply positively go ready with some seasickness meds or a Reliefband (this stuff actually do assist!), and use them prophylactically – DON’T wait till you’re feeling sick to take one thing.
Whereas I used to be impressed by what was included on our small ship (like a sizzling tub, personal balconies, snorkeling gear/wetsuits, kayaks, and even climbing poles), it will not examine to what you may discover on the largest ships within the Galapagos.
The larger ships provide extra frequent areas, libraries, bars, gyms, and so on. They have a tendency to have precise eating places for eating, completely happy hours, extras like paddleboards and even glass-bottomed boats for excursions, and generally a physician on board.
I truthfully did not miss any of the “fancy” extras since we spent a lot time OFF the ship, however this may make a distinction for others.
Once more, this did not actually trouble me a lot, but it surely’s value noting for any choosy eaters in your group! The crew onboard the Reina Silvia Voyager was nice at accommodating dietary restrictions and allergic reactions, and so they served up a giant breakfast buffet, snacks after most land excursions, and often 3-course lunches AND dinners.
However there was by no means a menu or alternative of dishes at lunch or dinner; everybody was served the identical factor. The meals was all scrumptious (for my part), but it surely did imply that if one thing got here out you did not actually take care of, there wasn’t another choice accessible – and we additionally did not know forward of time what the meal can be.
This is perhaps completely different on different small ships, however I doubt any of the cooks on these smaller vessels will provide a number of dishes to select from after they need to principally replenish for the complete week in the beginning of the cruise. There are not any grocery shops on any of the islands you may be going to!
If in case you have actually robust meals preferences, make sure you let the crew know earlier than your cruise. (For instance, one visitor on our ship would not eat cheese, and the cooks made all her dishes with out it!)
4. Fewer passengers
This one can positively be both a professional or a con, relying the way you take a look at it. In my thoughts, a smaller group is nice since you get to know everybody. But when you find yourself with folks in your small group that you simply simply do not vibe with, it could be robust to keep away from them on a small cruise like this.
Additionally, for those who’re touring as a household or with older individuals who perhaps aren’t fairly as lively, a smaller ship would not provide you with any choices in terms of tour exercise degree. Everybody does the identical factor, so for those who do not wish to do a specific stroll or snorkeling journey, you then’d simply keep on the ship and never have another possibility.
On among the bigger ships, they’ve the power to assign teams up based mostly on pursuits and desired exercise degree. Simply one thing to remember!
(But in addition I can say from expertise that nobody on a smaller ship will care for those who skip an hour of snorkeling or decide to not kayak; generally chilling on the solar deck with a e book is simply what you want!)
Who’s a small ship Galapagos cruise proper for?
Cruising the Galapagos on a small ship was proper for me ultimately. However it may not be best for you, and that is completely okay!
A small ship cruise is best for you if:
- You want the thought of attending to know your fellow vacationers and ship crew very well.
- You need an lively journey, and also you wish to spend essentially the most time potential on actions.
- You do not undergo from seasickness (or are completely happy to take meds to forestall it).
- You are not occurring this cruise for the in depth meals menu.
A small ship cruise may not be best for you if:
- You’re relying on extra actions and locations to lounge onboard your ship.
- You do not thoughts ready your flip to get off the ship for actions.
- You prefer to be barely extra nameless once you journey.
- You desire a barely smoother journey (although I would nonetheless suggest seasickness tablets).
Regardless of which measurement or class of ship you select, your journey to the Galapagos goes to be epic and memorable!
So what do you suppose? Does a small ship Galapagos cruise sound just like the one for you?
