Cathy and I chose a 7 day Galapagos island hopping tour, organized for us by a local Galapagos company Red Mangrove. Our experience was first class. We have recommended this tour to friends who have had the same experience. We did our trip in 2012 and so some tour details have changed. Check out Red Mangrove Island Hopping Tours
Getting there
We took off from Toronto on Air Canada in a February snow storm, and connected on Continental through Cleveland and Houston to Quito, Ecuador. The next morning we flew AeroGal to Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands.
Where we stayed
So what is a Galapagos island hopping tour? We stayed on three islands, Santa Cruz, Floreana and, Isabella. You can see on the Map of Galapagos that there are quite a few islands, all volcanic, somewhat like Hawaii. In Santa Cruz, we stayed at the Adventura Lodge on arrival, and the Adventura Dive Lodge on departure. Our cabins on Floreana were very isolated and on limited solar power, so the night sky was amazing. A favorite was Isabella where we stayed in a small ‘dive lodge’ right on a sand beach.
How we traveled
Our travel between islands was on 30 foot speed boats that took about 2 hours dock to dock. This explains us using the term island hopping. On these sea journeys we were entertained by dolphins who surfed our boat’s wake. On land our transportation varied between vans and homemade jitneys.
All important food and drink
Our tour was all inclusive. Breakfasts and dinners were fresh local food and very relaxed. Typically wine and beer were in a ice chest and purchased on an honor basis. Lunches were in cafes and small restaurants, and varied based on that day’s schedule.
Custom guided tour
We enjoyed small group travel ranging from 4 to 10 people on various days as we were all on custom island hopping itineraries. Our fellow travelers all had a taste for adventure. However I did not take up the challenge from one travel mate to dive with the hammerhead sharks. He did not die. Our guides were excellent, and in the national parks we also had a mandatory park ranger / guide.
This is one of four posts on our Galapagos Island Hopping trip. You will find the following of interest, Galapagos by Land, Galapagos: Time well spent! and Lonesome George and the Galapagos Islands