Galapagos Islands holiday: Cruise or hotel?

Galapagos Islands holiday: Cruise or hotel?

Cruise or hotel? It’s the biggest Galapagos Island holiday decision you will make; Galapagos cruise, or Galapagos hotel based trip?

The Andean Trails’ team has used its experience of both trips to come up with a handy ‘Galapagos cruise / Galapagos land based trip?’ guide.

The similarities

Once-in-a-lifetime, fully guided, magnificent and a ‘must-do’ holiday, that is the Galapagos, and both cruise and hotels will not disappoint.

Most trips will be with small groups and you’ll encounter the tame and photogenic wildlife at every corner.

Traditional Galapagos cruises

It’s the dream isn’t it? So different to daily life for most, there you are, aboard a boat in the blooming Galapagos Islands.

The spectacular sunset to the west is replaced by the spectacular sunrise to the east and you’re living the romance of the sea. Skilful crew members make the sailing easy, and attentive waiting staff make sure everyone aboard is happy.

As you’re on the ocean waves there are countless chances to spot marine wildlife from whales to sharks to turtles. Some boats have kayaks that enable you to get even closer to the wildlife.

There is plenty of time to relax, reading books and sipping a drink, and the long sailings are done overnight. This means you can visit the remote northern islands, which hotel based tours simply cannot reach.

Food is excellent and plentiful and most ships now offer bars, libraries, DVDs and talks during the trip. No need to pack up and change room as once you’re aboard, the cabin is yours.

For those who suffer sea-sickness the larger boats are much more stable and offer many amenities of a traditional cruise, from spas to cookery courses and more.

Families are well catered for with specific cruises for kids/teenagers etc so that everyone gets the most out of the Galapagos cruise.

Sunset on Eric Galapagos boat.

Land/hotel based trips

There is a lot of hotel choice in Galapagos now, and this is the best way to combine seeing the wildlife as well as the people of the Galapagos along with creature comforts and space.

Park rules means that there are different combinations of activities and destinations that the cruises cannot offer.

You get plenty of free time too and this can be used to do as you will; explore beaches, swim, relax by the sea, walk around and enjoy the islands themselves. You can choose where to eat at night, use the internet if you wish and customise your trip.

There’s more of the ‘more’ – more space this time. Hotel rooms are much more spacious than cabins so it’s easy to unpack and pack, get to your stuff and flop out a bit.

Sea-sickness sufferers can really enjoy the Galapagos as some hotel based trips can get you to really remote places with hardly any time spent on boats. Those trips that do require sea travel are often done in very fast boats, reducing the time spent on sea and your chances of feeling woozy.

Families in particular love the flexibility of the hotel-based trip as they can be moulded to what you wish and give you a greater feeling of exploring the islands.

Finch Bay pool, Galapagos

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