Kpfresno

Am working down my bucket list and the Galapagos are next up for 2018. Any recommendations on the best way to see the islands would be appreciated. Lots of choices but hearing from those who have been there would be invaluable. Am looking at Linblad and Celebrity cruises but know there are other good ones out there. Want to have the time to take pictures and see as much of the islands as possible as I will not be going back a second time. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I went with Galapagos Travel aboard a small yacht called the TipTop IV. It has 8 passenger cabins so a max of 16 paid passengers. I took the 15 day adventure but the 10 day would have been fine as 15 was tiresome. It was only tiresome in that I was pretty exhausted by the 10th day and didn't go snorkeling much after the 10th day. I recommend that you take advantage of the snorkeling though as it was a sight to see below the surface in the Galapagos. Take a GoPro camera with you and if you wear a wet suit, make sure you have a weight belt too so that you aren't so buoyant and can dive down 10 or 15 feet and video the creatures. Take lenses ranging from 10mm to 300mm if you use a crop camera or 16mm to 300mm if you have a full frame body. I brought both. We took the photographers special adventure where a renowned Galapagos resident, photographer and conservationist Tui De Roy lead us on all excursions. She was born in the Galapagos Islands and knows how to get the wildlife and landscape shots captured to make your trip even more memorable. Good luck and have fun.

MikWar Loc: Chicago, Western Suburbs

We went on a Road Scholar trip there a couple of years ago. Small group was nice - I would highly recommend looking for a small ship (no more than 20). Going with Celebrity or Linblad you will probably be with many other people and probably see less/have less time on the islands. Our Road Scholar trip also included Machu Picchu - a beautiful sight.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Google "cnh tours samba". Samba is the name of the boat. CNH is the name of the tour company. We went with them for both itineraries in 2015. Fabulous trip. Small boat - 14 passengers, 7 cabins each with own bathroom. Were able to get to a couple of islands that most boats were not allowed. Highly recommended.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Just had a presentation from someone that did the Galapagos. Sorry but I don't remember what cruise outfit they used. I do know they keep the groups very small 8-12 ish and guides take you everyplace. You are not going rent a car and run off and take photos. Very few roads anyway. According to history, this is where Darwin was firmly convinced about evolution.

bertaka

We did the National Geographis/Linblad trip a couple years ago and fortunately we hit the off season and there were only 12 passengers. The crew, agenda, expertise were stellar. They fully integrated us into the experience, even were able to spend some time in the brig with the Captain. Food excellent. Fellow passengers were a plus, fun but serious about this being a learning experience as well as a pleasurable one. I am a sub par amateur photographer and I took advantage of the staff photographer on board, the iMacs for daily reviewing pics, and sharing of photos and video (including GoPro) among staff and passengers. It's a cultural trip of a lifetime, do not short change yourself!

PauHana Loc: Tucson, AZ

I travelled there with Overseas Adventure Travel. Sixteen passengers. Every room had its own bathroom. Unlimited showers. Excellent food. Interesting travellers. Local guides. Two small inflatable crafts. They provided wet suits and snorkelling gear though I took my own. Crew was respectful of ecology.

Dsrapa Loc: Outside of nyc

Took celebrity last year. Loved it. 100 passengers max. Good food, stable boat, interesting people and choices of activities each day: easy hike, hard hike, no hike, snorkeling or just swimming. etc. excellent guides.
But no special photography oriented instruction if that's what you want.
All Galapagos trips must employ Ecuadorian guides so the more expensive trips get the more experienced guides.
Take a waterproof camera, long lens if you want BIF pics. I had a canon sx50 and Olympus tough. (And back up lumix point and shoot). Take a waist strap to secure camera while hiking or getting on and off small boats.
A week was long enough I thought.
Have a great trip!

rlopatkin

Just got back- took the Silver Seas 7 day cruise- absolutely amazing

ka5ysy

We were in the Galapagos several months ago for a meeting, but did not go on a cruise ship. That said, We have been on 10 Celebrity cruises and absolutely love the line. It is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL). On one of our first Celebrity cruises (Summit) our dinner group was trying to decide how to describe a Celebrity cruise. What we came up with was "Quiet Elegance". Judy and I made this comment to the group, having been on several Royal Caribbean cruises : Think of RCCL as a Cadillac experience. Celebrity is definitely a Rolls Royce experience.

The ships you will be on in Galapagos are smaller than most of their ships, but still the experience will be outstanding. The itinerary varies a bit depending on the sailing date, but still covers a very good selection of the islands. I would highly recommend taking the add-on trip down to Machu Picchu that can be part of the Celebrity package. Since you are in the area anyway, spend the money and get a two-fer bucket list checkoff. We flew down to Cusco the week before our meeting and had an amazing experience taking the ride up to the ruins and touring the area. Definitely worth the trip.

In all, I can highly recommend anything Celebrity Cruise Lines offers.

Take a good supply of memory cards for your camera and several sets of spare batteries, you will need them. The wildlife there is amazing, and if you happen to be a diver, the diving there offers some very unique experiences for underwater photography.

You will have the time of your life there !

Goober Loc: Southeastern PA

My wife and I did the Galapagos last October with NAT/GEO Lindblad. No regrets and an excellent experience. Last June we also did Alaska with them as well so we are both very happy with their services. A little pricey but well worth it.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

I second this recommendation of Overseas Adventure Travel. We were there last year and had a wonderful experience--not our first with OAT. The only thing for us was that we were on the edge season (May) and they did not have wetsuits which were not necessary but would have been nice. It's a trip worth taking.

Kpfresno

Thanks for you recommendation. Am hearing many positive experiences with Linblad.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

I recommend Natural Habitat tours. Extremely well organized. Excellent itinerary. The overnight trip to the Tortoise Camp is worth the price of admission.
http://www.nathab.com/galapagos/galapagos-photo-tour/

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GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

Kp,

By National Park law, the max size of any single group is 16 people. If you go on a larger boat such as Nat. Geographic, you will be split up into two or more groups and spend more time getting ashore in the small boats. Thus most of the Galapagos boats there are set up for 16 or fewer passengers.

Every boat has a specific park-approved itinerary right down to what time they go ashore and what time they come back to the boat. Many landing sites may have two or more boats anchored. Some will have the coveted time slot of going ashore at dawn back on the boat by 9 or 10. Most do snorkeling, lunch, small boat tours during mid-day. Then if you are on the right boat you go ashore in a different spot (or island) late afternoon until sunset. If you are on a boat with poorer time slots, you go ashore mid-morning. That has many disadvantages - poorer light for photography and exposing yourself to the sometimes brutal mid-day sun of the Equator.

We were on the Tip-top IV also. They are one of the very oldest companies to tour the Galapagos (they actually helped set up the National Park.) Thus, they have many of the best time slots. Now, if you don't like getting a wake-up knock on your cabin door at 5:30 in the morning they may not be for you. The Tip top fleet aren't the newest boats in the water but ours was comfortable.

Our photography guide was Daniel Fitter who has published some excellent books on Galapagos wildlife. He isn't a photo instructor "hand holder" but was very helpful for anyone with questions. His father actually pioneered some of the trails on the island and Daniel had some fascinating tales to tell about island history, geology and wildlife.

If you have some extra time and money, take a few extra days in Ecuador and take a birding photo tour. Ecuador has 132 species of hummingbirds and they are just spectacular.

Red-footed Booby

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My wife took this with a little Olympus TG4, no zoom

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I had my 200-500 - this one with the 1.4 tc on it.

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You can get by with a shorter zoom, but sometimes the most interesting shot takes all the length you have.

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