Galapagos walking holidays
| country: | Ecuador, Galapagos Islands |
| location: | Galapagos Islands |
| trip type: | Moderate walking holidays |
| departures: | This trip operates on a tailormade basis and can be booked at a time to suit you. |
| price: | From US $965 (4 days) excluding flights. Price depends on group size. |
| more info: | Includes accommodation based on double room, English-speaking certified naturalist guides, guided tours and excursions, breakfasts and lunches. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Galapagos walking holidays. This is our innovative new land based expedition - developed in participation with the local community - promoting the charms of the most relaxed of the Galapagos Islands: Isabela.
Isabela is the largest of the islands, some four times bigger than the next largest, Santa Cruz. Yet of a total Galapagos population of some 20,000 only 2,200 people live here on this enchanted island, which contains over 60% of the flora and fauna of the archipelago and is the only one straddled by the equatorial line. Amongst Isabela’s attractions you will find five active volcanoes, the most extensive wetlands on the archipelago (recognised as a RAMSAR site), and a three kilometre beach.
You will also enjoy the option of trekking with giant tortoises, swimming with white tip sharks, snorkelling with marine turtles, kayaking amongst flamingos…all this in the surroundings of a quiet, relaxed community, where stress is virtually unknown.
Best time to go on our Galapagos walking holidays
Galapagos has 2 seasons; the humid one (from Jan to Jun) when there is rain at noon and night; this time is considered as the best time to enjoy of the sun and beach in Galapagos. In this time the water is hot and it is easier to see animals on land, because the marine animals migrate looking for colder waters.
From Jun to Jan, the water temperatures go down so the marine animals are the most easily visible at this season. This is the dry season and it is recommendable for snorkelling and diving because there are a lot of fishes, turtles, sharps and so forth.
Isabela is the largest of the islands, some four times bigger than the next largest, Santa Cruz. Yet of a total Galapagos population of some 20,000 only 2,200 people live here on this enchanted island, which contains over 60% of the flora and fauna of the archipelago and is the only one straddled by the equatorial line. Amongst Isabela’s attractions you will find five active volcanoes, the most extensive wetlands on the archipelago (recognised as a RAMSAR site), and a three kilometre beach.
You will also enjoy the option of trekking with giant tortoises, swimming with white tip sharks, snorkelling with marine turtles, kayaking amongst flamingos…all this in the surroundings of a quiet, relaxed community, where stress is virtually unknown.
Best time to go on our Galapagos walking holidays
Galapagos has 2 seasons; the humid one (from Jan to Jun) when there is rain at noon and night; this time is considered as the best time to enjoy of the sun and beach in Galapagos. In this time the water is hot and it is easier to see animals on land, because the marine animals migrate looking for colder waters.
From Jun to Jan, the water temperatures go down so the marine animals are the most easily visible at this season. This is the dry season and it is recommendable for snorkelling and diving because there are a lot of fishes, turtles, sharps and so forth.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Relaxing walk on the 1.2km boardwalk to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre where the endangered giant tortoise population of the Galapagos Islands is presently recovering. |
| Day 2: | The highlight of today’s activities is a visit to the world’s second largest volcanic crater, Sierra Negra, located in the highlands of Isabela and ‘Volcán Chico’ (little volcano). Late in the afternoon, visit to a project that aims to support the national park efforts to recover the giant tortoises. |
| Day 3: | Our first marine experience in Tintoreras where we will be able to see the diversity of the Galapagos Islands in miniature. (Seals and various species of sea birds around the harbour, perhaps a ray or turtle, penguins, sharks and marine iguanas (nesting in season). Later in the afternoon, visit to ‘Humedales (wetlands) trail’, to an area which was designated a RAMSAR site of international importance in 2002. The road ends at the Muro de las Lagrimas (Wall of Tears), which was raised in the late 1940’s by the inmates of a prison colony built on the site of a World War II US base. |
| Day 4: | This morning we will start our journey back to the continent, transfer to the airport of Isabela for the flight to Baltra and connect to Quito. |
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society. Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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The participation of local people has been promoted in all aspects of our Galapagos walking holidays (local guides, locally owned hotels) and contact between travellers and the community is encouraged. The plan also makes sure that the money you spend stays in the island, rather than ending up in the bank accounts of international operators.
Local food and restaurants and meetings with local people and cultures are a fundamental feature of this journey. All service suppliers are vetted to make sure that they are also environmentally aware and promote minimum resource use and, where possible, recycling. In order to minimise environmental impacts, groups sizes are kept purposefully low. (maximum 15 people) |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |