last minute cruise in the galápagos

When I say I booked a last minute cruise, I mean I hopped on the cruise boat about three hours after I landed on the islands!

The Galapagos is one of those places you learn around in elementary school, but you never think you’ll actually end up there visiting. Well, that changed for me this past week. But with expectations set so high for such a place, you’re almost guaranteed to be let down right? Happy to tell y’all – that wasn’t the case!

Now, this isn’t going to be a post on how to do the Galapagos on a budget because well, I didn’t really do that (though I mean, I wasn’t throwing money in the air either). After I booked my ticket to the Galapagos (about two weeks before I left), I started looking at blogs on what to do while there. Turns out, no matter what, the islands are super expensive (okay, wasn’t THAT surprising to me). Just some numbers for you: $30 transfer each way between islands, $25 minimum hostel cost per night, $15 average cost of a lunch/dinner, $100-200 for a day trip for a snorkel/dive… I had 9 full days and I started to feel overwhelmed with the amount of planning and time wasted every day trying to do everything on my own.

So, I just decided in my head, I’m going to arrive in Puerto Ayora and try to find a cruise! At the airport two groups of people asked me which boat I was going on and my reply of “oh, I have nothing planned… I’m just going to get to the islands and wing it” was greeted with some interesting faces. And honestly, it is kind of crazy, and very unlike me since I love to plan. but I just arrived on the islands, threw my bags in my hostel room, and started walking around to agencies to find a deal. It’s boring to know all the specifics, but after a few hours of walking around, I was getting on a cruise that night for a week long cruise touring the west islands on the Galaxy. (Just a quick note, I arrived on a Saturday, and most week long cruises leave Saturday or Sunday so keep that in mind if you plan to do the same thing as me)

There are few different classes of boats for cruises: luxury, first class, tourist, economic. The Galaxy was first class and I honestly felt pretty bougie being on there. When going around to look at deals I really wondered if spending a little more on a nicer boat would be worth it. Let me tell ya, after my experience, for 8 days I’m so glad I didn’t cheap out. A few words to throw out there about the less expensive boats: bunk beds, no sundeck, food, crew, the rocking.

Maybe I’m just dumb, but I was not aware how much a cruise ship (for 16 passengers) would rock in the water. I’ve been in speed boats and sail boats before and never been seasick, but that was not the case this time. The first night’s navigation… rough. I’ll say you somewhat get used to it, but the boat never stops swaying and you are grabbing onto tables and such to steady yourself when the boats moving. And I 100% slept much better when we didn’t have a long overnight navigation.

Looking back am I happy with my choice? Yes! I think I got a great deal and I was able to see so much! Had I not gone with a cruise, I would not have been able to see most of the places we went to and I learned so much from our guide.

 

galapagos cruise highlights:

baby sea lions

By the third day on the cruise, everyone kind of stopped taking pictures of sea lions because we had seen so many, however if it was a baby… better take at least ten photos

yoga on the sundeck

Even if docked, it really tests your balance as the boat is constantly moving. Let’s just say I might have face planted trying to do crow pose…

lava field on fernandina

I was blown away by this landscape… I was way behind the group the entire time

punta espinosa 

We were there for golden hour and it sounds dumb, but it really just did feel magical

learning about others on the cruise

There were 12 of us with people from Switzerland, Holland, Canada, and the USA. We were on the boat on December 6th, which I guess is when Santa Claus comes in Switzerland and Holland. And not only that, but Santa Claus doesn’t live in the North Pole. Nope, he comes from the forest with a donkey if you’re from Switzerland, and from Spain if you live in Holland.

isla rabida

Um, who knew red sand was even a thing?

the cruise crew

The crew on these ships work 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off. And not only that, but they really are not able to sleep more than a few hours every night because they are working around the clock. The guys on my boat were not only super friendly, funny, and pretended like my Spanish wasn’t terrible, but one guy actually called a friend who works at a bar on Puerto Ayora to show me and three others a good time for our night in town after the cruise.

snorkeling near sombrero chino

Super clear water and swimming with penguins, schools of fish, oh and like five sharks. Someone mentioned there was a shark, so I swam over a lil closer to get a look to tell people I swam with sharks… I saw it and then I was like nah, I’m kind of scared, let me swim the other way. Someone on my cruise asked what everyone was looking at and I said a shark and then started to go on my merry way snorkeling when I look down and see the shark is freaking swimming underneath me!

watching the shark feeding frenzy

While our boat was docked the last couple of nights, we were surrounded by hungry sharks. Also, realizing that sharks actually suck at catching fish?!

penguins

Only about a foot and half tall and five pounds! Such curious creatures when snorkeling with them

sunsets from the sundeck

Especially with wine 🙂

la panga

After the cruise, we asked the guy at the hostel for a place for us to dance… this place did not disappoint. I’m not sure if it’s just because it wasn’t high season, but we were the only gringos in there, and while we weren’t the best dancers, we started the dancing (though maybe because 10:30 was too early for the locals haha). Heads up: all bars in the Galaps require your passport!

tortuga bay

I only had one full free day to myself and didn’t make it here, so I decided it would be a good idea to run there the morning of my flight. I barely ran in Montanita so the 6.4 km there and back was a little rough. There is a nice paved path that takes you all the way to the beach so it’s perfect if you need a place to run. Side note: if you decide to do it at 6:30am, you may be the first one on the beach and have it yourself!

Really, it is hard to sum up the Galapagos in words and pictures. Just seeing the various landscapes and these wild animals not afraid of humans and being so close had me feeling like a little kid – I was in awe and so curious every day.

things to know about the galapagos:

Even if you don’t do a cruise, below are a few things to keep in mind if you’re traveling to the Galapagos Islands.

Flights leave normally twice a day from both Quito and Guayaquil

arrival to the islands:

• airport tax fee (paid leaving mainland) – $20
• island entrance fee – $100
• when you fly to the Galapagos, you will fly into Baltra which is a super small island, and you’re most likely going to be headed to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island.
• bus from airport to Baltra dock – Free, 10 mins
• water ferry from Baltra to Santa Cruz dock – $1, 5 mins
• bus to town of Puerto Ayora – $2 ($25 for a taxi), 45 mins

island hopping:

You can buy tickets to three islands… Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal. Keep in mind, you can’t go from Isabel to San Cristobal – every boat stops at the dock in Puerto Ayora. Trips cost $30 each way, leave at 7am and 3pm every day, and take about 2-3 hours depending on the sea conditions. On top of the $30, you’ll need to take a water taxi to get to the actual boat which costs $1. THEN if you are going to Isabela, there is a $10 entrance fee. There are airports in both Isabela and San Cristobal, so you can look into flying in and out of those to save time/money.

THE INTERNET SUCKS. If you plan on winging it and planning while there… well I wouldn’t. Any place that had Wifi it went in and out and I could barely send a message, let alone check my email.

If those pictures make you wanna jump on a plane to the Galapagos and you have questions, let me know!

Now onto the budget life… and a diet!