Galapagos Family Adventure

Our last “trip of a lifetime” was a Galapagos family adventure in Ecuador. Wow, just wow, it’s hard to know where to begin. The Galápagos Islands is a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of the world’s foremost destinations for wildlife-viewing and just absolutely beautiful.

How to see the Galapagos:

We went through National Geographic/Lindblad on a weeklong cruise. If you want to see as much of the Galapagos as possible on your trip, opt for a small cruise. My mom and friends chose a more intimate setting and rented a small yacht for a few days.

Elite

Other active options to see the gorgeous, pristine park are: Natural Habitat Adventures, Backroads, REI Adventures, and One Yoga Global.

Santa Cruz:

Lastly, if you or a family member can’t handle a week on a boat, don’t give up! You can fly your family into Santa Cruz and stay at The Galapagos Safari Camp. It is an Africa-like luxurious safari camp in the middle of Santa Cruz island. They entertain families from all over the world. The camp has a pool and trampoline for the kids, insanely fresh food, and top-notch hospitality. After venturing out on the boat to see wildlife during the day, it’s easy to wind down at night! The Safari Camp is only 10 minutes from the main port of the Galapagos. This allows you to take day trips by boat to see the different animals. The safari camp supplies ginger tea (for your stomach) and lunch for the day on the boat. I continue to hear friends sing their praises!  

Our Experience

Our experience with National Geographic was 100% positive. From the blue footed booby and the frigate bird to sea lions and iguanas, our initial experience in the Galapagos justified the multiple flights, long customs lines, and travel headaches! My boys did not truly appreciate all the wildlife treks (some of our guided hikes ran a bit long for a 10-year-old’s attention span). They did appreciate the unusually high number of similarly aged boys on the boat, the vibrant marine life, and the constant access to ice cream!

We also had the opportunity to explore local schools in the Galapagos, brush up on our Spanish, view and study animals found in no other parts of the world, overeat (and drink…), snorkel with sea lions, and make several new friends. What a mesmerizing place!

To be fair, I had one bout with seasickness and now know if you decide to use the medicated ear patches available for motion sickness, you only place it behind one ear, not both! A guest on the boat gave me two and I wrongly assumed you used one for each ear – never again! This rookie mistake caused me to miss out on snorkeling with the sea lions, which was a trip highlight for my boys and husband!

We did not scuba dive because we are no longer certified, but I know several guests did and loved it. Yoga is available on the boat and “free swim” is available most days off whatever beach we are closest to at the time. They seperate the tours based on your health and activity preference. Hikes vary from easy to strenuous.

Adding on to your trip: 

Explore other areas of Ecuador with a guide (crime is bad in several areas and I highly recommend getting an experienced guide). Quito is a gorgeous city near 7 volcanoes. You can stay there or drive three long and bumpy hours to the Cloud Forest and stay at National Geographic’s Mashpi Lodge. It is literally in the middle of nowhere in the jungle.  From there you can hike to waterfalls or go on guided night hikes. They even have a bike you can ride in the sky over the jungle. Most people are there to bird watch, although anyone there will have an amazing time.

Another option would be to continue with National Geographic and head to Peru to hike Machu Picchu. There were several guests on our ship who chose to do this, but we headed straight back to Austin after our family Galapagos adventure because our time off was maxed out and our wallets were empty!