Planning a family cruise in the Galapagos--we are 70 and DH is recovering from a bad bout of vertigo sickness. He had a previous attack in 2010, other than this we are both FF and in good health. I would like to get the best possible boat (about 20 pax). Any insights are most welcome. Also, any information from someone who has experienced the medical services out there. I know the State Dept. declares it will take 48 hours for emergency evac--is that real or just a threat?

Thankyou,

I am trying to get a good picture of the Galapagos regarding the safety of cruising on the ships out there. I certainly don't want to be on a mini cruise ship, but also want have pretty quick access to medical doctor if needed. We like to snorkel and though I used to be certified in SCUBA it has been years and I don't think I will do any real diving while in the Galapagos. However, we do want to see it all. Both DH and I have issues: me with seasickness and him with vertigo. Any and all insights and observations will be much appreciated.

Happy New Year to all,

On the little boats, there is not going to be a doctor along. It would be a minimum of an hour or more to get any serious helicopter rescue on the outer islands. Remember, the islands are an hour or more of jet flight from the mainland, and the facilities in the islands are basic. Here is the latest blurb I have seen. http://www.cnhtours.com/news-blog-di...galapagos.aspx

There is a decompression chamber in the islands. http://www.sssnetwork.com/pages/galapagoshome.html

Nothing is really dangerous in the Galapagos. There is always a chance of something going wrong when you are snorkeling, but that is optional, though I highly recommend doing it. On one or two beaches, getting ashore was slightly rough as the crew maneuvered the dinghy past the small surf, but if you are a reasonable swimmer I wouldn't let that dissuade you.

The Galapagos are remote and have little medical infrastructure. In those situations, I just avoid activities that could lead to serious injuries

RE: Vertigo and seasickness.... The larger the boat, the less of an issue that is likely to be. Of the 6 people on my boat 2 had some minor issues, but not enough to cause a problem. Take along some meclizine till you get used to it.

The travel agents I dealt with to set up my Galapagos trip were: http://galapagosholidays.com/
I highly recommend them, as they can answer your questions in much more detail, and were some of the best TAs I have ever dealt with. Donna McSherry was my agent.

Have a great time!!

Doc


If you are not a member of Divers Alert Network, I highly recommend that as well. Evacuation insurance is covered in the annual fee, and they know where to send you in case of problems. http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/

Thanks Doc--your input is much appreciated and very helpful!

De nada! Let me know if you need any other info. My Galapagos trip was one of the best of my life.;)

I'm also interested in thoughts on the best boat.

Hi: Guess we'll have to go search on another site--there are quite a few comments on Trip Advisor. I will check out the various dive resources.

Let me know if you find any helpful information.

If you want expert opinions on a lot of the boats traveling around the Galapagos, I recommend contacting galapagosholidays.com, a travel agency located in Toronto. They are some of the best TAs I have ever dealt with, and will discuss things with you to find the boat that fits your needs and travel style. They even arranged a refund when my boat lowered its prices at the last minute and they renegotiated. They deal with many of the cruise companies in the islands.

The boat I traveled on was the Samba, which can carry up to 14 pax. I loved it! Great naturalist and crew, great food. It routinely gets great reviews.


Feel free to PM me if I can help.

Thanks Doc--that'll be very helpful!

Have you checked out CruiseCritic.com?

They have sub-topics for each of the cruise lines, and also for different destinations/ports.

We'll be eager to hear back from you, as this is something on our "to do" list.

GeezerCouple

Galápagos - I've been there more than once, on general natural history tours and on a five tour.

My recommendations:

If you are subject to evacuation - don't go. There are essentially very few and basic medical services, and no reliable evacuation services to get you to the main towns. Helicopters are well beyond range from the mainland, so if you need medevac you will have to get to one of the two airports (Puerto Baquerizo Moreno or Baltra, by boat) before medevac is even a hope. (If you ever get to Pto. More no - the other one, s.w. Isabela Island, you will see a collection of people who dived for sea cucumbers and are permanently disabled because there is essentially no help available that is competent and close by.)

OK, you are fine and in reasonable health and you want to go.

The larger boats are not permitted to visit some of the islands, and many sites for landing are limited to the number of visitors allowed. Yep, they are more stable and often offer more amenities, etc. than the smaller boats.

The smaller boats - sixteen is a great number - are very variable, because there is nothing like the U. S. Coast Guard to certify and inspect vessels. Some are very good, some are dicey, some are true dumps afloat - our first trip was on a boat captained by a guy who had a vessel burn under his command and was pretty much not respected by other more reputable ones, and the air conditioners were house window-hung units that promptly rusted and became useless.

DO choose a boat with a university-trained naturalist, not merely a naturalist guide - you want to learn about what you (hopefully) will see!

Get seasick? Well, you can encounter rough seas at times, sorry.

Weather? Check to see when to go - there is a dry warm season and the "garua" (foggy) season with lots of grey and damp.

What can you do to help?

1) Get Barry Boyce's Traveler's Guide to the Galápagos Islands - it may not be as current as I would like (last updated in 2004, darn it, hombre, get to it!) but Barry knows a lot, lists reputable companies and boats without prejudices (and bad ones as well), resources, etc.

2) Consider using a very reputable company - there are some in the US and some in Ecuador. Barry's book will tell you which, without prejudice.

Why do I use that phrase? Barry has lead tours for Galápagos Travel, and I would not hesitate to use them (or Barry's services, either).

GALAPAGOS TRAVEL
783 Rio Del Mar Boulevard, Suite 49
Aptos, CA 95003 U.S.A.
Toll free from the US and Canada: 800-969-9014
Voice: 831-689-9192 Fax: 831-689-9195
Email: [email protected]

Get Galapagos: A Natural History, Revised and Expanded, Michael H. Jackson (no, silly, not THAT Michael Jackson, nor the whisky guru either :))

The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner, 1994.

To whet your appetite (especially if you are a diver), a few vignettes: My 60th birthday was memorable. We were up at Darwin and Wolf islands. We dropped into a bench on the s.e. side of the island and dropped to it, our backs to the island reef - a goodly current was trying to take us into a veritable potato patch of foam-surrounded sharp rocks, so we headed down with celerity.

Once at the bench, we hit the bottom and relaxed a bit, looking down at a broth of sharks - hundreds of scalloped hammerheads in particular, as well as Galápagos and other sharks in the open water east of us. Most of the group hyperfocused on what was going on beneath us, ignoring my attempts to focus their attention on the streaming scalloped hammerhead sharks immediately behind us (ten feet or so!). Tuna and other pelagics were out there too, and we enjoyed the diversity of these islands, confluence of up to seven currents and little visited. (The other six pack boat had the whale shark, grrr!)


Later, we dropped in at a current-swept pinnacle and hung on with reef hooks, watching the water boil with pelagics, including sharks and tuna, until it was time to let go and allow ourselves to be swept in toward the small island coast. Once there my SO and I began exploring. We found a huge cavern, inhabited by a large marble ray (Taeniura meyeni), six feet around and perhaps ten feet long; I got up next to him and we hung out for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes, aware of each other and not at all worried, either one of us.

That evening after dinner, we sat on the after deck with drinks, relaxing and telling story about our wonderful experiences, watching the full lunar eclipse that took place.

Sure, we also enjoyed having the "tame" critters, from birds, sea lions, penguins, land and sea iguanas, to snake and scorpion, approach or tolerate our approaches us fearlessly, spending time in the water with critters large and small (the alien-looking Galápagos batfish, with ruby red lips that look like it has been injected with too much collagen, well... just check it out!) but as divers, we also enjoyed the amazing "soup" of critters.

Dear JDiver--thank you again for taking the time to provide extensive detail and answer the questions I was hoping would get answered!

I turn 70 this year and DH is one year older. We have good health, although about every five years he has a bout with Vertigo. I was a certified diver many, many years ago and am trying to get him introduced to the sport I once loved so much. HOWEVER, I am not stupid! I know that 30 or 40 feet is probably all I can do now--breathing concerns. I have never used a positive feed regulator-how's that for old? So I don't really know what my limitations will be. As for DH he was never certified and is taking his time but moving ahead with the process. We both are pretty strong swimmers with him doing 200 yds with no mask and me tagging along at about 175 --that's in the pool. I HATE being seasick and years ago it was sometimes more fun to just jump in the water than sit around throwing up all day on a boat! Your insights helped me to fill in the blanks--thank you again!
Best,

An agent tells me that transport from the boat to shore is via zodiac. Apparently there are both wet and dry landings. For wet landings, passengers jump from the zodiac into the water and walk to shore. The agent said to expect to be knee high in water. Boots are not provided. Can anyone clarify this? Am I expected to bring fishing boots (which I don't have)? Jump in the water barefoot, get my clothes wet and walk in wet clothes?

It is pretty warm there. I suggest wearing shorts, and you will dry off quickly. As far as getting off the zodiac or panga, some people hop off barefoot, some use reef walker slip ons and switch to shoes on shore. Keen sandals worked pretty well for me in terms of walking/hiking.

Most landings were in at most 6 inches of water.

You could bring wading boots, but I think that would be significant overkill.

alpenrose, most of the serious scuba diving takes place at Wolf and Darwin islands, off the beaten track. I have heard that currents are strong, and not necessarily the place for novice divers, so take that into consideration if you haven't dived in years.

Snorkeling is great at many sites, and you see some incredible things. A sea lion and I played for a few minutes, and I snorkeled alongside Galapagos penguins.

The water can be cool, and you might take a light wetsuit along for snorkeling if you feel the chill.

Thanks Doc--all the info helps me to be realistic about what we can/cannot do and how to design our trip accordingly.