Hey! I have been there. How exciting for your family, and what a wonderful trip!

We stayed at the Royal Palms on Santa Cruz. It was about 6 years ago ... Lonesome George was still there!

To be honest, I thought it was just a tad disappointing. Our son was in 1st grade and our daughter in K. The one in PreK stayed home; at the time they did not recommend it for kids under 7, and though we cheated with our K, the preK one was too young.

At least at that time, and on Santa Cruz, it was very underdeveloped. Our hotel was up in the mountains and nothing around it. Not much in town either. We saw lots of turtles and learned about them, did a little scuba dive with (baby sharks), swam with seals, did some hiking, and of course a boat trip to see the BFBs nesting. (blue footed boobies) . We saw the famous and colorful Lightfoot crabs. The snorkelling was good but, I think it is much better in other parts of the world.

I remember one day we said we wanted to go to the beach. We took a taxi, and he dropped us off on a (lovely) brick pathway through jungle. FORTY FIVE minutes of walking later, we were at a beach. (No one thought it germane to mention that). The beach had almost no one on it (a few locals), and no development or structures of any kind was visible. There were a few huge iguanas, like 6 feet long, strolling the sand. It felt as though you had just disembarked the HMS Beagle and discovered a new land. It was truly beautiful. We hiked to a lagoon where we swam. The next day, another beach trip, we had to hike through dense scrub for 30min to get to the beach.

I had several friends and colleagues who went, and all of them took cruises, several of them, IIRC, serious divers. They all seemed more enthusiastic about their trip then I was. I am sure it is better now as there has been a lot of development; the beach access may be more pleasant, and there are more things to do when you get your fill of nature for the day.

Did you consider a cruise at all?

I haven't looked even at a map yet but we'll be staying on Isabella island, FWIW.

I did read somewhere that a cruise is THE way to travel there, but DS does not like boats, so he vetoed that idea. We will be taking day or half-day boat trips, though. If I can figure out how to cut and paste our itinerary I'll do it later.

If I see a 6' long iguana, I will pee my pants.

Sueb,
As usual, I don't have anything of value to add to the discussion but LOL at your last comment. Pack Depends.

I looked it up. They said "over 3 feet ".

So ummm probably not really six. There may have been local rum involved. Or heatstroke.

Mtn, do you remember what the food was like? I am a food baby (in addition to being a medical/dental baby) so I am curious.

hh, I did pee my pants in Nevis once, so I guess it's kind of a vacation tradition with me.

Here is our itinerary... I have never wanted to do a tour-based, prescribed sort of trip, but I am kind of happy about not having to think too much! Just show up! Seems like we'll have some down time later in each day, though.

GUAYAQUIL __ _ June 2014 (1 Night)

DAY 1: GUAYAQUIL: Upon arrival, private transfer to Oro Verde Hotel.

DAY 2: GUAYAQUIL: Breakfast. At appropriate time, private transfer to the airport.

BALTRA __ _

DAY 2: BALTRA: Upon arrival, connection flight to Isabela Island.

ISABELA ISLAND __ _ (4 Nights)

DAY 2: ISABELA ISLAND: Upon arrival, private transfer to Iguana Crossing Hotel.

Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in town. After lunch we will walk to the Flamingo Lagoon.

DAY 3: ISABELA ISLAND: Breakfast.

The Tunnels of Cape Rosa
Prepare yourself for one of the best days of this trip! After sailing for 45 minutes from Puerto Villamil, we will reach Cape Rosa on the western side of the island. This is one of the most beautiful and amazing places nature has bestowed upon humankind. Here we can walk over the connected lava tunnels surrounded by the crystal sea waters. From the surface, you will be able to see dozens of sea turtles, penguins and rays. You can also snorkel or simply swim along this rich marine fauna.

As we sail to and from Isabela, we might be able to see manta rays of different sizes - a truly unique experience. And if it is their mating season, we will watch them floating upside-down on the surface, waiting to have their pictures taken. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant. In the afternoon you can enjoy the beach by your own.

DAY 4: ISABELA ISLAND: Breakfast.

Sierra Negra Volcano
Today our guide will meet you at the hotel and take you to one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world - Sierra Negra. Its crater is approximately 7 kilometers wide. We will take a 4h trekking tour to enjoy this wonderful and unique scenery. Lunch in a local farm called Campo Duro (or the Housers) where we will also watch Isabela Giant Tortoises.

DAY 5: ISABELA ISLAND: Breakfast.

Seven paths - Wall of Tears - Tintoreras
This day we will visit the “Wall of Tears”. This historical place was built by the prisoners of the Ecuador’s first jail. On our way back we will stop at the Orchilla viewpoint. From the top you can see the entire coastal wetland system including Poza de los Diablos, Puerto Villamil, the beaches, the volcanoes and the islets to the south-east of Isabela. Love Beach, has a rocky sea Access and Tunel del Estero, a path with adequate lava plates ending in a staircase inside a lava tunnel. Above the tunnel you can see the intertidal landscape that offers a tapestry of Galapagos Sesuvium between "El Tunel del Estero" and Love Beach. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant.
Back to Puerto Villamil town, we will visit Tintoreras Islets. Herds of white tip sharks can often be seen here, resting around the lava canals. You can also observe hundreds of marine iguanas, as "Las Tintoreras" are one of their main breeding sites. On the nearby sandy beaches, sea lions play and relax in the sun. Afterwards we will have an opportunity to snorkel. Return to the hotel and lodging.

DAY 6: ISABELA ISLAND: Breakfast. At appropriate time, private transfer to the Baltra airport.

BALTRA __ _

DAY 6: BALTRA: Upon arrival, connection flight to Guayaquil.

GUAYAQUIL __ _ (1 Night)

DAY 6: GUAYAQUIL: Upon arrival, private transfer to Oro Verde Hotel.

DAY 7: GUAYAQUIL: Breakfast. At appropriate time, private transfer to the airport.

SueB,

Your itinerary sounds wonderful, Sue.

Other than Guayaquil and Baltra, which are both just waystations, our trip has nothing in common!

I don't know why we went to Santa Cruz. I dimly recollect that the Royal Palms may have been the only high end resort at the time? Or maybe because we really wanted to see the Darwin station and Lonesome George. I get seasick so I didn't want to do a cruise either.

FWIW,I remember the food being pretty good. Excellent fish as you'd expect, and soup, lots of rice and beans of course, and I do remember yummy empanadas.

Can you ask your agent if the other family might want to share their experiences? I think my experience is probably not too relevant, given that we went 6yrs ago and to a different island!

We did a Galapagos cruise. One of the best trips ever, but honestly, I'm not sure I'd do the trip if not through a cruise (and I'm not a cruise person-- this trip was the only cruise I've ever done). The islands are not developed, and the ones that are developed are not really worth staying on for any length of time, IMO. We had a day on a developed island, and that was quite enough. If your son doesn't like boats, doing day trips may still not be the thing for him. As there would still be a lot of time on boats going from island to island.

The thing that made the Galapagos trip so amazing to me was getting to see how different all of the islands were (terrain, wildlife, etc.), and that's really most possible if you're traveling at night on the boat and waking up at a new island each day. And then spending the full day with all the various activities on the island. Looking at your itinerary, I don't think you will really get an adequate feel of the Galapagos as a whole and how awe-inspiring the whole ecosystem is. It will seem more like a far-away, expensive, not-so-resorty resort.

This post was edited by sas95 on Wed, Nov 13, 13 at 15:57