Galapagos and sailing on the Xpedition

[ghstudio]

Personally, I was planng to bring my hiking boots again this time. Have the trails changed since 2007? I was glad to have my boots then. I remember a few of the trails were walking over loose rocks. One woman in our group who was wearing sandals fell and sprained her ankle. I was glad to have the ankle support.

 

Do they still show you the excursion opportunities the evening before? Last time I based my footwear on what the trails looked like in presentations. For dry landings, I'd almost always wear the boots. For wet landings, I'd either wear water sneakers for flat trails or bring my boots and put them on after landing.

 

The trails haven't changed...I guess it's just our own personal views on footwear. I'm very comfortable walking around on well fitting Tevas (sandals), but on other days I'll wear comfortable sneakers/or walking shoes.

 

I understand that some might feel more comfortable wearing something with ankle support....but this isn't the Appalachian trail or climbing Mt Washington....the paths are pretty level, although you may be working your way across a lava bed or some rocks at times.

[Trend]

Having done all the high level tours just a few years ago I will say I was really happy I had my light weight hikers. They are a sneaker/hiker shoe not boot style that heavy you do not need, but for many of the rock/lava trails these were Invaluable. On the other hand my husband (large foot to grip with) was ok with sneakers but his Tevas fell apart from the sharp lava on the soles. Yes wet landings we would use a towel for our feet and put the shoes back on unless it was a water tour like snorkelling and short walk.

[Shami]

I would like to book a Galapagos 11 night cruisetour. It looks like they run two different itineraries. Some stops overlap but one has a few tours of San Cristobal and Santiago that the other doesn´t, and the second one has tours in Espanola and Floreana that the first doesn´t. In your opinion, which one should I choose?

[smoosh21]

Hello,

Can anyone give me some insight to sailing on the Expedition? I read the reviews, and it sounds like a must do trip, But can anyone tell me if they experienced any sea sickness? I love to cruise, and have had no issues, but I have been known to get sea sick on smaller boats when we have gone fishing. Are the seas rough and does the ship rock a lot? Also they say the price is all inclusive, what exactly does it include (flights)?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Gina

 

It is a wonderful ship and it has a wonderful crew. I did not have any sea sickness at all. Yes, the ship is very small so you can definitely feel motion, but we never experienced any rough weather. I wouldn't compare this to a fishing boat at all. Maybe closer to a ferry boat.

 

I would also book the 10 day as it is worth it. That way you only have to worry about getting to Quito. Since the flight from Atlanta arrives late at night, we flew down an extra day early and just paid for one night at the Marriott. We then did a trip on our own to Otavalo. I can give you the tour info if you like

 

I thought that the food on the ship was excellent. The buffets and breakfast and lunch were very nice, and we always got good food for dinner.

 

All drinks are included and the barstaff was very friendly. The only odd thing was that they put bitters in their mojitos. I thought that was odd, so I just switched to Caiparinas and Pisco Sours, which they seemed to make better anyway.

 

This is probably the best way to experience the Galapagos

[smoosh21]

Personally, I was planng to bring my hiking boots again this time. Have the trails changed since 2007? I was glad to have my boots then. I remember a few of the trails were walking over loose rocks. One woman in our group who was wearing sandals fell and sprained her ankle. I was glad to have the ankle support.

 

Do they still show you the excursion opportunities the evening before? Last time I based my footwear on what the trails looked like in presentations. For dry landings, I'd almost always wear the boots. For wet landings, I'd either wear water sneakers for flat trails or bring my boots and put them on after landing.

 

 

They still did this back in May, and you signed up so they could plan the guides for the next day. For the most part we did the 'difficult' walk. Once, My partner went on the 'difficult' and I did the easy tour. This was at Cerro Brujo. It didn't sound like there was a lot of excitment on the longer tour, and I wanted to spend more time on the beach.

[2552phxcrzr]

I would like to book a Galapagos 11 night cruisetour. It looks like they run two different itineraries. Some stops overlap but one has a few tours of San Cristobal and Santiago that the other doesn´t, and the second one has tours in Espanola and Floreana that the first doesn´t. In your opinion, which one should I choose?

 

You pretty much see the same wildlife on both itineraries, and do similar activities. One big difference is that only the one that includes Espanola will see the albatross (provided you go during one of the months that the birds are on the island). If you have signatures turned on, take a look at my Galapagos Blog to get a sense of the places visited and the wildlife and scenery we enjoyed on the "B" itinerary, which doesn't go to Espanola. (If you don't have signatures turned on, here's the blog link ... http://2totravel.blogspot.com/ ... all of the Galapagos posts are under July 2012 in the archive.) If you've never been, you will be happy with either itinerary.

 

I encourage you to go to the long Xpedition thread ... it's a sticky on the celebrity roll calls. The thread has been continuing since the Xpedition first launched, and recent returnees continue to report on their experiences and changes to the program -- such as the opening of the new airport in Quito and how it impacts the entire trip.