This page offers some (well, okay—a lot) of tips that you might find useful in thinking about what to pack and what to bring with you. When we were planning this trip, I searched the Internet high and low for experience-based information and came up empty, time and time again. When we got back from the trip, I vowed I would write up what I could about our experiences, in case someone else is looking for this kind of information. These suggestions are just what worked for us; your results may vary. But hopefully, something here may get you thinking about aspects of your trip. Some of these may seem very obvious, especially to well-seasoned travelers. But we are not that, as this series of pages will quickly demonstrate! You could of course just read it all, page by page. But here is a list of the topics by page number; in case you want to skip directly to topics that interest you.
- travel health considerations (p. 2)
- clothes (p. 2)
- shoes, socks, and hats (p. 2)
- sunblock and bug spray (p. 3)
- motion sickness remedies (p. 3)
- cameras (p. 3)
- cash (p. 4)
- luggage (p. 4)
- miscellanea
- hiking stick (p. 5)
- day pack (p. 5)
- snacks (p. 5)
- snorkel gear (p. 5)
- binoculars (p. 5)
- sunglasses and other eyewear (p. 5)
- medications (p. 5)
- biodegradable shampoo, etc. (p. 5)
- ear plugs (p. 6)
- electrical appliances (p. 6)
- notebooks (p. 6)
- wildlife field guide and other books (p. 6)
- Spanish phrase book (p. 6)
- hiking stick (p. 5)
Click below to skip to specific pages.
Hi Tina- I have the following schedule from TipTop IV, the iternary looks different, wanted your input into what I can expect from the one below vs. the one you have blogged about. Would appreciate your input
mar-16
VIERNES
BALTRA
NORTH SEYMOUR
mar-17
SABADO
DARWIN BAY
PRINCE PHILLIP’S STEPS
mar-18
DOMINGO
JAMES BAY
ESPUMILLA BEACH/SALT MINES/BUCCANEER COVE
mar-19
LUNES
PUNTA VICENTE ROCA
PUNTA ESPINOZA
mar-20
MARTES
TAGUS COVE/URBINA BAY
ELIZABETH BAY
mar-21
MIERCOLES
TINTORERAS/HUMEDALES
CCAT/WALL OF TEARS
SIERRA NEGRA VOLCANO
mar-22
JUEVES
PUNTA CORMORANT /CHAMPION ISLET
POST OFFICE / ASILO DE LA PAZ
mar-23
VIERNES
CHARLES DARWIN STATION
Tina writes:
This is a point well worth noting. Since we visited in 2009, all of the boats’ itineraries have changed, since they had to go to a 15-day circuit (visiting a particular island no more often than every 2 weeks rather than weekly). The itinerary you read about here is a pretty typical “eastern” itinerary, which includes the 2 spectacular islands of Española in the southeast and Genovesa in the northeast. Many boats will have one itinerary like that and another one like the one you write about above–a western itinerary that focuses on the newest islands of Isabela and Fernandina in the west of the archipelago. I especially like the Tip Top IV itinerary above because not only do you get to Isabela and Fernandina, but they throw in Genovesa as a bonus! That means you get 3 out of the 4 most amazing, far-away islands on this itinerary. Readers can find more information about choosing an itinerary under the page “Choosing a cruise.”
Thank you so much for all that great info! We are leaving in a week and, as others have mentioned, it’s hard to find all the answers to question one has about the cruises! But, thanks to you, those questions have been answered for me!
Wow, this is just wonderful. Thank you so much. I came here from your posting link on tripadvisor.
If you are a very fit gal in your 30′s, and hike in the mountains frequently, do you still think you would need a walking stick?
Tina writes:
Nope–I don’t think you’ll need a hiking stick, given that description. The paths are wide and flat (and you have to stick to them—so no off-path scrambling!). There may be an occasional short stretch of boulders you wend your way through, but nothing challenging. If I hadn’t been having lower-back issues, I wouldn’t have needed it at all. And I was the only one in our group of “elders” who had one. So you should be just fine.
Tina, what a wonderful contribute to all of us. Incredibly well written and easy to follow. Thank you so much. I’m glad I found this well in advance of our trip. You most certainly anticipated most all of my questions from selecting an itinerary to packing the right stuff.
I’m thanking you in advance as your comments and advice will most surely enhance my trip.
Did you or anyone else on board have a laptop? Is it even feasible?
Again I cannot tell you how much I value your blog. Thanks again
Nancy
Tina writes–
This is a good question; I’ll add some text about my thoughts on this issue. The utility of a laptop will vary, depending on what you want to do with it. If you want to have Internet access, it’s probably not worth dragging it around. Most of the boats don’t have Internet access while you’re underway. If you have a landing in a town (our itinerary put us in only one town–Puerto Ayora), you can probably find access there. But really–aren’t you going to the Galápagos to get away from that sort of thing?
If you want to use it to backup photos, that’s perhaps a reason to bring it. But if your camera can be hooked up to an external hard drive for downloading, that would be much smaller, lighter, and easier to travel with. But it can still be something extra to worry about. If that’s what you’re worried about, just buy lots and lots of memory sticks for your photos. Some people in our group used a new stick for each day; we just loaded all of our photos onto the same stick, deleting the truly dreadful ones at the end of the night, and sorted them out at home. You can buy so much memory for so little money–and the sticks are small and easy to pack. We bought about 8G of memory and didn’t use that much at all (although we came home with more than 800 photos). But it was good to know we had plenty on hand.
Tina – I just discovered your blog and what a delight! My wife and I leave in a month for the Elderhostel (I’m sticking to the name that I’ve known for years) trip on the Tip Top, and reading your blog has answered many of our questions. I do have one question. You indicated that walks following wet landings tended to be relatively flat and easy. Would it reasonable then to take those walks wearing water shoes, rather than struggling to change into (and out of) shoes and socks while sitting on the beach?
Tina writes:
I received 2 questions about shoes in one day, so clearly I had not written enough about this issue here! I’ve added some text about footwear for wet landings and a caveat to consider about traditional hiking boots.
Wow…you’re doing such a fantastic job. Thank you for sharing all this useful information. George n Kathy Burnett
Dear Tina, we are back from 8 days Galapagos cruise. There were few things which I took with me only due to your recomendations and they really helped me: walking stick, binocular and long trousers. Our cathamaran Nemo II was for 12 passengers. Smaller and cheaper then yours, but it was very nice. I liked everything: crew, guide, meal and of course Galapagos by themselves. Thank you once again.
Thank you for such detailed information. We won’t be going until next year, but I like to start researching early, especially since I’m so excited about going.
This site is now in my favorites list and I’ll be referring to it many times, I’m sure.
Thank you again!
Dear Tina, thank you for this great job. I find your notes very usefull. We are going to cruise in May and you have helped me a lot. My question is about cash. Was it safe to leave cash in your cabin on boat? Does they have safebox? Or we should keep all the cash with us all day long?
Tina wrote back:
The availability of an in-room safe varies by boat, so check on your specific situation. I’ve heard that some boats have a central safe that the captain oversees. On the Tip Top II, each cabin had an in-room safe that you set to your own combination. (Be sure to do a test run of that combination without anything important in the safe!) We left all of our important papers and spare cash there. The reality is that at least 1 person on the boat can access all of the safes (in case you DIDN’T try that test run first!). However, if something were missing from a safe, it would be pretty easy to trace who had access. And the higher-end boats pride themselves on their reputations for honesty and service. So we felt no qualms about leaving our valuables in the in-room safe.
THIS is an amazing blog! I’m getting all sorts of information that I’ve been looking for for weeks! Thanks so much for writing it — ALL of it!
I don’t see any mention of an electrical converter for USA products. What type of outlets are at the hotels? Also, did you carry all your cash and valuables with you on each trip or does the hotel room have a safe? Thanks
Tina wrote:
I’ll add this information to this page. Ecuador uses the same style of plugs as the US does (typically called Type A and Type B). So hotels as well as the boats have this style of outlet. Our boat (and most of the boats, I imagine) had a generator; an inverter changed the generator’s DC current into AC current. So again, anything we could use in the US, we could use there. Here’s a useful Web page that lets you look this up for other countries.
Your site is wonderful, thank you so much for the great information. Did you take binoculars? and if so the details?
Tina wrote back:
My husband and I are avid birders, so we both had our Zeiss Classics (10×40). But those were more than was necessary for non-fanatical birders in most situations in the islands. In our group of 16, a number of people didn’t carry binos at all. The rest (except for us) had small, travel-sized binos–perhaps 7x or 8x magnification. Those seemed ample in almost every instance. I can only think of 3 or 4 times when I handed my binos to someone else for a better far-off view. So if you don’t have a pair already, you can probably get by without buying a new pair. If you have a small pair, that should be just fine—no need to spend money on a really expensive pair. But don’t forget a camera or 2 with lots of batteries (or your recharger) and memory cards!
Take for all the great tips and pictures. We go in 10 days.
Wondering what would be better for the islands considering the walking and the wash off of shoes transferring between boats: a)Leather hiking boots which are Sno-Sealed or b) Nike Walkers (non-high top) with synthetic tops that the rain doesn’t penetrate (breathable)?
Tina wrote back:
Personally, I think you’d find the leather hiking boots overkill for the outings. You’ll always be on paths during the island excursions, so you won’t need the extra support that comes with the heavier-weight boot. On the dry landings, I was always in something that sounds a lot like the Nike Walkers you refer to—they were low-cut, sturdy walking/hiking shoes with synthetic tops and a Gore-Tex lining. When hosing off shoes, all that really matters is the soles, so the tops don’t get very wet. But it was good that it didn’t really matter if they did get a bit of overspray. So I’d vote for the Nike Walkers for the dry landings. If you don’t have a pair of water sandals for the wet landings, you can always just take them off and put them back on on the beach (as long as you’re okay with beach walking in them).