Imagine following a pod of a thousand spinner dolphins in your Galapagos yacht as they leap high out of the sea, performing seemingly choreographed twists and leaps for onlookers. Or how about jumping in with them… or snorkeling with young sea lions or a flock of underwater penguins as they dart by performing underwater acrobatics? Picture raising your glass to a mesmerizing equatorial sunset as the planets sparkle into place, followed by more stars than you would think possible to see with the naked eye. These are just a few of the natural marvels awaiting you aboard the best Galapagos cruises, designed with comfortable lounges in which to relax, outside under shade or beneath the open sky. Our open deck plans to bring you ever closer to once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounters and unobstructed views of the Galapagos. What are some specific features to look for or avoid in choosing the best Galapagos cruise yacht that enhances your journey? Follow this 5-question guide to narrow down your best Galapagos cruise options:
Quasar Expeditions has won Travel+Leisure World's Best Award for the Best Intimate-Ship Ocean Cruise Line for 6 years in a row. Quasar takes pride is being the top company for the Best Galapagos Cruises, and just won again in 2023.
Travel+Leisure on Quasar's 2023 Best Cruise Award:
This intimate-ship winner may have only two vessels, the 32-passenger Evolution and Grace, which accommodates 16, but it’s a perennial favorite of T+L readers. “We had an absolutely amazing trip aboard the Evolution,” said one voter, summing up the sort of feedback that readers love to share about Quasar. “I don't know how Quasar does it, but their crew, guides, and staff have extraordinary energy and motivation.” The line’s Galápagos Islands cruising grounds are one element of the score — who wouldn’t want the chance to sail around the wondrous archipelago? — but the crew of Quasar’s vessels are what really make all the difference, respondents say. “My mother is deaf and was personally assisted by the physician on board during our snorkeling expeditions. He learned a few signs and helped my mother feel more confident in her snorkeling skills,” one voter raved. As another respondent put it, “Quasar and their staff made this cruise a true trip of a lifetime.”
In the cruise industry, the general thinking is that more is better, because more passengers generates more revenues. In Galapagos however, that thinking undermines the key reason for going in the first place: peak animal encounters. Your experience in the Islands is the #1 priority and only small adventure yachts deliver the best Galapagos cruise experience.
EXPLORE GALAPAGOS LUXURY CRUISES#1. Find a company with a crew made up of the best Galapagos cruise experts and guest service specialists
A passionate, experienced crew is perhaps the most important feature of any of the best Galapagos cruise yachts. They are the friendly engine that makes your trip of a lifetime run smoothly. Rule of thumb: When choosing which of the best Galapagos cruise company to set sail with, opt for the best crew with the most experience. The best Galapagos cruise companies that have been around since the very beginning of Galapagos expeditions know the ins and outs of what guests are looking for, and they have employed the best team of experts for over 20 and 30 years. A crew of the best Galapagos enthusiasts and experienced guest service specialists will go to great lengths to make your trip one to remember, such as:
- Sharing their passion for food through incredible happy hour fare and 5-star cuisine.
- Immersing you in the landscape and wildlife of the Galapagos with naturalist expertise and insider access tours.
- Guaranteeing a high crew to guest ratio to ensure your needs are met, from the most seasoned adventure guides to hand-picked executive chefs.
- Cleaning your cabin twice daily and adding delightful touches, like towel animals and daily chocolates, to welcome you back to your stateroom.
#2. Make sure you will be able to move freely around the yacht & there are no deck and viewpoint layout limitations.
With an average annual high of 82˚F/28˚C, the Galapagos is one of the best cruise locations in the world to experience a year-round equatorial ocean climate and the thrill of breathtaking natural beauty. There truly is not a 'Best time to visit the Galapagos'. Choosing the best Galapagos cruise ship with a open deck plan can be the difference between feeling part of the Galapagos Islands and feeling blocked off from them. Surprisingly, some Galapagos vessels are configured with restricted deck space, minimal viewpoint access, and confining smoked glass.
Avoid Galapagos cruise ships with these layout limitations:
- Barricaded sun decks on top of the vessel that hinder your ability to look out over the side.
- Tiny balconies that chop up the cruise ship’s exterior and impede your ability to walk freely around the deck.
- Confined interiors wrapped in smoked glass, which can contain your views, restrict strolls around the sides of the yacht, and block your access to the bow and stern.
#3. Find out if the yacht you like is a smooth-sailing monohull yacht, or a noisy catamaran.
Although monohull yachts provide a smoother ride through the crystal blue waters of the Galapagos, many travelers mistakenly consider catamarans as a more stable option for the journey. Why choose a monohull yacht over a catamaran?
- More stability. A catamaran navigating across a current can tilt between waves and swells, resulting in a less stable ride than a monohull yacht.
- A quieter ride. Several Galapagos catamarans are made from fiberglass, which tends to vibrate more than does the steel used in the hulls of most monohull yachts.
- More freedom onboard. Due to size and design, most of the Galapagos vessels that have more restricted deck access are catamarans.
- A better sleep. In rougher nighttime seas, waves can rise and strike the raised bottom of a catamaran, like striking a drum. This results in a noisy ride especially when you are trying to sleep. Monohull yachts simply cut through and ride over opposing waves without the thud.
#4. Make sure the yacht’s staterooms are better designed to enhance the best Galapagos experience, instead of created to be the highlight of the experience.
On true expedition cruises, time in your cabin will be spent largely on sleeping, showering, and post-lunch siestas. However, travelers planning for the best Galapagos cruise voyage often mistakenly spend a large portion of their research on which cabin to choose. You will find that upon your return home, memories of your interior cabin quickly fade – while the vibrant memories of outdoor experiences remain. Quick tip: Don’t make the cabin the main focus of your cruise decision. Look for the best Galapagos companies that combine open yacht spaces, outdoor activities, expert guides, and adventure excursions to find the perfect Galapagos expedition.
Quasar Expeditions itineraries include two landings and two snorkeling outings per day, along with kayaking and dinghy rides – not to mention multi-course meals, happy hours, and tour briefings. Our private staterooms prioritize comfort for high sleep quality, so you can make the most of your Galapagos cruise itinerary.
#5. Find out if the yacht is equipped with bonus amenities that will enhance the best Galapagos experience.
Certain amenities, like oversized jacuzzis, dive decks, and shaded sun decks can enhance your outdoor experience and offer easier access to the Galapagos. For the best Galapagos cruise experience, choose a yacht with these bonus amenities:
1. Oversized jacuzzis. Quasar passengers regularly comment on the pure bliss of jumping out of their wetsuit and into the oversized jacuzzi after a snorkeling excursion. Yachts with fewer passengers and larger jacuzzis ensure that everyone can easily warm up and relax after a day of Galapagos memory making.
2. Dive decks. Yachts equipped with only a gangway can slow the process of getting passengers onto dinghys for their Galapagos activities. Dive decks allow passengers to step right off the back of the yacht and onto their dinghy, which speeds up the time it takes to go ashore.
3. Shaded sun decks. Many Galapagos cruise ships have open top sun decks, which can be dangerous given the intensity of the equatorial sun. Look for yachts with plenty of shaded rooftop spaces.
4. Exterior ("al-fresco") dining areas. The equatorial air in the Galapagos is always warm and pleasant, and you won’t want to miss a moment taking in the natural surroundings and wildlife sightings while you’re onboard. After years of feedback and guest observation, Quasar Expeditions observed that guests rarely wanted to eat inside and therefore, enhanced their yachts with outdoor dining areas.
Explore the best Galapagos cruise ship layouts There are many cruise ship features to consider when choosing the best Galapagos cruise, but the yachts that will turn your trip into the adventure of a lifetime are symbolic of the Galapagos: spacious, majestic, and most of all, unique. Take a virtual tour onboard Quasar's Yachts: Grace Yacht or Evolution Yacht!
There are three things to consider when choosing your ideal month to visit the Galapagos Islands: Weather, crowds and the wildlife.
Weather
As opposed to many wildlife sanctuaries around the world that are found at the extremes of our planet, the Galapagos Islands are conveniently located right at the center of our globe, on the equator. Areas near or at the equator receive high amounts of sunlight due to the inclination of the earth. Because more amount of sunlight is received in these areas, there are only two seasons in this part of the world as a result, and the Galapagos Islands enjoy very stable air and water temperatures year-round. This makes them a great year-round destination for travelers from all over the globe and there really is no “better“ or “worse“ time to travel there as it refers to the weather. You can visit our Galapagos climate and weather page for a detailed table on air and water temperatures.
Crowds
The high season for tourism tends to be from mid-December to January and from June to August, which coincides with the general holidays and vacation months of the Northern Hemisphere. If you are planning your Galapagos cruise during the “popular“ holiday months, we recommend you book your trip at least 6 months prior to your desired travel date and when possible, even sooner. If you are looking to travel during Christmas or New Year’s weeks, you will want to book at least a year in advance, if not two. For those who are flexible with their travel schedules, we highly recommend traveling during the months of January, February, September and October. These months fall right after the “popular“ holiday months, meaning you will see less visitors around the National Park.
Wildlife
Regarding the wildlife if the Galapagos, there is also no “better“ or “worse“ time to go to see the animals that are considered the main attraction“ of the Islands.Because almost all of the animal species you will see on the Islands arrived because they floated there on logs or beds of plants, or they were blown in, they made the islands their permanent home and they do not migrate. This means that species like the Galapagos penguin, flightless cormorant, marine iguana, land iguana, blue footed booby, Galapagos hawk, fur sea lion, California sea lion and many others spend the entire year in the Galapagos. A few species in the Galapagos are migratory, meaning that they are not present in the Islands year-round. These include whales, the waved albatross and some petrels and tattlers.
Read more here - Best Time to Visit the Galapagos
There are two different ways to visit the Galapagos Islands:
On a liveaboard cruise that navigates around the archipelago, or by staying at a hotel on one of the Port Towns and taking day tours from there. The choice between staying in a hotel and visiting the Galapagos aboard a yacht is an easy decision once you understand how the Galapagos National Park is set up.
97% of the Galapagos Archipelago is a National Park and is off limits to human establishments. Only 3% of the archipelago are human-inhabited areas, where hotels can be built. The only way to access the great majority of the best visitor sites around the islands is on a live aboard vessel that takes you on a cruise throughout the entire archipelago. Hotels are found in the population centers which are the only places not within the Park. From here you can only access visitor sites that are nearby, when the best ones are far away (due to the lesser presence of humans throughout history). There are over 40 National Park landing sites throughout the islands where travelers are permitted to go ashore or go snorkeling to see animals up close in their natural habitat. Over 70% of these are not accessible when staying in a hotel.
Only a handful of landing sites are accessible from the hotels, and this is mostly by day boat. All the hotels compete for spaces on the day boats. If you are lucky enough to get a day boat, you start your day by having to take a power boat ride to the landing site. These can be 2 hour rides each way. Not that pleasant and really a waste of a good part of your day.
In contrast, the permitted live aboard yachts arrive at your first landing site before you wake up and you will have the opportunity to go ashore and visit two different sites for up to 2 1⁄2 hours each, along with snorkeling, kayaking and panga/zodiac rides. The crossings between Islands take place at night when you are asleep. You wake up refreshed with the next visitor site right out your doorstep. On the best cruises this means that you get to see both the inner and outer islands and the full spectrum of what the Galapagos has to offer, including many island landing sites off limits to the day boats. You spend the day ashore or in calm waters.
Read more here - Whats the best way to see the Galapagos
To answer this question, you must first understand how the Galapagos Park handles cruise itineraries. Before 2012 Galapagos tour vessels all visited the same sites week in and week out. This led to environmental impact, with multiple boats visiting the same sites at the same time. Thankfully the Galapagos National Park came up with the idea of requiring all ships to wait 2 weeks before returning to the same site. This not only reduced environmental impact and dispersed boats evenly throughout the Islands, but it also reduced the amount of crossovers and passengers at each site.
Today all permitted Galapagos vessels navigate a two week voyage through the islands, which they divide up into different length itineraries that are 3, 4, 5, 8 and up to 15 days. This leads to the question: How many days should you plan for your Galapagos itinerary? If you have the time and wherewithal, you can stay on the same yacht for the full two weeks and see almost all there is to see in both land and sea. Most travelers can’t do that though, so here are the alternatives.
At the other end of the spectrum the chief mistake travelers should avoid is not allowing enough time to experience the islands. It’s a long way and a fair expense just to get there. Much of the first and last days of any itinerary are spent traveling between the mainland and Galapagos and once you arrive, you’ll want to make sure you can get into the Park where all the animal action is. As an example, we refer to a 3-day Galapagos trip as ‘the airport tour’. The reason to visit Galapagos isn’t airports or even port towns, it’s to encounter all those amazing animals inside the National Park. If you don’t leave enough time, just when you are beginning to relax and realize the wonderful wildlife experiences the islands have in store for you…you will have to leave!
Our 38 + years of cruising in the Enchanted Islands have shown us that an 8-day safari style yacht experience is ideal and gets great reviews. It provides plenty of opportunities for peak animal encounters and relaxation. For more information on this and related subjects read our blog: Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Galapagos Islands Cruise.
We often get asked what the cost of the best Galapagos cruise is and the answer depends on the type of accommodations and experience that you are looking for.
Getting to Ecuador
Regarding flights, there are no direct international flights to the Galapagos Islands. Anyone visiting the archipelago must first fly into the cities of Quito or Guayaquil in mainland Ecuador, and then connect to the Galapagos. Many major airlines offer international flights to Quito and Guayaquil, including Copa Airlines, Aeromexico, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Jet Blue, Avianca, Latam and Iberia. Please check with each airline for the best possible flights to Ecuador, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 to up to $800 if flying to Ecuador from the US, and between $900 and $1500 if flying from Europe.
In addition to the international flights you also have to book domestic flights to the Galapagos from either Quito or Guayaquil. Depending on where you are flying from (Guayaquil or Quito), flight prices range from $470 to about $530 for adults and $360 - $400 for children. Please note flight prices are constantly changing so it is best to always check with airlines like Latam and Avianca that currently have daily flights out to the islands. Children under 12 normally get an important discount on domestic air. You also need to pay a mandatory transit card (used to track visitors and make sure they don’t stay more than 3 months in the islands) and it costs $20 per person.
Spending a Few Days in the Mainland before flying to Galapagos
For anyone interested in cruising the Galapagos, it is strongly recommended to add a minimum of 2 nights in Mainland Ecuador on the front end of your trip to accommodate for flight delays, cancellations or baggage issues. How much you spend in your travels on the mainland will depend on the type of hotel you stay at and if you choose to do any tours while in Ecuador. But it’s always best to consider at least a couple of days in Mainland Ecuador as part of your overall Galapagos trip budget.
Entering the Galapagos National Park
Once in Galapagos, non-Ecuadorians must pay a Park fee of $200 for adults and $100 for children under 12. There are discounts available for Ecuadorians and for some Andean countries that are members of Pacto Andino.
Galapagos Cruise Prices
Galapagos is considered an expensive cruising destination, regardless of the type of traveler you are. As a general rule of thumb however, you can use the guidelines below to book the best Galapagos cruise to fit your budget. Galapagos cruise offers are available from time to time.
- Budget Cruises: In terms of accommodations, these cruises are the equivalent of 1 and 2 star hotels, and can cost anywhere between $250 - $430 dollars per person, per day. This normally includes accommodations, meals, excursions and all non-alcoholic beverages. A weeklong budget cruise can cost anywhere between $1800 to about $3,000 per person.
- Tourist Superior Cruises: Cruises in this category are the equivalent of a 3 star hotel and start at around $450 per person, per day and go up to about $600. A weeklong tourist superior cruise can cost between $3,100 and $4,200 per person.
- First Class Cruises: First class cruises are the equivalent of a 4 star hotel and they cost between $610 to about $780 per person, per day. A weeklong tourist superior cruise can cost between $4,300 and $5,500 per person.
- Luxury Cruises: These cruises are the equivalent of a 5 star hotel in terms of accommodations and service. Luxury cruises in Galapagos start at around $800 per person for the day, and go up all the way to around $1,700 per person for the day, depending on the suite category you choose. A weeklong luxury cruise can cost between $6,000 to around $12,000 dollars per person.
Extras
Finally, you should always consider some budget in your trip for extras like bar consumption, laundry, items of personal nature and tips to guides and crew. Drink prices are high in Galapagos, mainly due to the import tariffs on alcohol in Ecuador and the cost of getting the best alcohol to the islands. With tips, you can expect to pay about $10 per person, per day for crew and for guides on budget ships and about $20 - $30 per person, per day on the best luxury cruises. Continue to learn more here - How Much Does a Galapagos Cruise Cost?
Guest reviews of the best Galapagos cruises and crew:
"The crew could not have been more accommodating. No request was too much. They made us all feel as if we were their very best friends and that we were the most important people in the world." Jim Currie
"The crew was fantastic, very nice & courteous. They went out of their way to please us. We felt very pampered!" Helen Kuo
"Not only did they do their jobs, they did them with real, true care and concern for our experience." Rick Hulett
Expert Tip on Galapagos Travel:
Although Galapagos is great year-round destination, there are a few months of the year that we like to call the "secret months" because they offer visitors some key advantages over other months when it comes to weather and wildlife. The secret months for galapagos travel are in September, October, November and the beginning of December.- Paul Schicke - Galapagos Expert at Quasar Expeditions
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I’m having a hard time deciding between the Grace vs Evolution. Also 8 days vs longer trip. What are your thoughts. My husband is a bird photographer and I’m wondering if the Geneviso island is a must
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Hi Melanie!
Grace vs Evolution: As you will see from our reviews we get rave comments from our guests aboard both vessels. That’s by design because rather than approach the Galapagos as a cruise, we approach it as a safari style yacht adventured aimed at getting you up close and personal with the wildlife. The Evolution is a very large stable yacht, but with only 32 guests has large cabins and a huge amount of deck space. It has 3 guides, 3 dinghies, a cruise director and doctor onboard. The Grace is an historic luxury yacht that has been completely updated. It’s a bit more exclusive with just 16 guests in 9 cabins with 2 guides, 2 dinghies and a cruise director. Both yachts offer lots of space outside and under shade, decks where you can walk the entire perimeter for unrestricted views and photography, and oversized Jacuzzis to warm up in after snorkeling. I invite you to visit the webpage for each yacht that includes videos, photos, deck plans, cabin sizes, itineraries and much more. Or give me a call.
8 day vs 15 day itinerary: All vessels in the Galapagos are doing a 2 week, 15 day, voyage through the archipelago. The ultimate is to stay on the yacht for the full 2 weeks and see almost all the visitor landing and snorkeling sites, while only repeating a visit to Puerto Ayora and the Santa Cruz Highlands. If you don’t have the time for that we’ve found the 8 day voyages prefect for most guests (less time than that is just not enough) and you can still extend your stay a bit in mainland Ecuador, including visiting the Andes or Amazon.
Bird Photography: The good news is that there lots of wildlife opportunities both above and below the water throughout the entire archipelago, like filming Galapagos penguins while snorkeling. While Genovesa Island probably has the largest bird population with species like blue footed and red footed boobies, frigate birds, tropic birds, lava herons and more, you will find lots of birds throughout the archipelago. For example flightless cormorants are found in the western islands, the waived albatross is found on Espaola, pink flamingos live in the salt flat on Floreana, blue footed boobies and frigate birds are found in many places.
– Paul
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