Galápagos island hopping, staying on land instead

For many years, a cruise was almost the only way to see the Galápagos. That has changed. Four of the islands are inhabited, and three of them, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Isabela, have towns with hotels and guesthouses, connected by public speedboats and small planes. A land-based trip, staying on one or more of these islands and making day trips from them, has become a popular alternative.

It is a different experience from a cruise, with its own advantages and drawbacks, and it is worth understanding both before choosing.

The trade-offs

The main advantage of staying on land is comfort. Some people suffer badly from seasickness, and a week on a small boat in an open ocean can be an ordeal. On land, you sleep in a hotel that does not move, eat in restaurants in town, and have more freedom in the evenings. There is time to walk on the beaches near the towns, swim and snorkel from the shore, and see something of island life.

The drawback is reach. Many of the most remarkable visitor sites, on the outer and more remote islands, can only be reached by a boat with a permit to sail there overnight. A land-based trip sees the inhabited islands and the sites within a day's reach of them. The crossings between islands, by speedboat, take two hours or more, and the sea can be rough. On the other hand, the three inhabited islands hold a great deal, and the wildlife comes right into the towns.

The three islands

Santa Cruz, in the centre of the archipelago, is the hub. Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the islands, has a harbour busy with boats, a fish market where sea lions and pelicans wait for scraps, and the Charles Darwin Research Station, where giant tortoises are bred and studied. In the island's green highlands, wild tortoises wander through the pastures and woodland, and lava tunnels run underground. A walk of about an hour from town leads to Tortuga Bay, a long white beach where marine iguanas sun themselves on the sand.

Isabela, the largest island, shaped like a seahorse, is formed of six great volcanoes joined together. Its little town, Puerto Villamil, is a quiet place of sandy streets and a long beach. Close by, the lagoons hold flamingos. The rocky islets of Las Tintoreras, a short boat ride from the harbour, are a place to see white-tipped reef sharks resting in a narrow channel, with marine iguanas and penguins on the rocks. The Sierra Negra volcano, inland, has one of the largest calderas in the world.

San Cristóbal, the easternmost of the three, has the capital of the province, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Its waterfront is taken over by sea lions, which sleep on the benches and the beaches. The island was the first that Charles Darwin landed on in 1835, and an interpretation centre near the town tells the story of the islands' natural and human history.

Whichever way you visit, the rules of the national park apply. Most visitor sites, on land and at sea, can only be visited with a licensed naturalist guide. Visitors are asked to keep a distance of at least two metres from the animals, never to feed or touch them, and to take nothing away, not even a shell. The islands' tiny human population lives alongside the wildlife, and the towns have strict controls on what may be brought in from the mainland, to keep out the seeds, insects and animals that have done so much damage in the past.

On the mainland

A trip to the Galápagos starts in mainland Ecuador, and the tours here spend time there too. North of Quito, the market town of Otavalo is known for its textiles, and Cotacachi, nearby, for its leather. To the north-west of the capital, Mindo lies in cloud forest on the western slopes of the Andes, rich in birds, especially hummingbirds, and in orchids and butterflies.

Travelsphere's Galápagos Island Hopping, thirteen nights, includes Quito, Otavalo, Cotacachi and Mindo on the mainland, and Santa Cruz, Isabela with Puerto Villamil, and San Cristóbal in the islands.

Just You's Natural Wonders of Ecuador and the Galápagos, fourteen nights for solo travellers, includes Quito, Mindo, Otavalo and Cotacachi with Santa Cruz, Isabela and San Cristóbal.

The islands can be visited at any time of year. From about December to May, the sea is warmer and calmer, which makes the crossings between islands easier. If you are prone to seasickness, it is worth taking remedies for the speedboats as well.