THE AMERICAS

Galápagos Islands Small-Ship Cruise

Galápagos Islands Small-Ship Cruise

Cruise the Galápagos archipelago by small ship, snorkeling and hiking among wildlife that has never learned to fear people.

The Galápagos are best seen by boat, moving between islands overnight so each morning opens on a different landscape and species mix. This trip runs aboard a small first-class catamaran carrying under twenty guests, with a certified naturalist guide leading every landing under National Park permit. You'll walk among giant tortoises, sea lion colonies, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies that show no instinct to flee — Darwin's living laboratory, largely unchanged.

Days alternate between dry landings on volcanic trails and wet landings onto white- and black-sand beaches, with snorkeling most afternoons alongside sea turtles, rays and reef sharks in startlingly clear water. The itinerary covers both the central islands — Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Bartolomé — and outer islands with their own endemic species, giving a fuller picture of the archipelago than any single-island stay could.

Omar Benali
WRITTEN BY Omar Benali North Africa correspondent

Based in Marrakech, Omar writes about the medinas, deserts and mountain villages of the Maghreb, and the long caravan routes that still shape how the region travels.

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