Destination Highlight: Galapagos Islands

January 27, 2014 | By Jelissa Tucker

The Galapagos Islands are a once in a lifetime destination. If you are close and you have the chance to go, definitely take it, but know that it isn’t going to be the most relaxing trip you’ve ever taken. The Galapagos are for the adventure traveler!

Here is why it is a must-see destination:

1. You can and will see more unique species of wildlife than you will anywhere else in the world! You’ll see so many sea lions. They are everywhere; on the park benches, streets, and boats. They are sloths above water, and underwater they are playful and energetic. We swam with lots of small sharks, rays, turtles, and even some hammerhead sharks! There were wild flamingos, pelicans, blue footed boobies, penguins, crabs, and hundreds of lizards of all sizes. Some lizards were up to three or four feet long. The Galapagos Tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, and you can’t miss those while you are there. It really is amazing how many species you see and how large they grow in that environment.

Here are a few reasons why it is a once in a lifetime destination:

1. It’s far away from anything
2. It’s expensive to get there
3. It’s still expensive once you arrive
4. There are very few nice places to stay
5. There are very few nice beaches and towns
6. Each island is a few hours away from each other, and they don’t have ferries. You go from island to island by bumpy speedboat
7. Some islands look similar to what I expect Mars to look like
8. They are not very flexible and struggle customizing tours
9. Due to a current coming all the way from the Antarctic, the water is fairly cold

The wildlife really is the key reason to go to the Galapagos Islands. It is definitely worth it, but everything else leaves a lot to be desired. You wake up early. Take a bad boat ride, and then get to see more amazing wildlife. Then you take another bad boat ride back. It is a trip that left a lot of mixed feelings.

There is always the option to see the islands by cruise ship. I believe this would be the more enjoyable way to do it, but you wouldn’t have the flexibility to see as much in a short period of time. A lot of the people that we talked to that went the cruise route didn’t see nearly as much wildlife as we did.

Even with all of the downfalls of the Galapagos Islands, it is a destination you can’t miss.