I was too young to pay attention when I went. The ship was the Santa Cruz—that’s the only detail I know of. But if I were to go again, I wouldn’t want anything that would last less than a full week—more if possible. I’ve seen some packages that include a week at the Galapagos and several days to a week in Quito—including a trip to Otavalo. That would be my ideal trip, but PRICEY. When we went, you had to go through Guayaquil, but it seems now you can also start out in Quito. I would love that, but you may want to keep in mind if you go to the mountains (Quito area), you may need a few days just to adjust to the altitude. But it’s still totally worth it.

I did this tour:

http://aaa.generaltours.com/display_tour.cgi?tour_seq=1583

…I thought it was very good. It’s about a 100 person very small cruise ship, and 6 nights is the minimum tour I would do.

We were living in Quito when we went on our trip (November 10-17, 1988). I’m sure they have new ships by now! (lol)

We were lucky to have resident visas, because they had special rates for Ecuadorians, and we were able to take our whole family of 6 (Randy-Lynne is my youngest daughter and was only 9 at the time)at a very reasonable cost. The MV Santa Cruz (an Ecuadorian ship) was about 208’ long and held 90 passengers. I mentioned in my journal that there were some rough seas at night, but nobody got seasick. I believe we took pills to be sure. Be sure to check on what time of year is best for seeing the wildlife. In November we were lucky to see the blue footed boobies doing their mating dance. So cute seeing the males prancing around. This was by far the most fun trip I’ve ever taken. You’ll learn a whole new vocabulary, such as panga, garua, and matildo. I would suggest going with a reputable American company. As long as you’re that close, you might as well include Quito and Otovalo, if you can. The Galapagos are just 500 miles off shore. Have fun!

I used Lindblad Expeditions.

We recommend several yacht and cruise ships to our guests that visit us in mainland – Ecuador. We usually get great reviews from the Galapagos Journey I, Galapagos Journey II and the Galapagos Odyssey.

I went in Dec. 2009 and used Lost World Adventures. I highly recommend them. Everything was perfect!