Cruising the Galapagos - February 2023

Looking for recommendations for our Feb 2023 Cruising the Galapagos Tour.
-Underwater digital camera recommendation that won't break the bank
-Recommended footwear for the trip
-Any recommended clothing
-Are wet suits and snorkeling gear available on board?
-Anything else you with you brought/had know before your trip?

Comments

  • We are going next May and really looking forward to it. I would suggest that you google Mike Henderson as he has a wonderful blog about his experience and a lot of good suggestions regarding this trip. The website is: https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com

  • Here are my comments:
    1. I got a clear plastic dry bag for my iPhone and took pictures with that. You can't zoom with that, all you can do is press the side button to take a picture.
    2. You will make some wet landings from the zodiacs, so some plastic beach shoes are good to have. Pack a towel and your walking shoes in a backpack.
    3. I'll leave clothing recommendations to others.
    4. Wet suits, a face mask and snorkel are provided. You can take the mask and snorkel home, if you want.
    5. A walking stick is valuable on some of the walks. The terrain can be very irregular with lots of small boulders.

  • The most important clothing is closed toe good grip and ankle supporting shoes for the various terrains you will encounter from sand to sharp volcanic rock depending on which islands you visit. After that it’s a hat and then plenty of sunscreen. We have been with Tauck twice on the Isabella ll and that is a very casual expeditions boat, I’ve no idea about the Sllverseas boat, but on our boat there was no need to dress up in the evening.

  • Ditto on the shoes vs terrain and sunblock. The equator goes right through the Galapagos so the sun can be very strong.

  • The walking sticks provided by Isabela are ok ;we took our own that we bought for our previous trip to
    Antarctica .They are much better ; foldable;also adjustable to your height so when you hold them the elbows are at right angle to avoid stress.Does not weigh much.We bought them at REI store.Very casual trip;no time to change to formal attire;morning and afternoon excursions are busy.

  • As far as a waterproof camera, years ago I bought a fuji camera which still works great. Also bought for about 40.00 an underwater case for my iphone. tested it out and works great if you are interested amazon carries several. Let you know when we return.

  • Questions: for those that went in February, was that a “good” month based on viewing wildlife—land and marine? No mention of ship providing swim fins for snorkeling—are they provided? Husband’s are long and heavy to pack!

  • Can’t answer about February; we went in May. Isabella did provide fins with snorkel gear and shorty wet suits.

  • We just returned from our trip a few weeks ago.  There were thirteen of us with Tacuk on Silversea.  The only dress code for the evening was no shorts but other than that everyone just wore comfortable clothes.  No need to dress up on Expeditions cruises.  Silversea provided all snorkeling equipment as well as walking sticks.  No need to bring your own.  The ship is absolutely beautiful and very luxurious.

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