Peru and Galapagos vs Hidden Galapagos & Peru
Trying to decide the difference between these two trips for early '26?? Besides the one extra day, different hotels and $6K difference, I don't see any difference. What am I missing? They both have the same activity and pace, and both visit Machu Picchu. Are the hotels really that much nicer?? Maybe it's the ship? We are 68 years young, and used to traveling difficult trips, KT Safari, Antarctica... (New hips and new knees!!) We are more than willing to pay the extra of luxury it indeed, but is it that significant?
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Looks like it's the ships. One of them uses the Isabella II and the other uses the Silversea Silver Origin. We did the one with the Silver Origin and I thought the ship was wonderful. Some people like the Isabella II.
Here's our blog of the tour we did. It was right after COVID and there were only 10 Tauck guests - https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2021-1Galapagos-01.htm
The Isabella II is a bit old - it was built in 1979 (renovated 1988, refreshed 2018) - and has a capacity of 40 guests. The Silver Origin was built in about 2020 or 2021 and has a capacity of 100 guests. Not all of those are Tauck. When we went I was told that Tauck had contracted for 40 guests. Tourists ships in the Galapagos are limited to a max of 100 passengers.
[Added note: It looks like the standard cabin on the Isabella II is 128 sq ft, which is fairly small. The lowest cabin on the Silver Origin is 253 sq ft, but I don't know if that included the balcony. We were in a Deluxe Veranda and it was large (273 sq ft) and comfortable. Our cabin didn't have a balcony. It had what they called a "horizon window". Silversea has a "butler" for each cabin, although we didn't use him very much.]
Mike, yes I thourghly studied your blog. Very well documented, thank you. In fact it was your blog that got me to thinking, 6 thousand more dollars for an extra day👀! Perhaps the Isabella ll is a cargo ship? (JK). When Tauck calls it HIDDEN PERU, and the tour seems kinda the same, you think surely im missing something quite obvious.
Are there any other commentary out there?
We have used the Isabella ll twice and loved it. In 2026 we are going to book the Bridges tour with our family which uses the’Silver’ ships. We are disappointed that the tour goes to less places which are more important to us than the rooms on the ship that you barely do anything but sleep in on the Galapagos trips we have taken before. I will be interested to see what we think when we can compare the two.
We went to the Galapagos with Silversea (not Tauck) in 2018. Silversea is VERY comfortable. Accomodations, food and service are all top notch. Real luxury. Great local naturalists. We loved the trip.
Now we are looking to do another trip including Machu Picchu. I am also torn between the two. The cost difference is daunting. The ships are very different - the Origin is newer and has more spacious cabins - but we will mostly be sleeping there. I also wonder if it's weird to be in a Tauck group apart from other people on the ship. We were recently on a river cruise with AMA and there were groups with travel agents that made us feel "separate". I also looked into the Origin trips independent of Tauck (but wondered if I'd feel envious of Tauck people if they were on the ship?).
It's a conundrum. Curious to hear what you decide. Either way, you can't go wrong. The Galapagos is by far our favorite trip.
I loved the Silver Origin. No complaints about the ship. Once on the ship, the Tauck tour director had little to do with us. The Origin staff was very professional and the food and accomodations were great. While we had "bonded" with our group of 19 Tauckers on the land portion of the trip, I did not see anything awkward with sharing the ship with others. We interacted with others as we do on other trips although on most of the excursions Tauck was separate. As to the comment "mostly sleeping there," we don't huddle in our room much but used the public spaces, inside and out. They were elegant, new and clean. The daily briefings and lectures were well attended and informative.
We were on a trip near the end of Covid and all were glad to be finally travelling. There were 80+ guests on board. Never felt crowded. This was my favorite trip also. South Africa was a close second!
All good info. I think I've decided to go all in with the "Hidden" Galapagos! and Silver Origin, even though I haven't heard from SEA LORD YET!!
Google says the best time to go is when the water is warm, although from pictures it appears they give you a snorkeling suit, so I'm not sure that the weather matters. 75-78 in October is pleasant enough. Any suggestions on that?
We’ve been in March and December. Certain bird life are there at different times of the year. Because of the merging of hot and cold currents, we found the waters by some islands were fine and others extremely cold.
Yes, I think SeaLord has been at least three times.
Please post a review of the ship when you return.