Galapagos Islands (2019 Travel Video)
Short montage from my visit to the Galapagos Islands in Dec 2018 and Jan 2019.
Filmed with a Nikon D750 & GoPro Hero 4.
Music: Mansionair - Astronaut (Something About Your Love)
Diving footage courtesy of Luis Jara at Galapagos Travellers Dive Centre
Galápagos Islands on a Budget - Scuba and Backpacker Crusie For Young Travelers
We had the Galápagos Islands trip of a lifetime. It was always on our bucket list, and we made it happen while living in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Getting there:
Our trip began in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. We landed in Baltra Airport via Quito. There is a mandatory $100 National Park fee per person before you take your flight to the Galápagos Islands.
Once at Baltra Airport, you can connect directly with your cruise (as most people opt to do - most cruise operators even book your flights from the mainland). We headed into Puerto Ayora for a few days to scuba dive and explore. We highly recommend booking in Puerto Ayora. From the airport, you take a bus to the ferry (to get from Baltra to Santa Cruz) to another taxi (or bus).
In Puerto Ayora, the bus will drop you off at the Terminal Terrestre station. The trip takes 1-1.5 hours. From there, you can take any taxi to your hotel.
Puerto Ayora:
The tourist hub of the Galápagos Islands. There are plenty of hotels, restaurants, and tourism agencies hawking deals on trips and cruises. Don't forget to spend a day between Las Grietas and Tortuga Bay, if not scuba diving. Also, the Charles Darwin Station and tortoises at El Chato are cool if they aren't included in your cruise itinerary.
The Basics in Puerto Ayora:
There are ATMs in the town. Tipping is typically 10% if not already included. The best WiFi is in the cafeteria above the Proinsular Market grocery store (also has healthy food and views!)
Scuba Diving in Puerto Ayora:
Scuba Iguana, Academy Bay Diving, and Macarron Scuba Diver. When we arrived, most shops were sold out. We went with Macarron, although the others came highly recommended. Our dives were $160 per person for a two-tank dive. There is one place YOU MUST dive: Gordon Rocks. That's where you're most likely to spot pods of hammerhead sharks (we saw a pod of 30 up close!) To dive Gordon Rocks, dive shops require at least 25 prior dives. The concern is real due to the depth and strong current. We also dove at Seymour and Mosquera. Great dives, but no hammerheads.
Restaurants in Puerto Ayora:
You'll want to eat cazuela at the kioskas which pour out onto the street at Charles Binford at night. Great spot! Our favorite restaurants were the Lo & Lo and the Galápagos Deli for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, our favorite spot was La Garrapata, right along the shore.
Cruises from Puerto Ayora:
We booked a last minute cruise price 2 weeks before departure from a Quito tour company called Carpe Diem. We went on the 8 Days Adventure Cruise on the Darwin Yacht. This was one of their budget options and came to $1700 per person without flights. From talking to other passengers, it sounds like we got a good price by booking early, and we were given a prime room on the third floor of the ship. We are not sure if it is because we were celebrating our honeymoon, or if it was because we didn't book just days before.
We had a great time on our cruise. We were curious to see how our budget cruise would pan out (the most expensive ones are closer to $10,000 a trip), and it was better than we could have hoped. With more expensive cruises, you risk being in an elderly crowd. Our cruise had people ages 20-60, but with most in their 20s and 30s. We had a faster-paced snorkel and hiking experience. Aside from the clientele on the boat, the Galápagos National Parks require official and highly trained guides. Our guide, Rafael, was incredibly knowledgeable. There are also several workers on the boats. We had phenomenal meals. They even accommodated vegetarians! The one thing we would recommend you bring from either the airport or from Puerto Ayora is your own beer, wine, and alcohol. The boat's crew didn't mind us drinking our own bottle of wine. The boat only had beer. Also, Dramamine is good to have just in case.
Most boats go on 15-day tours and make stops to the islands to drop off and pick up new passengers in between to create two tours of 8 days and three tours of 5 days. We recommend an 8-day cruise, but if you're short on time, spend time on Isabela on your own (you can get there by speed boat from Puerto Ayora.) You can also check out San Cristobal, which was a close second favorite (and you can stay in town at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.)
We loved our cruise and saw all the amazing wildlife. Our cruise itinerary can be found here:
If you've been meaning to start making GoPro videos of your travels, check out our guide:
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Ryan and Alex
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GALAPAGOS Puerto Ayora cristina gonzalez rizo
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Galapagos Islands - A Voyage to Darwin's Land
Took a 5-day// 4-night voyage around the Galapagos Islands, which are owned by Ecuador. They have recently been taken off UNESCO's endangered list and can be visited by tourists once again. I saw every animal you think of when you hear about Darwin's Land: blue-footed boobies, sea lions, giant tortoises, sally lightfoot crabs, iguanas and more.
For more of my adventures in Ecuador visit, thetravelingbard.com
Galapagos Sportfishing Feb 2018
5 days of fishing the Galapagos Islands, Feb 2018. Goal was to get the 3 of us, Justin & Nick Uga plus myself our first ever marlins. Of course we caught some other fish, but overall everyone went home happy. What an experience of our lifetime!
Getting to the Galapagos Islands is Hard ????????An Adventure tour of Ecuadors Volcanic Archipelago ????
After a full day of travelling out of the Peruvian Amazon, the Earth Unraveled crew awakens in Quito, Ecuador. fresh and well rested to bid farewell our fellow travelers Robbie and Mikey, as we begin the final leg of our South American journey, exploring the legendary Galapagos Islands.
The group arrives via the Isla Baltra airport after staring at several hours of nothing but ocean to find barely a spec of volcanic rock to land. The surreal landscape looks like something straight out of a David Attenborough BBC documentary.
With little-to-no itinerary, we made our way onto Isla Santa Cruz by combination of bus-ferry-bus method, where we were fortunate enough to meet a fellow solo backpacker Sunny-Lee, amongst a sea of luggage-rollers.
Once we made it to the main strip in Puerto Ayora, it was pretty easy to find plenty of last minute accommodations and tour groups for the following day so we made no haste in setting up our dive plans for tomorrow.
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Locations- Quito, Ecuador; Isla Baltra & Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador.
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Galapagos - Invasive species and how tourists can help
Hana Dubail gives a brief overview of invasive species in the Galapagos, and what tourists can do to help stop the spread.
Funded by the Packard Foundation, Galapagos Conservancy, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, and the Leiden Foundation.
Sustainable / ecological house in the Galapagos Islands / Puerto Ayora
Brief TV interview with an architect / sustainable construction expert from the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. He is currently working in the Galapagos Islands and converted an existing house into one that is more sustainable, less energy-intensive, and also more pleasant to live in - all on a shoestring-budget so that other house-owners on the island can emulate these methods. The house they worked on is the Director's House in the Charles Darwin Research Station, and all the work there is documented on video and photos so as to provide the local community with a model.
Episode 45 - Equador / Guayaquil, Galapagos & Isabela II expedition
ECUADOR: GUAYAQUIL & THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPEL
Long time, no see!
We left Peru on 13th of February for Ecuador and Guayaquil. This was a big change for us. We left the dry & cold Cusco and a few hours later we landed in hot and humid Guayaquil, Ecuador! We spent only 2 days in the 2nd city of Ecuador mainly because we had booked our flight for the Galapagos from there and also to relax a bit after having climbed up and down the Andes in Peru.
There is not much to see in Guayaquil but we still did explore the center of town and Las Peñas area uphill to have a view of the surroundings. After that it was time to leave for the Galapagos! This destination is quite expensive. Before you set foot on the plane, there is a national park entrance fee and a tourist card to pay for a total of USD 120/pers. Never mind, we totally forgot about it as soon as we disembarked. We were completely amazed by the beauty of the landscapes and the pelicans fishing in the Itabaca channel on our way to the main island!
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND – PUERTO AYORA
We had planned to stay for 10 days but had booked only a couple of nights on this island as we were hoping to find some last minute availability on a cruise for the next days. And yes, we succeeded! But we still had time to kill before embarking on the yacht. We visited the Darwin Research & Preservation Center for giant tortoises, Tortuga Bay and its marine iguanas and the canyon of Las Grietas.
CRUISE ON THE ISABEL II
We embarked for 5 days/4 nights on this beautiful and luxury expedition yacht from Monday 20th to Friday 24th. We had such a blast! Snorkelling, taking strolls on several islands, watching so much wildlife every day, giant tortoises, turtles, iguanas, blue footed boobies, frigates, pelicans, flamingo (1!), sea lions, fur seals, penguins, hundreds of different fishes, sharks (!), several kind of rays, and so many other creatures living on these astonishing islands and the marine reserve around them. The crew and staff members were incredibly friendly. As a short example: can you imagine the captain waiting on the deck for his passengers and greeting them back from their excursion? Very unique, loved every minute on Isabela II.
WE SPECIFICALLY ENJOY
GALAPAGOS, GALAPAGOS, GALAPAGOS, this is one of our favorite destination so far. We already planned to go back to explore the rest of the islands one day!
ACCOMMODATIONS
Guayaquil: the Palace hotel, very cosy and comfy. We spent 3 days including Valentine’s day in this beautiful hotel. Superb breakfast!
Puerto Ayora: Patty’s house, a little guest house with nice units including kitchen.
Isabel II Yacht: the cabin was great and the beds super good. The crew take good care of the passengers and we loved the little chocolate on our pillows after dinner. We enjoyed it very very much.
RESTAURANTS
Guayaquil: El Toro Asado, cheap grilled meat but good.
Puerto Ayora: The Rock, a bit expensive but excellent fish and seafood.
BEST KEPT SECRET TIP
If you are interested in going on a cruise, according to our experience on the Santa Cruz Island and the travellers we met, it would be good to consider to buy your cruise directly from the owner of the boat. In this case, you may avoid the agency fees and get a better price. The companies are mainly based in Quito, try to reach them first. We found the site Galapagos Cruise Links quite useful to have ideas about the budget and the contact details for each boat (however the site does not include luxury ones).
Music by Joakim karud: Waves
Music by Artificial Music: Curtains
Galapagos Islands remain on UNESCO endangered list
(27 Jun 2009) SHOTLIST
Galapagos, January 28, 2009
1. Medium shot of a blue-footed booby perched on an outcrop of volcanic rock
2. Wide shot of the blue-footed booby standing under a cactus with a bay in the background
3. Close shot of the blue-footed booby's feet
4. Medium shot of a marine iguana displaying a warning signal to guard his territory
5. Wide panning shot of a marine iguana swimming along a rocky shore
6. Medium shot of two male marine iguanas fighting
7. Wide shot of tourists walking through tortoise pen with sign in foreground warning visitors not to touch the animals
8. Medium shot of a tourist taking a photo of a tortoise
9. Medium shot of a giant tortoise
10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Edwin Naula, Director of Tourism for the Galapagos National Park:
The problems of the archipelago are not only the side of the protected areas. Problems are also born in the areas where humans live. That's where all the business is, that's where all the fuel is consumed, that's where the contamination is. That's where we have social needs: education, health -- all the things that sustain the community, which the state has to invest in as well. If we don't have a good quality of life among the people who live here, then we can't ask them to conserve their environment well. The two things have to have a balance, and they have to grow at the same time. I think maybe at one point in time we worked a lot on preservation but we neglected the human part of the archipelago.
11. Zoom out shot of a main street in the town of Puerto Ayora as local residents walk past shops and hotels
12. Wide shot of local residents biking down the street in Puerto Ayora
13. Wide shot of a locally-run dive shop on the main street of Puerto Ayora
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jorge Torres, Governor of Galapagos:
We have a model of tourism that is not really facilitating (helping) things in the Galapagos Islands. I talking about a floating hotel of tourists (cruise ships / yachts) that is taking over the Galapagos and dominating the tourism since the beginning. But this is the time to change that and the idea our President and government is to help communities to develop eco-tourism, not massive but tourism to make easy living in the Galapagos islands for the islanders.
15. Wide shot of large cruising yachts anchored in the harbour of Puerto Ayora
16. Wide shot of a boat taxi and a smaller vessel ferry travel in and out of the harbour of Puerto Ayora
17. Wide shot of tourists getting into a boat for a day trip
18. Medium shot of the same
19. Wide panning shot of tourists pulling away in a small boat for a day trip
20. Wide shot of crabs clinging to the wall of one of the docks
21. Medium shot of the same
22. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Edwin Naula, Director of Tourism for the National Park of Galapagos:
The problem starts in the places where people live, where the restaurants and the hotels and the services that the community offers -- tourists can come and use these services and stay in a hotel. And they can take trips to visitor sites that can support a larger number of visitors, because the fragility of these sites is much lower than those that are on the uninhabited islands. Those sites can have lots of tourists, and its these kinds of tourists that are increasing every year.
23. Close shot of a yellow finch resting on the stalk of a plant
24. Close shot of a grey finch resting on the stalk of a plant
25. Wide panning shot of giant tortoises resting in a pond on an organic farm
26. Medium shot of a giant tortoise moving its head around
27. Close shot of a tortoise with its head barely sticking out of the mud
28. Medium shot of a giant tortoise eating grass
32. Medium shot of tourists getting into a raft that will ferry them to the dock
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Conservation front and center as tourism booms in the Galapagos Islands I Nightline
Protecting the Galapagos Island's natural landscape and its wildlife has become all the more important as tourism has risen exponentially in the last 50 years.
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#Nightline #Ecuador #GalapagosIslands #Conservation #Recycling
Scuba diving In Ecuador
Diving with big Mantarayas
Buceo en Islote Mosquera.avi- ISLAS GALAPAGOS LUIS ALBERTO JARA MOSQUERA
LUIS ALBERTO JARA MOSQUERA
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DIVE CENTER & PADI RESORT
Galapagos Shark Friends
Dir: Av Charles Darwin / Floreana - Puerto Ayora.
Telf : 052-527-125
Cell : 088623928 - 091006624
Encuentranos en FACEBOOK: Galapagos Sharksfriends
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Galapagos - Ecuador
Galápagos Islands. July 2018.
A ten night land-based trip to the Galápagos Islands.
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND (3 nights)
0:00:11 - Charles Darwin Research Station
0:00:28 - Bartolomé Island
0:01:34 - Tortuga Bay
0:01:52 - Reserva El Chato 2
0:02:40 - Puerto Ayora
0:02:50 - Ferry from Puerto Ayora to Puerto Villamil (2 hours)
ISABELA ISLAND (3 nights)
0:03:47 - Volcan Sierra Negra (Should have picked a clearer day)
0:04:08 - Muro de las Lágrimas (Wall of Tears)
0:05:49 - Los Tuneles
0:09:35 - Puerto Villamil
0:11:38 - Giant Tortoise Breeding Center
0:12:44 - Ferry from Puerto Villamil to Puerto Ayora (2 hours)
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND (1 night)
0:13:14 - Las Grietas
0:13:56 - Puerto Ayora
0:14:32 - Ferry from Puerto Ayora to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (2 hours)
SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND (3 nights)
0:15:42 - Cerro Tijeretas
0:15:54 - Interpretation Center
0:18:54 - Kicker Rock
0:22:41 - Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
Conservation, tourism and the needs of locals take centre stage in Galapagos
(30 Jan 2009) SHOTLIST
Galapagos, January 28, 2009
1. Medium shot of a blue-footed booby perched on an outcrop of volcanic rock
2. Wide shot of the blue-footed booby standing under a cactus with a bay in the background
3. Close shot of the blue-footed booby's feet
4. Medium shot of a marine iguana displaying a warning signal to guard his territory
5. Wide panning shot of a marine iguana swimming along a rocky shore
6. Medium shot of two male marine iguanas fighting
7. Wide shot of tourists walking through tortoise pen with sign in foreground warning visitors not to touch the animals
8. Medium shot of a tourist taking a photo of a tortoise
9. Medium shot of a giant tortoise
10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Edwin Naula, Director of Tourism for the Galapagos National Park:
The problems of the archipelago are not only the side of the protected areas. Problems are also born in the areas where humans live. That's where all the business is, that's where all the fuel is consumed, that's where the contamination is. That's where we have social needs: education, health -- all the things that sustain the community, which the state has to invest in as well. If we don't have a good quality of life among the people who live here, then we can't ask them to conserve their environment well. The two things have to have a balance, and they have to grow at the same time. I think maybe at one point in time we worked a lot on preservation but we neglected the human part of the archipelago.
11. Zoom out shot of a main street in the town of Puerto Ayora as local residents walk past shops and hotels
12. Wide shot of local residents biking down the street in Puerto Ayora
13. Wide shot of a locally-run dive shop on the main street of Puerto Ayora
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jorge Torres, Governor of Galapagos:
We have a model of tourism that is not really facilitating (helping) things in the Galapagos Islands. I talking about a floating hotel of tourists (cruise ships / yachts) that is taking over the Galapagos and dominating the tourism since the beginning. But this is the time to change that and the idea our President and government is to help communities to develop eco-tourism, not massive but tourism to make easy living in the Galapagos islands for the islanders.
15. Wide shot of large cruising yachts anchored in the harbour of Puerto Ayora
16. Wide shot of a boat taxi and a smaller vessel ferry travel in and out of the harbour of Puerto Ayora
17. Wide shot of tourists getting into a boat for a day trip
18. Medium shot of the same
19. Wide panning shot of tourists pulling away in a small boat for a day trip
20. Wide shot of crabs clinging to the wall of one of the docks
21. Medium shot of the same
22. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Edwin Naula, Director of Tourism for the National Park of Galapagos:
The problem starts in the places where people live, where the restaurants and the hotels and the services that the community offers -- tourists can come and use these services and stay in a hotel. And they can take trips to visitor sites that can support a larger number of visitors, because the fragility of these sites is much lower than those that are on the uninhabited islands. Those sites can have lots of tourists, and its these kinds of tourists that are increasing every year.
23. Close shot of a yellow finch resting on the stalk of a plant
24. Close shot of a grey finch resting on the stalk of a plant
25. Wide panning shot of giant tortoises resting in a pond on an organic farm
26. Medium shot of a giant tortoise moving its head around
27. Close shot of a tortoise with its head barely sticking out of the mud
28. Medium shot of a giant tortoise eating grass
32. Medium shot of tourists getting into a raft that will ferry them to the dock
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Galapagos Penguins (Bartolome)
Top 8 Best Places To Visit In The Galapagos
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Top 8 Best Places To Visit In The Galapagos.
The Galapagos archipelago is comprised of a total of 13 major and 7 smaller islands home to a staggering range of endemic species that famously inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Here are a selection of the most popular islands.
Santa Cruz Island
North Seymour Island
Isabela Island
Floreana Island
San Cristobal Island
Baltra Island
Santa Fe Island
Espanola Island
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Galapagos Islands travel: Brief blue footed boobie dance, and more frigates displaying.
The Galapagos blue footed boobie dances, and the frigates display magnificently! Gail from RomanoTravelOnline.com made all our travel agent arrangements. (1:42)
Real People having Real Fun! You can view this video & other travel videos in full screen near-DVD quality, slideshows & more, all with NO ADS, at jpmeyer.com. Mountain Travel Sobek (MTSobek.com) pioneered small group adventure travel in 1969. More than 100 adventure travel destinations, worldwide. Visit RomanoTravelOnline.com to arrange this adventure, or any of your other full service travel agent needs.
Las Grietas Santa Cruz Galapagos