Galapagos Islands Destinations

Introduction

Galapagos Islands Travel Centre specialises in creating tailor-made holidays.  We travel beyond the Galapagos to South America, Central America, Cuba, Mexico and Antarctica. Whether you wish to travel around a specific country (e.g. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador (Galapagos), Guyana, Peru, Uruguay or Venezuela) or you wish to experience several countries in a longer tour from Mexico to Argentina we can design an itinerary for you.

This website is intended simply to be your starting point, to provide you with some tantalising ideas, lots of inspiration and our recommendations of interesting things to see and do.  We then invite you to call and let us create an innovative and exciting itinerary, tailored entirely to suit your personal requirements and expectations.

We will consider the seasons, altitudes, travelling times, flights, border crossings, and so much more.  We’ll also discuss with our team feedback they’ve received from recently returned clients and staff to ensure the high standards we expect in all areas are being maintained.

A trip to the Galapagos is so many things rolled into one – a cruise, a relaxing holiday and, foremost, a wildlife extravaganza.  It truly is the experience of a lifetime, not only for birdwatchers or wildlife obsessives but for every traveller who has any interest in seeing the incredibly diverse and often unique species of birds, reptiles and mammals.  The isolation of the islands and the minimal contact with humans has made the wildlife almost totally unafraid and allows visitors to see them at closer quarters.

Although the smallest of the Andean countries, Ecuador has probably the greatest natural and cultural diversity.  Virgin rainforest reserves, stunning (and still active) volcanoes, riotously colourful Indian markets, a wonderfully preserved Spanish-colonial capital, and off its Pacific coast the incredible Galapagos Islands.  Take a thrilling ride on the near-vertical ‘Devil’s Nose’ train, see Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano, and wander the cobbled streets of old Quito.  Shop for the beautiful textiles and handicrafts of the Ecuadorian Indians – and buy a Panama hat at Cuenca.

The Amazon, and its many major tributaries, flows through Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Despite the majority of the mighty Amazon’s 6,400 km being found within Brazil, some of the best options for Amazon river cruising are found in Peru and Ecuador.

These small expedition ships really are floating wilderness lodges from which you explore the Amazon and several of its major tributaries. Smaller ‘skiffs’ (dinghies) are often used either to go ashore or to explore smaller channels in search of the rich and varied wildlife of the Amazon.

South America is so much more than you might expect – an extraordinary diversity of Andean cultures, of ancient ruins, stately colonial cities and colourful Indian villages, of spectacular landscapes, amazing wildlife and wilderness, art, handicrafts and cuisine.

In the last decade South America has developed into a world leading travel destination. Luxury and boutique hotels have been built in major cities as well as in remote wilderness areas (Amazon rainforest, Chiloe Island, Patagonia and Atacama Desert to name four). Customer service is often better than it is here, and the cuisine world leading (Central in Lima has been voted the world’s 4th best). The infrastructure has been built to enable safe and comfortable exploration of this incredibly diverse continent.

The Antarctic Peninsula reaches out toward the South American continent and is a haven for wildlife. On an Antarctic cruise to the Peninsula you can expect to see breaching whales, penguin colonies, seals, spectacular tabular icebergs and pristine untouched landscapes. Setting foot on the 7th continent is sometimes a bucket list item for many and at each landing site we aim to get passengers off the ship and exploring with our highly trained and passionate expedition leaders. Zodiac cruising is also a fascinating way to view the icebergs and glaciers in the region and sometimes you will be greeted by curious whales breaching nearby. The photo opportunities are endless and experiencing true silence is a rarely found novelty.