The Galapagos is the trip families ask me about with the most nervous excitement. It is expensive, it is far, and it is one of the few places on earth where the animals do not run away from your children. It also has a real decision at the start that shapes everything else.
Cruise
A small ship, usually 16 to 20 passengers, moves at night and lands you somewhere new every morning. You reach the outer islands with the albatrosses and the red footed boobies that you cannot get to any other way. The naturalist guides are superb with kids. The downside is cost, the fact that you are on a boat for a week, and seasickness on the crossings. Some ships have a minimum age of six or seven and some run dedicated family departures in school holidays that are worth hunting for.
Land based
You stay in a hotel on Santa Cruz or Isabela and take day boats out to nearby islands. It is cheaper, there is a real bed, and the kids can eat pizza in Puerto Ayora at night. You will still see giant tortoises, sea lions, marine iguanas and blue footed boobies. You will not see the far islands. For families with kids under eight, this is the version I recommend.
What a day looks like
Early wet landing from a panga onto a beach. A guided walk of an hour or two where you stand a few feet from nesting birds and sunbathing sea lions. Snorkeling in the late morning with turtles and sometimes penguins. Lunch, a rest, then another landing or snorkel in the afternoon. Kids who can snorkel are the ones who get the most out of it, so practice in a pool before you go.
Rules
Stay on the trail. Keep six feet from the animals. No touching, no feeding, no flash. Guides enforce this and kids find the rules easy to follow once they see why. A sea lion pup will come up to you. You will have to back away. That is the story they tell for the rest of their lives.
Cost and timing
Between flights from Quito, the park fee, the transit card and the boat or hotel, a family of four should plan on a serious budget, and the cruise version is roughly double the land version. December to May is warmer with calmer seas and better snorkeling for kids. June to November is cooler with bigger waves and more nutrient rich water, which means more wildlife but rougher crossings.
My take
Under eight, do land based. Eight and up with confident swimmers, the cruise is the trip of a childhood. Either way, book far ahead because the good family boats fill a year out.
Planning Ecuador with kids? Start with the full Ecuador family travel guide, or send me the ages and the dates and I will come back with what is really available.
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