It used to be that there were two distinct travel experiences available in the Galápagos Islands. You could travel by land where the food and accommodations were made available with penal colony flourish. Or, you could see the archipelago’s famed marine life on the omnipresent schedule of a cruise ship.
While land travel in the Galapagos has evolved to include restaurants with fresh sheets and luxury accommodations, the largely shoreless islands do not offer easy access to watch the magic of marine iguanas swaying past in the water or skates gliding just under flipper.
Southern Explorations’ Galapagos SUP Adventure offers both priceless experiences on the water and organic travel memories made at the easy pace of land travel. The Galapagos Islands are infamously transformative and in that spirit, this 9-day activity-packed tour offers plenty of opportunities to see sea lions, tortoises, and birds in a different light with direct benefits to the local community and economy.
For first-time visitors, it can take a minute to get used to the day-to-day presence of the animals that call the islands home. 97% of the Galapagos is a national park and this protected status affords unprecedented proximity to wildlife. Casual bird observers become dedicated bird watchers on their first day on San Cristobal after a key visit to the Interpretation Center and a hike up through the lava beds where soaring frigate birds gobble and drum overhead.
The next day, we head to the yellow sands and clear blue waters of the Northern coast for a stretch of paddleboarding and snorkeling with seals, skates, and sea turtles.
From San Cristobal, we travel to Isabela to take our boards to the calm waters of Tintoreras, where marine iguanas, sea turtles, and seals weave past us in the water. You’ll be able to see a different side of the Galapagos by bicycle as we tour the island inland. The charm of San Cristobal reaches up into the highlands, where a hike through the Volcano turns into an immersive class on the geologic history of the islands.
From Isabela, we hop to Santa Cruz to see the famous lava channels by paddleboard. It’s an epic day, with a trip to watch giant tortoises lumber by noisily, unperturbed by marveling hikers.
True to Southern Explorations’ style, we’ve connected with local experts to curate a local-led 3-hour food tour that not only connects you to the history and culture of the Galapagos Islands but its future and strength as a nature preserve.
We spend our last full day together on our paddle boards in Tortuga Bay, where even our veteran Galapagos guides – who became island experts back in the day when the accommodations were barebones and each meal started with “welp–I-gotta-eat-something” – still gasp at the sight of the sharp, effortless dive of a blue-footed booby hunting beneath them.
About
Adrianne is a career-long writer, a seasoned culinary professional, a botanical distiller, and a former deep organic grower. She also has a minimal ingredient skincare line.
Her love of research has propelled her into vineyards, kitchens, soil and the wild. She’s cleaned up after GWAR, motored a sailboat across the Puget Sound in a white out, and lived off-grid in a shed – all in the name of words.
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Created with an image by veera - "Happy summer traveling concept.,Wide sandy beach known for its clear, shallow water, with kayak & SUP rentals & seafront eateries."