Galapagos Islands
2023 Vaya Photo Contest Winners
Vaya travelers are known for being genuinely curious and respectful, for delving into the destinations they visit with open hearts and open minds. This approach is reflected in their photographs – images brimming with warm human connection, responsible wildlife encounters, and breathtaking landscapes. That’s what makes judging Vaya’s annual photo contest so much fun. After… Read Full Post
2022 Vaya Photo Contest Winners
Nothing delights us more than receiving photos captured by our travelers throughout the year. Whether it’s up close encounters with wildlife, sunsets over remote and little visited corners of our natural world, or new friends made while traveling, your images transport us—and we look forward to seeing each and every one! To all of you… Read Full Post
SCUBA Diving in the Galapagos Islands
At 7:20 a.m. we headed down the Tiburon Martillo Dock to board the Wreck Bay diving boat for our full day SCUBA excursion in the Galapagos Islands. The day before, a representative of the dive shop had met us at our hotel in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to fit us with our wetsuits, BCDs, and fins,… Read Full Post
The Frigate Bird: Pirate Bird of the Galapagos
A group of six bachelors are spotted sitting together. They seem like friends hanging out socially, but really they’re all trying to pick up a lady, and competition is fierce. Through the posing and showing off, occasionally the bravado takes over and the men resort to spats of violence. Most striking on these gentlemen, the… Read Full Post
Luxury Galapagos cruise checklist: the marine iguana
The Galapagos aren’t your average tropical archipelago; instead they’re a menagerie of animals weird and wonderful, big and small, terrestrial and marine. Perhaps no creature is more ubiquitous, more creepy and more undoubtedly Galapagosian than the marine iguana. On your luxury Galapagos cruise you’ll be sure to see hundreds if not thousands of them, and… Read Full Post
A Bird Like No Other
Travel to me has always been an eye-opening experience, whether that’s exploring the local trails around Oakland and Berkeley, or expeditions off to far flung places like Antarctica. And while these adventures offer an incredible array of new information, there is typically more to each destination than first meets the eye. This became abundantly clear… Read Full Post
Galapagos Wildlife Spotlight – The Galapagos Green Turtle
The Galapagos Green Turtle is a subspecies of the green sea turtle that is found in many different places throughout the world, including the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Hawaii. The Galapagos version is typically smaller (though still reaching lengths of around 4 feet for full-grown adults) and darker in color than those found in other… Read Full Post
Galapagos Wildlife Spotlight Series – Wildlife as a Tool for Cruise Planning
On any Galapagos cruise, even on shorter 4 and 5 day options, you will see a tremendous amount and variety of wildlife. Trying to figure out the “best” wildlife is a bit tricky, because all the visitor sites have unique charms and the place is kind of an embarrassment of riches. With the unique and… Read Full Post