Luxury holidays in Galapagos Islands

Most of our luxury Galapagos holidays are cruises, and as you’ll be staying onboard, you’ll be able to cover greater distances – sometimes travelling overnight – to visit locations in the outer reaches of the archipelago, such as Gardner Bay on Española and Prince Philip's Steps on Genovesa. Here, a flurry of feathers catches the eye with frigatebirds, petrels, swallow-tailed gulls and red-footed boobies colonising the steep, rocky path. Swimming or kayaking within the collapsed caldera of Lake Arcturus here is a real joy, too. These areas see fewer visitors, allowing you to enjoy a more private experience, while the animals see fewer people, allowing them to live their lives with less disturbance.

Our luxury Galapagos tours tend to be tailor made trips. Working around your chosen dates and activities, there will be a couple of itinerary options to choose from, depending on how much time you have to explore. Tours can last anything from three nights to two weeks, or longer, although a week is more than enough time to fully absorb the main Galapagos highlights.

With our luxury Galapagos holidays you have a superb range of fully crewed vessels to select from, including yachts and catamarans with just 12 berths, small cruise ships carrying only 100 guests, and if you want to splurge then you can even hire an entire boat.

Along with the brilliant naturalist guides that accompany all Galapagos cruises, expect high quality onboard amenities – perhaps a sundeck with a hot tub, or a private balcony from where to watch the stars. Luxury ships offer larger cabins as well as better food and more extensive wine menus. In many cases the ship will have high quality equipment onboard for activities such as kayaking, allowing you to enjoy a mix of adventure, relaxation and wildlife watching.

Our luxury tours in the Galapagos put conservation at the forefront. Contemporary craft have been designed with environmental impact in mind, one example being advanced onboard facilities for treating sewage, rather than jettisoning at the national park perimeter. Some vessels, despite being the size of traditional Galapagos cruise ships, can reduce fuel consumption by 40 percent.

Many Galapagos trips will fly directly out to the islands from Quito but consider spending some time exploring mainland Ecuador before or after the Galapagos. From Quito you can take a private road trip to Otavalo for instance, to wander the stalls of the local market and perhaps purchase some handcrafted souvenirs that help to support Kichwa indigenous culture.

Heading northwest from the capital, in the Mindo Valley you can enjoy some rustic luxury at a cloud forest lodge that contributes to various conservation projects. Your hosts will take you on a tour of the grounds to show you how your holiday is helping support efforts to preserve the biologically diverse ecosystems here. If you continue as far as the Amazon basin you can take a motorised riverboat tour, visiting small communities that are largely self-sufficient and where visits from just a few small groups of tourists can offer them major financial benefits.

A luxury Galapagos tour brings together all these elements for you – islands, rainforest, mountains, and adds high standards of accommodation, and fantastic local guides who can make every experience profoundly memorable.