Darwin's islands, on their own terms

The Galápagos sits a thousand kilometres off Ecuador, straddling the equator on a hotspot of young volcanoes, and it is the only place on Earth where the wildlife declines, comprehensively, to get out of your way. Sea lions board unattended tenders. Mockingbirds land on hats. The animals never learned fear because nothing here taught it, and the entire apparatus of the national park exists to keep that true.

The rules are the product

Be clear about what chartering here means, because it is unlike anywhere else. Some 97 per cent of the land area is national park, wrapped in one of the largest marine reserves in the world, and cruising rights are tightly held. You charter a locally flagged expedition vessel that holds a Galápagos National Park cruise permit, rather than bringing a yacht in from outside. Itineraries are fixed and approved by the park authority, visitor sites are scheduled so landings stay small, and every excursion goes ashore with a licensed naturalist guide. This can sound restrictive until you experience the result, which is that at almost every site your group is the only one there. The permits are the reason the place still works. Read them as the price of admission to the best managed wilderness on the planet.

The islands that matter

Bartolomé gives you the view on every postcard, Pinnacle Rock standing over a double bay of gold sand. Fernandina, the youngest island, is a black lava shield where marine iguanas pile in their thousands at Punta Espinoza. Española, the oldest, hosts the world's only breeding colony of waved albatross, ashore from about April to December. Genovesa, a drowned caldera in the far north east, is a seabird city of red-footed boobies and frigatebirds. Santa Cruz brings the giant tortoises, grazing the misty highlands like boulders that decided to move, and the Charles Darwin Research Station at Puerto Ayora. The vessel repositions at night, so each morning opens on a new island.

The park decides where you go and when you land. The animals decide everything else.

Under the waterline

Half the charter happens with a mask on. Snorkelling with sea lions is the daily comedy, Galápagos penguins, the only species found north of the equator, fly past underwater off Isabela and Fernandina, and green turtles graze the shallows. For divers, the far northern islands of Darwin and Wolf rank among the best dive sites on Earth, with schooling hammerheads year round and whale sharks from roughly June to November. Dedicated dive itineraries are licensed separately, which is worth knowing when the plan is built.

The honest food angle

The Galápagos will never be a gastronomic destination, and good operators do not pretend otherwise. Most provisioning ships out from mainland Ecuador, and quarantine rules on what may move between islands are strict. What is local is excellent in a narrow band, yellowfin tuna landed by the licensed artisanal fleet, and Ecuadorian coffee and cacao, which stand with the world's best. Chefs plan accordingly, and dinner leans on the mainland's produce, which is no hardship at all.

When to come

There is no wrong season, only two different ones. December to May is the warm season, calm seas, clear blue water, brief tropical showers and the islands at their greenest. June to November is the cool season, when the Humboldt Current arrives with the garua mist, the water turns rich and slightly brisk, and the marine life responds with its busiest months. Divers lean to the second half of the year, families to the first. Because the permitted fleet is small and the best vessels book early, talk to us about chartering the Galápagos twelve months out, and we will match the vessel and its approved itinerary to what you most want to see.