With my time in Ecuador quickly drawing to a close (can you believe it has been 3 months already?!) I’m packing my bags for one final adventure before I move on…and I’ve gone all in and booked a trip to the Galapagos Islands!
Take Two
The last time I was in Ecuador I hit up the famous Galapagos Islands and it always puts a big dent in the wallet – so why the hell would I go there again?! Surely it’s a once in a lifetime thing?!
Well last time I went I jumped on a catamaran cruise around the islands on a tour with some buddies. Despite the tour guide we had being a bit of dampener on the trip (he was a bit of dick to be blunt and honest!) the Valkira boat itself was nice and luckily I had good company in tow, I shot some amazing pictures and had some amazing experiences.
This time around however I have a different agenda.
My one regret on my last trip was not hitting the ocean some more or putting my dive certification to good use. 2 year on though and diving has quickly become a large part of my travels so being this close to the Galapagos it was all too tempting to head that way and explore the water – with swimming with hammerhead sharks being top of my to do list, it’s firmly on my scuba diving bucket list and it’s one of the best places to do it.
Combine that with my new found love of free diving and I have all the excuses I need to drop some serious dollar and hit it up again.
A Twist Of Fate
The thing with heading there this time around was that I wanted to simply backpack it and not book a tour.
Not only to see how cheaply the Galapagos can really be travelled (last time cost me over $1300!) but also due to the fact I just want to dive and freedive. But free diving is heaps dangerous solo.
Then I crossed path with Fanny (yes I chuckled too…lets all get this out of our system now!) a lovely Swedish girl staying at my hostel.
Not only is she one of my newest surf buddies and a yoga instructor giving me lectures on aligning my chakras, clearing my head and meditation but after chatting it turns out she’s also a level 2 free diver like myself – fate has a funny way of bringing people into your life exactly when they’re needed hey!?
So after some chats and a bit of planning we decided screw it – let’s go hit one of the best dive spots in the world, put our skills to test and pack the GoPro to capture the whole thing!
So with flights booked and a couple of weeks of extra pool training done we’re heading there this Friday!
The Plan
So what’s the plan for this latest adventure? Well to be honest there’s very little in the way of a plan – more an objective;
Spend as much time on the beach relaxing, water time diving, photographing, yogaing (is that even real word?!) and smiling as possible!
It’s a tough job but I think we can pull it off!
But the rough outline at the moment involves flying into San Cristobal island, hitting up dive sites such as Gordon Rocks and Kicker Rock, chilling on the amazing Tortuga Bay (seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever laid eyes on) and maybe trying to sneak in a cheeky surf somewhere there too!
Swimming with sea lions, turtles, rays, sharks are of course the main focus here and I’m looking forward to immersing myself in the ocean and really getting to grips with where my breathe hold training can take me.
Along the way I’m also going to be taking note of awesome places to eat, places to stay and of course keeping a solid eye on my spending to give you guys an awesome overview on how much it really costs to travel around what many consider to be a place of luxury and high cost.
So keep your eyes peeled on the Facebook Fanpage, my Instagram feed and twitter for heaps of awesome banter and photos that…well…will hopefully make you rather envious or inspired whilst you’re in your office cubicle!
Have you been to the Galapagos or is it on your bucket list? Anything I should definitely do or see?
Hi! I cannot wait to read your posts. I got the offer to work at a tour operator there. I would be especially interested in the food prices on the islands. Is it much more expensive than on the mainland? Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi there,
We are gonna be in Ecuador later in the year and are thinking of going to the Galapagos. Where can I read your costings for doing it on a budget?
cheers
Ryan
Hey Ryan – definitely recommend heading out to the Galapagos, such an incredible place! You can check out all my Galapagos posts on the following link;
https://www.backpackerbanter.com/blog/category/destinations/galapagos
If you have time to play with it’s actually really easy to book your trip whilst you’re out in Ecuador (I scored mine in Montanita) which means you can get some last minute deals and save some money!
Hey Chris,
Did you end up going on this trip? I can’t find the blog post about your second time to the Galapagos? Would you recommend its better to do it as part of a tour or is it cheaper to make your way around on your own?
Thanks!
Jordan :) x
Hey Jordan,
Unfortunately I managed to break my foot a bit and dislocate a toe a few days before so couldn’t dive and had to cancel! Hoping to plan a return soon though! I booked a tour from Ecuador which was ok, but if you have time you can head out there and wing it a bit, depends on your time v budget though!