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Birding the Galapagos without cruise (1 Viewer)

I just wanted to say I had a great time in the Galapagos even though I couldn't afford a cruise. Airfare ran about 700 USD for the cheapest airline between USA and the islands with an overnight in Guayaquil being required. The average hotel was 15-20$ per person. Food was as little as 3-5$ for inexpensive but good food. Usually chicken or fish with rice and a salad for dinner or lunch and eggs, jelly, and bread for breakfast with juice or coffee. I mostly ate at the places that seemed to cater to locals. A few times I ate at the places catering to tourists but the food was around the same quality and costs 2-3x more.

As for the wildlife, I found most of my targets.
Baltra: Land Iguana

Santa Cruz: Lava Gull (ship ports), sharks (ship ports at night), lava heron (ship ports at night also seen during day at various places), Barn owl (highland ranch), Vermillion Flycatcher (highland ranch), tortoises (ranches and roadsides), blue foot booby (bay tour), Red billed Tropicbird (bay tour).

Isabella: Galapagos Penguins (Tintoreras, Los Tunnels, bay tour), Manta Ray (Los Tunnels), Green turtle (Tintoreras, Tunnels, bay tour), Flamingo (town lagoons), Galapagos Hawk (near tortoise breeding center), fur seal (tunnels), leatherback turtle (Tunnels), huge swarms of seabirds (Tunnels), Nasca Booby (tunnels), blue foot booby (tunnels, tintoreras, bay tour)

North Seymour: Land Iguana, Frigate birds mating, Swallow Tail gull, blue foot booby with young, galapagos doves.

If you've been thinking about going to the galapagos, but cannot afford a cruise, I'd encourage you to give the land based travel a try with a little research it can be rewarding.


Here are some trip photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/109504143@N05/11002328085/in/photostream/
 
Glad you were able to see some neat species without booking a cruise! I've been to Ecuador 4 times but never to the Galapagos due to the cost. One of the difficulties as a birder of doing an independent trip to the Galapagos is the near-impossibility of getting to certain islands on one's own to see Flightless Cormorant and some mockingbirds/finches. However, if one is willing to forgo some of these specialties you can still have a good trip for a lot less money. I know an Ecuadorian bird guide named Renato (of Pululauhua Hostel) has been working to design a land-based Galapagos tour for birders, with the primary goal of keeping tourism dollars in Ecuador rather than going toward foreign-based cruise companies.
 
I actually looked at his site for tips when I was booking my trip. The info to find most species is already out there but it takes some effort to gather so a guide would certainly be worthwhile for someone with more money than time. The most difficult bird to find was the Galapagos rail because it has a way of staying just out of site, It took a lot of patience to actually get good looks at. I'm definitely looking to go back to Ecuador and checking out other parts of the country.
 
Some additional details:

Sea turtles were seen from boat and from snorkel tours on isabella. There were also a lot of turtles around the ferry area itself on Isabella. One turtle was seen on a bay tour around Puerto Ayora while snorkeling but they appeared to be far more common on Isabella.

Hotels:
Isabella Hotel Coral Blanco 20$pp, excellent hotel, hot water, very nice. Arranged tours which were good.
Puerto Ayora: Lirrio Del Mar 17$pp very basic but works as a place to sleep. Hotel Elizabeth 17$pp, nothing to write home about but it's a safe place to sleep. Casa Del Lago very nice, lots of character, 35$pp. I believe all of the hotels raise their rates in high season.

Tours:
Media Luna 8$ to be dropped off, walked back to Bellavista (45minutes), taxi back to hotel 5$.
Bay tour of Puerto Ayora 30$ booked with one of the local companies by the hospital. One sea turtle, swimming with sea lions, red billed tropicbird birds flying but good looks.
North Seymor: 135$pp booked with Moonrise Travel. They are good for any of the normal tours but if you want help finding something that's not one of the normal tours, the more local looking companies on the other end of town are better. They had a variety of prices depending on how fancy of a boat you want.
Ship port at night: Free, lots of golden rays and sharks.
Highland ranches: taxi tour 35$. If you want to spend lots of time negotiate with taxi driver or take the bus (get directions a head of time, it is a bit of a walk) or have a taxi drop you off with a bike and ride it back and forth to the highway to catch a ride. Vermillion Flycatcher, Owl, Tortoises. Check with the ranches to see what can be seen a head of time there are a couple of different ones.
Los tunnels 60$pp, great boat ride, manta rays galore and many turtles seen, nasca boobies, some penguins but they swam away snorkeling was a little rushed. Tintoreras 45$ pp, great snorkeling and the land part was interesting, plus penguins. Bay Tour Isabella 10$pp, may have to try a few boat taxis at the dock to find one willing to give the tour, great for eagle rays, turtles from boat, and penguins. Wall of tears 10$ taxi ride to the end walked back, tortoises, anis. Isabella toroise center, free walk from town, flamingos, hawks.


Food:

restaurants kiosks in Puerto Ayora, 3-7$ unless you order lobster 15-25$ for that. Fish fry on the main street, near moonrise travel and the little public restroom, evenings around 6pm, 8$ pp for a plate of filets, salad, and (non-sweet) plantains. Galapagos Deli has breakfast for 5$ eggs, lots of bread/jam, and cofee and juice.

On Isabella, I would choose the more modest looking places for a good breakfast, 4$ for fish soup or eggs and bread/jam with juice and coffee. You can find them on the backside of the town square There is also an excellent local bakery that seems to open around 8am, .50 cents or so for a pastry. Lunch deals can be found by walking around and asking the various eateries. Many of the more expensive places do have a dinner special but you'll have to ask for it as it may not be on the menu.
 
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Yes, thanks for writing this up. It's definitely on my life wish list for sometime the next 3-4 years .... it's just a lot further (and much more expensive) starting from China than the USA !
 
We did a crise and didn't get the Rail

I actually looked at his site for tips when I was booking my trip. The info to find most species is already out there but it takes some effort to gather so a guide would certainly be worthwhile for someone with more money than time. The most difficult bird to find was the Galapagos rail because it has a way of staying just out of site, It took a lot of patience to actually get good looks at. I'm definitely looking to go back to Ecuador and checking out other parts of the country.

Even if you do a cruise you might still miss the Rail. We got pretty much all our targets apart from that one, despite looking in the right places with a guide. Did get the more secretive Paint-billed Crake which almost made up for it and which we wouldn't have got ourselves.
 
I heard numerous rails and saw 2 but did not see a single crake. Just out of curiosity, how did the guide find it? I won't go back for the crake but I did want to see it. Perhaps I'll still have a sighting on the continent sometime.
 
I'm sure he had seen at that spot before

I heard numerous rails and saw 2 but did not see a single crake. Just out of curiosity, how did the guide find it? I won't go back for the crake but I did want to see it. Perhaps I'll still have a sighting on the continent sometime.

I think it was at "Asilo de Paz, Floreana" and I'm sure our guide Gilbert had obviously seen it there before, as we went to the exact patch of vegetation from which the bird then appeared.
 
Excuse me if this is old news for those of you interested the Galapagos but there is a book by Hermann Heinzel, "Galapagos Diary", published in 2000, that would probably be of great interest. 270 pages, many, many sketches and photos, it is described as "a complete guide to the archipelago's birdlife". I picked it up cheap at a book sale, read it once and will probably get back to it again someday.
He mentions finding the Galapagos Crake on St. Cruz island.

Steve
 
My wife and I did a 7 day trip down the spine of the Andes through Ecuador taking in some great sites then on to the Galapagos 'island hopping' for 8 days rather than cruising. Itwas an amazing trip and ensures that some of your money does actually stay in the Galapagos through the hotels, restaurants etc. We got most of our target birds, including two Albatrosses that we didn't expect as we could not get to Espanola. It wasn't 'cheap' but considerably less than we had expected and definitely worth every penny as a 'holiday of a lifetime'.
 
Excuse me if this is old news for those of you interested the Galapagos but there is a book by Hermann Heinzel, "Galapagos Diary", published in 2000, that would probably be of great interest. 270 pages, many, many sketches and photos, it is described as "a complete guide to the archipelago's birdlife". I picked it up cheap at a book sale, read it once and will probably get back to it again someday.
He mentions finding the Galapagos Crake on St. Cruz island.

Steve
Thanks.
 
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