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Essential Items For Galapagos Tours

Accessories And Essentials For Galapagos Tours

Traveling To Ecuador; Next Stop, The Islands


Families who love exotic travel that includes both adventure and learning thrive on Galapagos Tours.  Knowing what to pack for your family when it includes members from five to seventy-five years old can be a challenge.  Yet some items will be consistent.   Furthermore, your family will likely be traveling internationally to mainland Ecuador so luggage items (and restrictions) will need to be taken into account.

While your travel agent will make international arrangements, Galapagos Explorer arranges connections from the mainland cities of Quito or Guayaquil to San Cristobal or Baltra.  You will need to pack for international travel, including passports and visas if required.  Typical weight restrictions on smaller flights to the islands for your Galapagos tours are twenty kilos, or forty-four pounds.

Once on your Galapagos tours, you’ll likely want to take pictures of all the gorgeous landscape, marine life, birds, and animals.  Wildlife photographers can bloom at any age so many people bring a camera.  We recommend you bring a supply of film, although it is available for purchase on board the vessel.  It is also advisable to bring plastic bags for film if you will be traveling on one of the dinghy or small boat excursions around the islands.

Binoculars are equally popular for enjoying one of the many Galapagos tours.  We recommend a lightweight pair if you will be hiking or ‘birding’ for an extended period of time.  While we have an extensive wildlife library on board the ship, you may want to carry along your own guidebooks.  Some travelers bring electronic devices such as tape recorders for seniors who wish to tape bird songs.  Or, often the younger crowd loves to bring ipods or games while relaxing on the Explorer II in the evenings.

Families traveling with either children or seniors with specific medical conditions should bring an ample supply of all medications and medical history information, including insurance.   We also request guests provide contact details while on one of our Galapagos Tours, in the event it becomes necessary to contact another family member not on the cruise.

The above items are some of the more common ones we recommend bringing for your trip.  For a more detailed list, please see the equipment section by clicking on the “Before Your Trip” tab on our website.