Tourist Class  [Aida Maria] [Amigo] [Angelito] [Angelique] [Daphne] [Darwin] [Encantada] [Floreana] [Golondrina] [Guantanamera] [Intrepido] [New Flamingo] [Rumba] [Samba] [Spondylus] [Yolita]

The set cruise programs, the various boat owners and operators offer for individual passengers are often very similar in regards to the itinerary and other aspects. With some exceptions, most companies offer you a 8, 5 or 4-day naturalist cruise, sleeping on board and going by night from one island to the other and exploring the islands by day with an naturalist guide on selected visitor sites and with daily snorkeling opportunities at underwater spots. If you look at the itineraries you will see that Day 4 or Day 5 are often spent in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, visiting the Charles Darwin Station. This is the day when there is a change-over of passengers on the boats. The 4 (or 5) day passengers leave the boat and new passengers join the 8-day crowd. A few selected boats offer only a 8-day cruise without a change of passengers and often going to the lesser traveled western islands. Some boats offer occasional scuba diving with the opportunity of one or two dives daily but only a selected few ones specialize in diving expeditions with 2 to 3 dives daily combined with some land visits.

The main differences are the quality of the boats and their services. We put the boats and vessels operating in the islands in three price classes and below you find a general description of each class so you get a first idea of what to expect:

Tourist class (sometimes divided by others into economic and tourist superior class) is the cheapest of them, with prices starting from $ 1300.- and ranging up to $ 1999.- per person for a 8-day cruise. The boats are usually smaller motor yachts (12 - 16 passengers) with basic amenities. The average speed is no more than 8 - 9 knots and on a 8-day cruise the nearby central and southern islands are visited. Expect small cabins with narrow lower and upper berths (bunk beds), shared or small private baths with mostly limited hot water. Guides are mostly naturalist II with adequate knowledge of English.

First Class include higher and faster quality yachts, sailing ships and catamarans in the price range between $ 2000.-  to $ 2899.- for a 8-day cruise in high season. More outlying islands like the western ones may be included in the itinerary. Larger cabins for the most part offer lower twin beds or wider upper/lower berths with private baths including hot water showers. Social areas include bar, sundeck, lounges, etc....  and the whole ship is air conditioned. Most guides are naturalists III with good knowledge of English and sometimes even another language.

Luxury class vessels set you back over $ 2900.- per person for a 8-day cruise and include the larger cruise vessels with capacity of 100 passengers and smaller luxury motor yachts or sailing ships with the highest standard of boat designs and services. Itineraries include all possible visitor sites as distance does not play a role with those fast boats. The cabins are more spacious with lower beds, your private bathroom has sufficient and hot water and there is functioning air conditioning and nice interior finishing. All guides are experienced naturalist III with ample knowledge of the islands.

Below  is a list of all the boats and ships, we have in our catalogue and can book for you, with their name and type and ranked from lowest to highest price per person for an 8-day cruise in High Season.

NOTE :  For more details enter the individual boat pages, which include the specifications, capacity, photo and itinerary of the ships. Furthermore you find there the prices for the shorter cruises and low season prices and any other important information regarding the ship. But be aware that the price quotes of the cruises, which do not include airfare and park entrance fee, are for reference only.  For the exact price at any given time, you have to contact us and after consultation with the boat owners, we can give you the definite cost and availabilty of spaces. If you are interested in a boat which is not on the list, you may contact us as well and we will check for prices and availability for that particular ship.

Tourist Class  [Aida Maria] [Amigo] [Angelito] [Angelique] [Daphne] [Darwin] [Encantada] [Floreana] [Golondrina] [Guantanamera] [Intrepido] [New Flamingo] [Rumba] [Samba] [Spondylus] [Yolita]