Next to Africa, the Galapagos was our best trip.
We flew to Quito for a two night stay and really loved it. At night, we were advised to stay close to the hotel but we never felt threatened. We wandered about both days and had lots of fun interacting with the locals.
We then flew to the Galapagos to sail on Explorer - a small cruise ship run by Celebrity. We visited virtually every island and had many snorkeling excursions. The water is frigid - Humbolt Current - so, you wear wet suits.
The hikes on the islands were very interesting. The animals and birds have no natural predators, so they are very approachable.
The best, by far, was the snorkeling. We saw giant sea turtles, penguins and sea lions. The sea lions would come out to greet us on the zodiaks. They were anxious to play with us.
They would zoom in at our masks and dart off at the very last second. The more you laughed, the more they would do it. That alone made the trip worth while.
