Cruising the Galapagos Islands, seasickness and other tips
January 5, 2010 by galapago
Comments (0)
Sorry for being out of contact, I have been guiding on board several boats in the Galapagos Islands and have been away from the keyboard for a while. I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas Holidays and the new year brings happiness and joy.
As I mentioned in my past blog post, I am biased towards cruising when it comes to touring the Galapagos Islands.
I want to help travellers understand the fears of being on a small cruise ship or yacht are respected and can change your decision of taking or not a cruise versus a hotel based tour. Just let me tell you that being on a boat for a week is not that bad.
Galapagos cruising is done on smaller boats than the usual cruise liner, maximum capacity 100 passengers!
Small yachts rock noticeably more than large cruise ships - both when moored and when traveling on the open sea between islands. NOT TRUE, small yachts moor close to shore in very calm waters, plus navigation is at night so you are in bed and on the positive side you get rocked to sleep. This could make you seasick, which would spoil your vacation. TRUE. Although catamaran yachts rock less than conventional yachts, they rock appreciably more than Galapagos cruise ships. TRUE but when navigating only, when docked you feel almost no motion.
How to avoid seasickness?
You Dr. can give you many options, amongst others:
Seasickness pills (downset: they make you drowsy), bracelet or ear patch (both work fine, no side effects).
Why the hotel option is not better?
You still have to take a speed boat to each Island, a few hours there and a few hours back, most of the day navigating, little time visiting the Islands themselves. By sleeping on the boat you navigate while you sleep and wake up at a different Island each day, this allows you to have more time on the Islands themselves. So if you get seasick the best option is to consult your physician for medicine or bracelet or ear patch. All 3 work and have helped thousands of non seagoing travellers enjoy the Galapagos Islands