Know Before You Go: Galapagos Tours
Where will I Stay in the Galapagos?
Accommodations in the Galapagos range from small expedition yachts carrying as few as 14 guests to larger ships and a limited number of land-based lodges. Options are designed to balance comfort with the strict regulations that protect the islands.
What Are the Accommodations Like in the Galapagos?
Because 97% of the archipelago is designated as a national park, accommodations are both limited and highly regulated. Most travelers stay aboard expedition ships or small yachts that move between islands. On land, select ecolodges and private camps provide a rustic but comfortable base. Nat Hab’s Tortoise Camp, for example, sits in highland habitat where wild tortoises roam freely.
Should I Cruise or Stay on Land?
Both are possible, but each has trade-offs. Cruises allow travelers to experience more of the archipelago, waking each day to a new landing site without long transfers. With 13 major islands, six smaller islands and more than 100 islets, ship-based travel makes it possible to explore remote and uninhabited areas.
Land-based trips, based from towns such as Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) or Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal), appeal to travelers who prefer staying on shore at night. These itineraries offer more downtime but require long boat rides for day trips and generally reach fewer islands.
What’s the Difference Between Small Ships and Large Ships?
The size of your vessel shapes how you experience the Galapagos. Because the national park regulates landing sites and group sizes, ship capacity directly influences access, timing and atmosphere.
Small expedition yachts (14–20 passengers):
Traveling aboard a yacht feels intimate and flexible. Smaller groups can adapt more easily to weather, wildlife activity and park schedules, often reaching remote sites that larger vessels cannot access. With fewer guests, disembarkation is quicker, leaving more time for hiking, snorkeling or kayaking. Naturalists lead small groups, allowing for deeper interaction and interpretation, while the relaxed atmosphere fosters camaraderie and keeps the focus squarely on nature.
Large cruise ships (up to 100 passengers):
For some travelers, large ships are appealing for their range of amenities. These vessels provide a comfortable cruising experience and can be an excellent choice for those who enjoy resort-style travel at sea. However, by regulation, large ships are limited in where they can go, and excursions involve more guests, which means landings may take longer and feel less secluded.
Why it matters in the Galapagos:
Because park authorities strictly manage visitor numbers at each site, smaller yachts spend less time on logistics and more time ashore or in the water. Larger ships deliver comfort and variety onboard, but they cannot match the same level of access, intimacy and efficiency that a small expedition yacht provides. Ultimately, the choice comes down to personal preference.
What are Nat Hab’s Galapagos Boats and Lodges Like?
Nat Hab charters small expedition yachts exclusively for its guests, so the entire ship is dedicated to one group. With only 14–16 travelers on board, the experience is quiet, flexible and focused on wildlife.
On our yachts, you can expect:
What to Expect | Highlights |
|---|---|
Intimate groups | Just a handful of fellow travelers, making landings unhurried and personal |
Exclusive charters | The ship is reserved for Nat Hab guests, with a crew and naturalist guides who travel with you the entire journey |
Wildlife-driven itineraries | Routes are planned to maximize variety, from volcanic shores to lush highlands |
Comfortable simplicity | Private cabins, locally inspired meals and attentive staff keep the focus on the islands, not the ship |
Access to quieter sites | Smaller vessels can anchor in bays and reach landing sites that big ships often miss |
On land, travelers may also stay at Nat Hab's Tortoise Camp, our private highland reserve on Santa Cruz where giant tortoises roam freely. This secluded setting offers a rare, close connection with the islands’ most famous inhabitants.
What Is Nat Hab’s Tortoise Camp Like?
On select Galapagos adventures, guests spend nights at Tortoise Camp, a collection of elevated, safari-style tents and treehouses tucked among Santa Cruz Island’s lush highlands. The property lies within the natural range of several dozen giant tortoises, which can often be seen ambling around the camp from July through February.
Accommodations feature real beds, flush toilets, showers, sinks and large windows that frame views of the surrounding forest and distant Pacific. Evenings bring gourmet meals in a thatched dining area, with stars overhead and the calls of the highlands around you. By day, guests may explore unique lava caves beneath the property, and those who wish can join in a Scalesia forest restoration project that helps sustain this fragile ecosystem.
Nat Hab’s combination of private yachts and Tortoise Camp creates a close, unhurried way to experience the Galapagos—one that feels as natural as the islands themselves.
Nat Hab's Galapagos Accommodations
Nat Hab's Tortoise Camp
Climb from the shoreline into the lush highlands of Santa Cruz to reach Nat Hab's exclusive Tortoise Camp, set on a gently rolling mountainside overlooking the distant Pacific Ocean. Here amid Scalesia forest and subterranean lava caves, guests have an intimate encounter with nature. Here, you'll find our Scalesia forest restoration zone where, since 2022, Nat Hab and our guests have planted more than 1,000 of this important tree, endemic to the islands and habitat for myriad diverse plants and animals.
The environs around our camp are native habitat for several dozen Galapagos giant tortoises, which we regularly see from July through February. From March through June, the tortoises typically move to lower elevations, though a handful often remain at the campsite.
M/C Natural Habitat Petrel
The luxurious 115-foot Natural Habitat Petrel is named after a seabird common to the Galapagos. Like its namesake, Petrel is elegant and swift at sea. This motorized catamaran is designed for comfort and stability while conveying guests in style between the islands of the Galapagos. Eight large staterooms, including two suites, accommodate up to 16 guests. Cabins have varied configurations with either two full beds that can convert to one king bed. Each has a private balcony, ample closet storage, en suite bathroom. An additional ninth cabin offers cozy single accommodations. Interior decor is as clean and contemporary as the ship's exterior profile, featuring a palette of nautical blue. Chrome, leather and glossy teak floors accentuate the modern design. An open top deck offers 360° views, while a spacious lounge provides room to relax in the air-conditioned interior. Enjoy fine meals in the dining room or on the aft deck. Two bars offer outdoor refreshments, and a Jacuzzi rounds out the ship's offerings.
M/Y Tip Top IV
The 125-foot-long Tip Top IV accommodates up to 16 guests in comfort and style. Furnished in a nautical blue and white color scheme, the air-conditioned interior is light, airy and inviting. Nine guest cabins are divided between two decks, each with two twin beds that can be combined to create one king-size bed. En suite bathrooms have a shower, toilet and vanity with washbasin. Storage lockers and drawers are provided, along with a safe in each cabin. The main deck has a spacious salon with banquette seating and a flat screen TV for presentations, a library, and a large dining room with a well-stocked bar. On the teak sundeck topside, relax on a chaise in the open or under the shade canopy, with a full bar available for your refreshment.
M/Y Tip Top II
The 104-foot-long Tip Top II is a luxury motor catamaran built for cruising the Galapagos Islands, accommodating up to 16 guests. Its air-conditioned interior is decorated in a classic nautical style in shades of blue and white, with a clean-lined, functional design. The yacht has nine guest cabins across two decks, each with en suite bathrooms, storage lockers, drawers, and a safe. The main deck features a lounge with banquette seating, a multimedia center with flat screen TV and a small library. The dining room serves gourmet meals prepared by the onboard chef, and a bar offers refreshments throughout the day. On the sundeck, guests can relax on teak loungers either in the open or under a shade canopy while taking in views of the islands and passing marine life.
S/C Nemo III
The S/C Nemo III is a 75-foot deluxe motor sailing catamaran. The vessel accommodates up to 16 guests in eight cabins of varying configurations, though we cap our trip at approximately 14 guests for a more comfortable and intimate nature adventure. All cabins are air conditioned and have en suite bathrooms, plus storage space for personal items. Public spaces include lounge areas inside and out, a dining salon and small bar, and a sundeck with banquette seating and lounge chairs. This sailing vessel is smaller and more simple than our larger motor yachts. It has a classic, sporty style and nimble nature, which perfectly complements the focus of our nature adventures.
Nat Hab's Galapagos Islands Tours
Galapagos Discovery: The Nat Hab Experience
Small-group adventures aboard your choice of private yachts, led by our outstanding naturalist guides and photography pros. Snorkel and swim with sea lions, sea turtles and penguins on this incomparable nature odyssey.
Galapagos Wildlife Photo Expedition
The ultimate Galapagos photography adventure! Capture amazing wildlife close-ups as we explore 15 diverse islands in 17 days—plus an overnight among wild giant tortoises at our private Tortoise Camp.
Galapagos Escape
Explore the unique habitats of the Galapagos, encounter its legendary wildlife, and enjoy active pursuits from hiking and snorkeling to paddleboarding on this expedition ship adventure
Galapagos by Catamaran: An Intimate Voyage
Experience the Galapagos aboard Lindblad Expeditions' most intimate vessel in its island fleet, a luxury motorsailing catamaran for just 16 guests.
