Children
The Galapagos Islands are a truly wonderful place to visit, deciding on whether to it
is a good destination to visit with your child, really depends on the child. A
typical cruise in the Galapagos Islands consists of long days with opportunities to walk,
swim and snorkel. Many boats restrict children on cruises unless you charter the
boat, and then they still may not allow very small children. If you are
planning on visiting the Galapagos with your kids, there are 3 separate areas of concern, but really they all come down to the same
thing...discipline.
- On the boat you will be living in close contact with other
visitors, each with different levels of tolerance, and some
can be extremely intolerant. They have paid for an expensive
trip what for many is the dream of a lifetime.
- On the island trails the group must stay together and stay
with their guide. The guide could be suspended or lose their
license if they allow the group to split up. Anyone who starts
a trail must be capable of finishing it with the group, either
on their own power or on your back.
- The flora and fauna should not be touched, picked, chased,
petted or in anyway interfered with its natural state of
being.
Each boat has its own policy regarding children, which will
limit your choices when choosing a cruise. Policies regarding
children have been added throughout the website whenever
available.
Some of the options available to families are chartering a small yacht like the
Nemo. These family sized yachts are small enough to allow you
to keep an eye on everybody. For active children a cruise ship with a swimming pool might be a
partial solution. The larger ships also tend to have higher and
more secure guardrails.
If you are traveling with very small children the best solution tends to be
a land-based tour where you stay at a hotel and take day or 1/2 day
tours. This allows your children to keep a schedule while you are still
free to see the islands. Many of the hotels can also offer a nanny
service allowing parents and older children to go on tours while younger
children remain at the hotel.
Deciding Factors
Ecuadorians by nature are very family oriented and welcome children. The local
culture revolves around the family unit and children are regarded as a precious part of
the family. Children are accepted absolutely everywhere. Guides and crewmembers like children, but they are busy and have their
own responsibilities, they are not available to baby-sit. While in the
Galapagos, children are the responsibility of the parent(s). It is the parent's
obligation to make sure each child understands the nature of the tour and their
responsibilities as a visitor in this delicate environment. Children must be able to
follow directions and listen to the guide.
Keep in mind that there are certain times
when the group goes ashore for a visit. Since all visitors are required to be
accompanied by a guide at all times, anyone not ready to ashore at the designated time
will miss the opportunity to visit the landing site. Itineraries are scheduled to
get as many visits as possible during the cruise, making it impossible to repeat visits or
delay visits.
A large part of the tour includes swimming, snorkeling and panga (dinghy) rides.
The cruise itself is aboard a boat. It is important therefore that your child has
the ability to swim to take advantage of the tour's highlights and in case of any
unforeseen problems.
If you are traveling with a young child or a child who is particularly
small you may want to bring your own life jacket. There are very few
children's life jackets in the islands.
Is the Galapagos a good destination for children? Definitely, as long as the
child is old enough to understand the unique nature of what they are seeing, they enjoy
being outside, and viewing wildlife. If they are they will discover it's the
original Wonderland and Disney combined...only a thousand times better.
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