If you follow my social media accounts, you won’t have failed to notice I’ve recently ticked off a childhood dream of mine, to visit the ‘Enchanted Islands’, the Galápagos Archipelago.

Having been obsessed with nature, science and history since childhood, the place where Darwin was inspired to write ‘On the Origin of Species’ was always going to be on my bucket list. So when HX (Hurtigruten Expeditions) offered me a place on their FAM trip to experience their ‘In Darwin’s Footsteps’ itinerary, I jumped at the chance (I may have jumped multiple times, up and down in excitement!).

As a cherry on top I felt very honoured to be in the Galápagos Islands during the anniversary of Darwin’s landing, 15th September 1835. His ship The Beagle spent five weeks in the archipelago, visiting four islands, and from that visit our understanding of the world was changed forever.

See how you can experience nature on the Galápagos Islands in the attached video 

For our two nights in Quito we stayed at the lovely JW Marriott hotel in the modern northern quarter of the city, which meant we had one full day to acclimatise, shake off the jet lag and explore the local area. HX work closely with Metropolitan Touring in Equador, who showed us around Quito’s remarkable Old Town – one of the largest and best-preserved colonial-era quarters in South America, built on the ruins of an Inca city and recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site. 

Photograph showing the Convent of San Francisco

We wandered through cobblestone streets admiring the beautiful architecture, learning about Panama hats and being wowed by the Baroque and Moorish inspired churches with interiors covered in gold leaf. Luckily we were fuelled by some Equadorian chocolate - we learned all about the process of making this delicious treat and may have sampled a piece (or two, or three). 

Well what can I say…sometimes you turn up to a destination with high expectations and can be disappointed. However, the Galápagos Islands delivered and more from the moment we stepped off the plane at Baltra Island, where we were greeted by iguanas, lizards and finches within feet of us before we even made it to the terminal building. We were hooked from the off!

We boarded our panga (the Equadorian name for the zodiac boats we would soon be well acquainted with), and after an excited hello to sea lions and a sea turtle, we sat down to a delicious lunch and our introductory briefing on board the Santa Cruz II.

This very much felt like a safari at sea, sometimes with early starts and long days. However, much like safari I didn’t want to waste a moment of being in this incredible place - I was glad of the opportunity to get out there as much as possible and not be stuck on ship. HX obliged by including up to four activities each day (either on land or in the sea), twice what some other providers operating in the region have as part of their itinerary, so we truly made the most of each location. 

Only one day was spent entirely on dry land when we explored the island of Santa Cruz - the headquarters of scientific investigation and conservation projects at the National Park. In the morning we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station, while the afternoon was dedicated to perhaps my favourite animal of the islands, the giant tortoise. 

We also had an opportunity for some retail therapy both on our excursions via HX and in town before heading back to ship - it was good to spread the benefits of tourism and spend some money in local businesses.

I won’t give you a blow by blow account of what we saw (you’d need a whole day to read it all and I can enthusiastically talk about this trip enough as it is). 

However, if you want a deep dive of each location and the flora and fauna we encountered, you can visit my Instagram story highlights for an in depth experience. Just click here and scroll across to the relevant Galapagos highlights Pt 1 and Pt 2 (get in touch if you need a helping hand). 

Otherwise, check out a gallery of my personal highlights at the end of this blog.

I particularly love HX for their focus on sustainability, in fact they were the first expedition company to ban non-essential single-use plastic throughout their entire operation. 

You won’t find items like plastic cups, plastic straws or plastic cutlery on their ships, or microplastic-made fleeces in their shops (they stock natural wool clothing instead). On arrival you are given a reusable water bottle which can be filled from various stations, and are given the option to take part in their ‘Green Stay’ Program. Leave the special door hangar outside your cabin and they won’t use liquid cleaning products, and for every day you participate they will donate 50c to their Foundation.

Speaking of the Foundation, HX are now supporting 41 environmental, cultural and social projects in 11 different countries. These range from helping endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest, to securing safe spaces for vulnerable Greenlandic children and enabling community storytelling for the Itquamavit elders in Canada’s frozen north. You can read more here.

There was a charity auction while we were onboard to support their projects in the Galápagos. One of these is a scheme working with local children to allow them to visit, and therefore appreciate, islands other than their own. A lovely story is that of Alexis, one of our naturalists (pictured). He visited Santa Cruz II when he was 15 years old and said he wanted to work there one day - just look at him now!

Cabins are homely and comfortable and I felt very attached to my temporary living quarters by the end! For those that wish to upgrade to a suite, these are about twice the size and have double windows to take advantage of the views. There are no cabin balconies on the Santa Cruz II, however I spent so little time in my quarters outside bedtime / shower and change time I didn’t find this an issue - I enjoyed my relaxation time mostly in the communal areas.

Get in touch for a more in depth discussion about which cabin would be right for you.

The restaurant fits everybody comfortably, where breakfast and lunch is served buffet style, and the evening meal is a la carte (the menu is usually brought round at lunch time). 

The food onboard was fresh, delicious and mostly locally sourced. During my voyage wine and beer was included at mealtimes, however lucky passengers from October 2024 onwards will experience HX as all inclusive! I sampled the cocktails from the bar on an evening or two and can thoroughly recommend. Get in touch for more details about what the all inclusive offer involves.

As well as set meals, we also enjoyed a couple of grill nights on the outdoor deck, nibbles in the bar, and snacks were readily available in the library whenever you felt peckish after a good snorkelling session. This is also where you find the hot drinks machine for all your caffeine needs.

HX describe themselves as being for the curious traveller, and I’d have to agree. I’d class myself as this category - the type that enjoys a lecture about Darwin or collecting plankton samples to study under the microscope more than the traditional cruise ship shows.

The demographic is the typical English Heritage or National Trust member, again me! You could expect this type of customer to be a retiree with plenty of time on their hands for a big adventure, however I see it expanding beyond this (I'm in my forties after all). 

This trip to me is for anyone who wants the total advantage of being able to visit a number of the Galápagos Islands by sea, but isn’t the traditional ‘cruiser’. It's perfect for the safari lover, who wants to see as much nature as possible and not spend lots of time onboard the ship if they can be out there experiencing all that the destination offers.

This is a bucket list trip that some people may save up to take once in a lifetime, and one thing that really struck me was the incredible value for money HX offered. Everything is included, so the only extra spending you need to do is covering your dinner on the first night in Quito, then if you want some souvenirs while on land. You can also tip, although gratuities are already included on ship. Excursions, wifi, equipment, all meals and drinks, assistance throughout the trip (even when you're changing planes in Guayaquil) - all taken care of. You even get lounge access in Guayaquil if you're not travelling business!

We saw most of the Galápagos 15 on our trip and were so lucky with the wildlife. Those we didn’t see were the flightless cormorants, the penguins and the flamingoes which are mostly to the West and North of the archipelago. If you have ‘must see’ species then bear this in mind when choosing which itinerary to go for, as well as the time of year. We were lucky enough to witness albatross chicks and the frigates' mating displays, however there are other amazing things to see at different times of year which we didn't experience. I'll just have to go back! 

We travelled in September which is technically the ‘drizzly’ season, but don’t be fooled into thinking you can trust any weather forecast for the Galápagos. Every island has its own microclimate, and despite the season we only saw rain a couple of times - even then it lasted for half an hour at most. Being on the equator the sun is strong whatever the weather, and when it came out it was hot, so sun protection is a must.