Galapagos suggestions

I'm looking for suggestions about Galapagos.

Just a few questions:

1 - Is Feb/Mar a good time? Probably a 2 wk trip

2 - Best company and boat for photographers?

3 - it's possible to rent diving equipments?

4 - Where land trip?

n - ..........

Thanks for your help

1. Warmest water, but not whale shark season. If you want whalesharks, then I suggest August or September.

2. Deep Blue, Peter Hughes Sky Dancer, or Galapagos Aggressor I or II. That's the order I would choose now.

3. Yes, but you need to let them know ahead of time.

4. If you mean land trip in the Galapagos, I'm not much help. Deep Blue doens't do land excursions. PP and Aggressor need to confirm if they still do land. Aggressor has a permit I believe.

As for other land tours, I recommend starting from Quito as as opposed to Guayaquil. We have toured Quito and done side trips to 1) Cloud forest at Bellavista 2) North to Otavalo and surrounding areas, staying at a Hacienda and 3) Visited Cotapaxi volcano. All were good, but Otavalu stood out as the best experience.

Thanks for the info

Gennaro

I would not use the Deep Blue. I have been on it and although it is a nice boat, the food was not up to much, they ran out of soft drinks on day 3 of a 10 day trip. The guide in charge Jeff was rude and obnoxious. I had read loads of good reports prior to my trip on there and was hoping for the same level of service. Unfortunately we discovered that the crew did not like English/European clients as apparently we do not tip as much as the guys and girls from the USA. I have spoken to other guys from the UK that have been on this boat and they had received the same level of poor service, so it wasnt a one off.

Stew

We just returned from the Galapagos on the Peter Hughes Sky Dancer, the trip was awesome. Saw 8 whale sharks, one was 65 ft long. The boat and crew were excellent, but I must warn you that the currents can be really strong and at times are like a washing machine. Bring Kevelar gloves and be prepared to be banged around on the rocks. Anyhow the Sky Dancer is an excellent boat, they took excellent care of us. Good food with open bar and they made sure everyone was safe and happy. Not sure about Feb/March since I believe these months are not prime whale shark months as July and August. Also the live-a-boards are limited to one week trips, but you could do two trips back to back as one we dove with did. But do book the Agressor or Sky Dancer since they always go to Wolf and Darwin, other boats may not have permits to go to these islands as the permits are limited.

Elmer