Galapagos Islands Vacation and the Wet and Dry landings

Tips during your Galapagos Islands vacation regarding wet and dry landings and what does this mean.

What to expect and how to prepare for this landings on Galapagos beaches.

The philosophy behind the expedition concept in some Travel companies implies to visit destinations with little human presence, or at least with few man-made facilities.

This is the reason why some islands are impossible to visit due to their rugged geography.






In the Galapagos Islands there are some places where the only way to visit them is by adding a small dock (made out of rocks and cement) and a few steps.

1) These Galapagos sites offer a dry landing. Commonly, these docks are highly occupied by Galapagos sea lions who find the flat surfaces of a dock quite pleasant compared to the irregular volcanic terrain the islands are made of.

This type of landing during your Galapagos islands vacation requires the assistance of the crew of the boat, since they will provide extra hands for stable walking.

All guests start walking afterwards, and the land exploration has started.

2) Due to the erosion of some coasts, and the material derived from it, some beaches are the only other option for landing.

Some Galapagos beaches can have a high exposure to wave action, or just a rocky substrate, making these conditions impossible for landing.

The beaches that allow proper landings are those part of the assigned visitor sites and provide direct access to the walking trails.

Keep in mind that on your Galapagos islands vacation that naturally, disembarking on a beach is different than a dock.

So, we use the term wet landing. Upon arrival, our deck hands will position the landing craft at an angle which partially blocks the wave action.

Guests come to the front of the boat, sit on the pontoon, and swing you legs over towards the water.



At this moment, water level should be up to everyone's knees (although in few occasions can be higher).

Walking substrate will be sand, and in few minutes you put your shoes on and are ready to start exploring the island, and enjoying your Galapagos islands vacation adventure.

It is very common to hear some visitors asking quite in advance what landings will happen on the next day's program.

This is because they want to plan the kind of shoes to take, if towels are needed, or if walking with wet shoes is all right (sandals, waterproof snickers, etc).

This is how the Galapagos expedition starts on any given island. So a good advice on your next Galapagos islands vacation is to ask in advance if it is going to be a dry or wet landing! so you can prepare accordingly.

These were some Galapagos islands vacation tips that I hope will become useful for all those people that are planning to visit us for the first time.

More About Galapagos:

Galapagos Recommended Reading:

Galapagos Islands Born of Fire This book is elegantly structured with stunning pictures of Galapagos Wildlife, Geology and Vegetation. It is truly a wonderful and inspiring photo book. (This book is just superb!)

More Galapagos Books and Souvenirs

Web www.galapagos-islands-tourguide.com

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