Small, remote, exclusive: Eco-friendly cruising is booming in these islands

The Galapagos Islands lie across the equator, 900 kilometres off South America. The birdlife made famous by Darwin is extraordinary: not just finches but blue-footed boobies, penguins and flamingos.

Among other wildlife unfazed by close human presence are sea lions, seals, giant tortoises, iguanas, and abundant other bird species. Get underwater, and you can swim with seals, iguanas and manta rays.

An underwater crater at Pinnacle Rock in the Galapagos Islands.Credit: iStock

The intimate wildlife experience is matched by dramatic scenery. Expect arid islands banded with colour and topped by volcanic landscapes, with Isla Bartolome perhaps the most striking.

It’s reassuring then to see the cruise companies that operate here talk up their eco-credentials. Their enthusiasm may be genuine, but stringent environmental regulations are imposed at three levels by the Ecuadorian government, maritime authorities and Galapagos National Park.

Cruise companies are obliged to source products locally where possible, address waste-water treatment or recycling, and conserve water and energy. Some have voluntarily adopted additional measures, such as anchorless technology to protect the seabed.

In 2023, Silversea became the first tour operator to be certified in environmental management in the Galapagos. All the inorganic waste produced on Silver Origin is now transported to the mainland, rather than going to Galapagos landfill.

Many companies support local education and conservation projects too. This year, Aqua Expeditions partnered with the Charles Darwin Foundation to support conservation and scientific research, particularly relating to endemic shark populations and mangrove ecology.

Silver Galapagos in the Galapagos Islands.

The cruise market here has boomed since 2010, when it was opened to international companies. Among operators are AdventureSmith, Aqua Expeditions, Celebrity, Chimu Adventures, Lindblad and Silversea. Many local companies are present too.

Ships are restricted to carrying 100 passengers, and most carry far fewer. Usually, the only port they visit is Baltra at the start and end of the cruise. Otherwise, guests take Zodiac excursions and make expedition-style landings on various islands.

Ships carry equipment such as glass-bottom boats, kayaks and snorkelling or scuba-diving gear, with excursions made in the company of wildlife, geology and photography experts.

Itineraries generally focus on either the inner or outer islands, or sometimes a combination of both. Ships must wait 14 days before returning to the same site to limit visitor impact on any one island.

At the start of this year, political unrest on mainland Ecuador made cruise companies nervous about flight access to the Galapagos, but in the end only a few cruises were cancelled. Ships sometimes get reshuffled – Celebrity will sell two of its three Galapagos ships to Lindblad Expeditions at the end of this year – but demand remains strong.

Cruising here meets many of the trends in high-end travel: the Galapagos is small, remote and exclusive. Uncontrolled development of land-based tourism is now the concern, with cruise lines – for once – touted as the sustainable model to follow. If you’re looking for an eco-conscious cruise, you can’t go wrong.