We chose to structure our time on the Galapagos Islands by first spending a few days there by ourselves to independently explore Santa Cruz island. We then had a 5 day cruise booked that would take us to a number of the other islands with plenty of snorkelling and walking to do each day.

One thing that we've found often happens when going to a destination to see its wildlife is that the animals are few and far between, very difficult to spot, leaving us pretty underwhelmed. The Galapagos quickly showed us that it would be different.

Santa Cruz Island let us get up close with Giant Tortoises, Marine Iguanas, Sea Lions and more. We walked to beautiful Tortuga Beach, Sonja took a diving day trip and saw a Hammer Head shark, sting rays, sun fish and more. The sea food is relatively cheap on Galapagos, so we took advantage by having a lobster meal for the very first time, which was delicious.

The cruise was on board a boat with 16 guests, 10 crew members and a naturalist guide who explained everything there was to know about the islands. The boat was nice and comfortable, quite luxurious compared with what we are used to, and the three daily meals served to us were always excellent along with plenty of delicious snacks in between. Typically we had three or four activities per day, which were either land based wildlife spotting or snorkelling. We were able to swim with Sea Turtles, Reef Sharks, Sting Rays, Sea Lions and many varieties of colourful tropical fish. On land we saw Flamingos, Blue Footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Albatrosses, Iguanas and more.

The cruise felt like a mini holiday away from our holiday, getting looked after for 5 days will do that, and for anybody who has ever been interested in going to the Galapagos to see the wildlife, we think you wouldn't be disappointed.