Each destination around the world comes with its own set of issues. Seasoned travelers understand that travel planning is an essential part of the process—in other words, you don’t simply pick a destination and go. It’s important to understand language, customs, transportation, health care, and more.
While looking at the ins and outs of travel, it can feel overwhelming, but in reality, people deal with those same issues every day in their own community. The only difference is that the issues in your community are familiar. Travel is an amazing way to grow, change and experience the world, and by understanding your destinations, you can create the trip of a lifetime.
Gathering Knowledge to Prepare for Your Trip
There's an art to planning travel, and you can look at each destination as if it's your newest hobby. When you find something you’re passionate about, you explore, research, and want to understand it. Think of travel in the same way.
Understanding a location allows you to gain the most from the experience. For example, the fun of a vacation can be overshadowed by trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Language barriers can feel overwhelming and isolating. When you plan for potential issues, you lessen the chance of a vacation gone awry.
6 Helpful Travel Tips for Your Galapagos Vacation
Galapagos travel takes you to remote locations and foreign lands. If you choose to go through a tour, you’ll have a lot of the logistics taken care of for you. However, there are still things you’ll want to address yourself. Here are 5 travel tips to get you started:
Here are 6 travel tips to get you started:
- Tip #1: Learn phrases in the destination's common language. Learning phrases to use abroad helps you better communicate needs and understand your environment. If you're going on a Galapagos excursion, most likely, your tour guides will know both English and Spanish, but it's still wise to know some key phrases and vocabulary. In terms of services, learn to ask for bathrooms, help, food, transportation stations and directions as starting points.
- Tip #2: Research basic customs. Each country has things they're comfortable with and things they consider offensive. Understanding local etiquette can create a more enjoyable vacation. For example, in Ecuador, you don’t typically use first names unless you're close friends or family. You’ll know when you’re invited to use someone's first name because an Ecuadorian will use your first name first.
- Tip #3: Check out current Ecuadorean travel information from the U.S. Department of State. Learn governmental information that can be helpful and keep you safe when traveling internationally. The Department of State website will cover vaccinations, embassy and consulate locations, safety and security tips, local laws and more. It's designed to guide you toward making the best (and safest) choices for your trip.
- Tip #4: Keep your itinerary with you at all times. It’s beneficial to have the names and addresses of the places you’re going. If you have an itinerary, add any pertinent information to it. That way, if there’s a language barrier, you're able to show people information (like phone numbers or addresses) and get pointed in the right direction. Add info for everything from airports, trains, and hotels to restaurants you may want to eat at or any tours you’re going on. If you use a cell phone, be sure to save your data in a place where you won't need the Internet to access it later.
- Tip #5: Carry necessities. It’s hard to imagine there are places that don’t have everyday medicines or travel products readily available. Take a look at things you definitely want to take with you—such as over-the-counter medicines, first aid gear or hygiene products—and make sure they're travel sized. Take these with you, as the Galapagos Islands cruises follow conservation, and supply the basics of what you need (if you're wondering what our ships provide, click here).
- Tip #6: Know your cell plan. Traveling abroad can cost you thousands in phone charges if you aren’t careful. Most of us have heard the horror stories, so if you're planning a trip to the Galapagos, research your carrier's international plans first.
Picking an Itinerary
Thinking of traveling to the Galapagos Islands? There are several choices for vacations. The best way to decide what’s right for you is to know what you like. Cruises and land tours offer everything from historical experiences to adventure. Look at all your options before you go to find the perfect Galapagos trip for you.