If you can quickly order this book, it will help with your planning

http://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Guide-Galapagos-Islands-Guidebooks/dp/1588433897

It has time of year information, length of trip, ship info and really importantly - the various highlights of the islands, which can directly influence your choice of ship/itinerary.

But to answer your questions as best as I can - we were there in February and it was hot (on land) but comfortable on the boat. We were on the Eclipse, which is 48 passengers (there are some as small as 14 or as large as 100+ so the choice of ship experience is important). We loved the Eclipse - right size for us as it had enough zodiacs to move everyone at once (no lining up or shuttling) and we snorkeled twice a day - the snorkeling was great fun.

If you have up to 3 weeks I'd consider Machu Picchu as well - an obvious pairing with Galapagos and a wonderful destination as well.

The REI link is broken - but I think I found the trip. It's a land based one (which is less common - most tour via boat) that has less focus on specific animals and more on the hiking/biking aspect....is that your preference? Have you looked at a ship option as well?

I'm with Elizabeth--I am a huge fan of REI, but a land-based tour is not the best way to see the wildlife of the archipelago. We found that on landings that could also be visited by land-based day tours, the birds and animals lived further from the paths than they did on the further-out islands that can only be reached by naturalist cruise. The difference was quite dramatic, in my opinion. Also, on a tour that relies on day trips, you can only get to 1 island a day, since you'll spend 2+ hours--one way--in a small speedboat to get to each different islands. On a naturalist cruise, you get 2 landings and 1 or 2 snorkeling opportunities most days.

You can only do day trips to other islands from Santa Cruz; the activities on Isabela and San Cristóbal will only get you to other places on those 2 islands. Plus, you can't access the marvelous landings on the western shore of Isabela on a day trip. Really, with a land-based tour, you will never be far from the imprint of human activity. On the further-out islands, the impact is much, much less (although of course, not non-existent).

Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for most people, I strongly encourage you to consider a naturalist cruise. You can find some overview pages for decisions to consider and choosing a cruise on my trip report. Links to the most popular pages can be found under the header photo of the Giant Tortoise.

Tina
trip report at http://galapagos2009.wordpress.com/

Disclaimer. I am the author of the Galapagos Travel Planner and CEO of Yacu Amu Experiences, an Ecuador-based tour operator.

The previous posters have provided some great info so I won't rehash. But I will add a couple of tips/observations.

When planning a trip to Galapagos I highly recommend finding out what's available first (i.e. flights and cruise, if you decide to go that way) before locking in dates. Doing it the other way around may limit your options and you may end up not doing what you really want to do.

The REI trip is a good one. Note though that it is a group trip and if you tally up the extras is priced at over $5,000 for 2013. As you would expect the trip is not operated on the ground by REI but by a local tour operator like my company that they sub-contract to. If you would prefer a custom trip for just you, and your husband and sister then dealing direct with a local operator is the way to go. You'll also get much better pricing by dealing direct as outbound tour operators like REI typically mark up the price they get from us by 25-40%.

If you would like to see what options we can up with for you on Monday then go to www.galapagostravelplanner.com and click on the Request Advice from a Local Expert button, provide us with some specifics of what you'd like to do and we'll get back to you with options by close of business Monday. That way your sister can make a decision based on what's available.

Steve --- welcome! I'm sure your advice will be invaluable on this forum but I don't believe Fodor's rules permit you to go quite as far as you did soliciting business or offering services. There are tour operators on the Africa Board who seem to ride the line appropriately - offering great advice and probably picking up some business along the way. This post may be deleted by the Moderator - so you know for next time.....

I, too, am planning to visit Galapagos and Ecuador in the same period. App. three weeks on Galapagos. I am not keen on too much a-head planning -
Would it be ok to rely on last minutes early/mid March - solo traveller 50+, and flexible - most boats go to the same islands after all. I am on a budget - clean bed, toilet and shower - what more can one ask for? Don´t care much about food as long as it is healty - veges, fruit, bread, cheese, yoghurt and fresh water - this is all you need to survive.
I have a keen interest in flora along with everything else to be found. I have done a bit of kayaking, I am a good swimmer, but have never had to option of snorkling - but will try on Galapagos. Hiking and biking is great.
I think I would stay overnight some days at each of the inhabitet islands - it seems that you can do quite a bit of unguided hiking /exploring returning to base for the night.
Are female grannies travelling alone safe during daytime? what about desolate places - if there are any to go to unguided?

Latin Trails might be an agency to contact. They have a very good reputation, taylor made itineraries at your budget and according your wishes.

Excellent feed back and follow ups on your requests. But of course there are lots of organizers to choose between.

A belated Thank You to everyone who replied. We have decided to defer our trip to the Galapagos to 2014. With my sister needing to claim her vacation dates by last Tuesday, there just wasn't enough time to plan the trip, once concerns were raised about the REI trip I'd had in mind (which I greatly appreciate your bringing to my attention). I called REI and they agreed that the trip I had in mind was more of an adventure trip and didn't have as much emphasis on flora and fauna as a cruise would. While we would like to do some kayaking and snorkeling, it appears that this is an option on most of the cruises as well. I will look at the guidebook Elizabeth S. recommended and continue to research the options, including those for mainland Ecuador. In the meantime, I would love to hear about others' experiences, both positive and negative. Thanks.

You'll love your trip, but I don't think it's necessary to plan years in advance. We arranged ours (for a family of four) less than a month before we went and still had a lot of choices. Agree that you should check availability first. We decided which size boat we wanted, saw what was available, then booked our flights (using miles).

We went in early June, which was ideal weatherwise. 2 nights Quito, 7 nights Galapagos Cruise, 2 nights Hacienda Cuzin near Otavalo (wonderful).

There were all sorts of bargains at the last minute and we were even upgraded a cabin class. We wanted a larger boat because we were concerned about my son getting seasick (turned out to be a non-issue because seas were calm).

We ended up on the Explorer II - It was not originally one of our top choices (I wanted more of an "expedition" ship) but the price was so reasonable that we couldn't turn it down - included all the islands plus lots of snorkeling on a seven-day itinerary...a fabulous trip. Our friends were on the awesome Lindblad at the same time - their itinerary was the same and they paid four times more than we did. They liked their trip, but had issues, probably because they had spent so much.

Here is the site we used to check availability - gets you directly in touch with the owners or reps of each boat who will also book internal flights (ours was an agency in San Diego, the U.S. rep for our boat)

http://www.galapagoscruiselinks.com/

And here is a site that describes every boat which I used for research but not for booking the trip:

http://www.discovergalapagos.com/IntiTravel/Galapago.html#Galapagos_Cruise_Ships

Thanks, Crosscheck. This is very helpful.

Crosscheck, thanks for these links!!

Crosscheck, was the water cold when snorkeling? How did you enter/exit ocean? (How about one of your great reports?)

The water was chilly, but I'm a wimp and was fine with a lightweight half wetsuit. These were provided by the boat, and there were plenty. Most snorkeling was from stunning beaches after wet landings, which means you wade through the water from the panga (blow up dinghy) to the sand. At least one excursion was directly off the panga in the middle of the ocean - I didn't go on that one, but Mr. Crosscheck and the boys did. Everyone was attacked by jellyfish that day, but it wasn't a horrific event - they came back laughing with tales to tell.

Thanks for the kind words about my trip reports. It's been quite a while since we went to the Galapagos, so I'm not sure which creature we saw where, but I will try to find some tips I posted on TripAdvisor - I received more help there than on Fodors for that trip. As soon as I finish my neverending India report, I'll see if I can dig up enough for a mini-report.

Have fun - one of the best destinations on the planet.

Thanks. It means a lot to know I would not have to be yanked, hauled and shoved aboard, as happened last spring in Isla Mujeres. Will get started on India! Will also check TripAdvisor for anything you contributed.