International Archives – Page 9 of 14

Baltra Airport

June 12th, 2021admin0 Comments

To get to the Galapagos Islands, you can fly into either San Cristobal or Santa Cruz (Baltra Airport). The San Cristobal airport has the advantage of being closer to the main town on the island, whereas the journey from the Baltra Airport to Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz requires a bus, ferry, and taxi. Despite this, we thought Santa Cruz was more central to the activities we were interested in and provided direct access Isabela so we opted to fly into Baltra. Like many small airports, there are no jetways from the planes to the gate. When you arrive, you exit …

Galapagos Travel Logistics and Requirements

June 12th, 2021admin0 Comments

Even in normal (non-pandemic) times, the Galapagos is a difficult destination to get to. In addition to its far-flung location, there are unique entry requirements that were put in place to help preserve the fragile ecosystem there. Throw in a global pandemic and covid testing requirements and the trip becomes even more daunting. Permanent (non-pandemic related) requirements include a special baggage screening, the purchase of a Transit Control Card, and payment of a National Park Entrance fee. A lot of articles I read about these requirements made it sound overly complicated so I was a little stressed about it, but it …

Galapagos Trip Planning – Take 2

May 15th, 2021admin0 Comments

When international borders closed down in March 2020 due to Covid-19, our dream trip to the Galapagos was abruptly cancelled. In an optimistic (or perhaps naive) move, we moved our booking with Iguana Crossing to August 2020. This whole pandemic thing was new to everyone and it seemed unfathomable that the world would still be shut down in 5 months. Little did we know… Obviously August didn’t happen so spring break of 2021 seemed like the next plausible option. Iguana Crossing graciously let us rebook again for April 2021 and we collectively held out breath for the next 8 months. …

Covid-19 Travel Cancellations

March 27th, 2020admin0 Comments

Two weeks from today, we were supposed to board a plane bound for Quito, Ecuador, embarking on a once in a lifetime trip to the Galapagos Islands. At this stage, I thought I’d be confirming plans, making lists, and starting to pack. Instead, I’m cancelling flights, trying to rebook tours and hotels, and planning to see nothing but the inside of my own house for the foreseeable future. When Covid-19 first appeared in China in December 2019, few people would have predicted how it would impact the world in a matter of weeks. Quickly spreading from country to country through …

Galapagos Trip Planning

March 7th, 2020admin0 Comments

The Galapagos Islands! This bucket-list trip can be overwhelming to plan to say the least. Located more than 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, it is a difficult destination to get to. And with 127 islands in the archipelago (more than twenty of which can be explored), 9,000 wildlife species (many of them endemic to the islands), and other-worldly landscapes, the possibilities on the islands are endless. There is no way you can possibly ever see it all. The first and most important decision to make when planning a Galapagos trip is “land vs sea”. Do you want to …

Vancouver Travel Tips

September 2nd, 2019admin0 Comments

Vancouver has a lot to offer for both city and nature lovers. Whether you are there on a stand-alone trip or as a launching point for a cruise or other travels, you will love exploring the area. Be prepared for the weather. It is going to be cloudy or rainy at some point in your trip. Just accept it and prepare for it. Only one of our three days in Vancouver was sunny but we were still able to make the most of our trip and enjoy the main outdoor sites. Don’t rent a car. Unless you plan to explore …

Fairmont Vancouver Airport Review

September 1st, 2019admin0 Comments

Our cruise returned to port too late to catch a morning or early afternoon flight back to Charlotte. The remaining options were a red-eye departing late that night or a very early flight the next morning. We opted for the 6:00 am flight the next morning, which meant we had to figure out one more night in a Vancouver hotel. In deciding on a hotel location, we had to choose between convenience when disembarking the cruise or convenience when flying out the next morning. While the airport is relatively easy to get to from the city, it is probably not …

Pan Pacific Vancouver Review

August 31st, 2019admin0 Comments

I did a lot of research prior to our Alaskan cruise leaving from Vancouver, and there seemed to be an obsession among cruisers with staying at the Pan Pacific. And obsession is not an exaggeration. Every forum, board, and FaceBook group was filled with people touting the wonders of the Pan Pacific Vancouver. I tried not to play into the hype and kept an open mind while I thoroughly researched all hotels in the area. But after all my research and price comparisons, we ultimately we ended up at the Pan Pacific. When push came to shove, the convenience factor …

Science World

August 30th, 2019admin0 Comments

Our plans for the day we got off the cruise ship changed three or four times. What we thought was our final plan was to rent a car and drive to Shannon Falls, British Columbia’s third highest waterfall. But when we arrived at the rental car place and the line wrapped around the block and we were told it would be 3 hours before we would get our car, we punted on that plan. My brother and sister-in-law had been planning to stay in the city and take my niece to Science World so we decided to join them. While …

Vancouver City Highlights

August 28th, 2019admin0 Comments

In addition to our scheduled outings in Vancouver, we had some time to just wander around the city. Vancouver is a big city with lots to see, so we just focused on the highlights that fit in logistically with our other plans. We missed some big ones like the Chinatown and Granville Island but got a good taste of the city. Vancouver Airport This seems like a silly one but if you are arriving in Vancouver via airplane, the airport has some incredible works of art to check out. We came in late at night but the kids still wanted …