EXPEDITION BLOG
GALAPAGOS ESCAPE Danielle Bates – Head of UK Sales – National Geographic – Lindblad Expeditions Travelled on 8th February 2025 Travel is a feeling. It can make us feel excited, happy, anxious, intrigued, fun, blessed, even proud perhaps. There are so many words I could use to describe my past travel experiences, and I have been fortunate to have some fantastic ones. However, nothing quite prepared me for the feeling of being completely and utterly wordless on expedition in the Galápagos Islands with National GeographicLindblad Expeditions. It has blown me away in a way I didn’t imagine possible! I’ve always enjoyed writing about my adventures, but this one has had me scratching my head – because how is it possible to find the right words to articulate and justify such an out of this world encounter? I
I promise I will try to do it justice.
Day 1 – London Heathrow – Madrid – Quito Terminal 5 at LHR was the start point for our epic journey, and after a smooth and comfortable flight with Iberia to Madrid, we made our short connection with ease for our long-haul flight to Ecuador. I was in the Premium Economy cabin which I found to be more than adequate for a long-haul daytime flight – with the usual ‘frills’ of fizz before take-off, upgraded dining and a much larger seat pitch with a generous recline. The fares for this route to upgrade to premium were reasonable and I highly recommend it for the 11-hour flight.
We landed in Quito around 430pm local time and after collecting our luggage, were met by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. The Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel is where our overnight stay was booked. This is an airport hotel, a threeminute transfer from the terminal and after a long day of travelling was extremely convenient. A speedy check-in process, and our large modern rooms awaited. We went down to the restaurant for a bite to eat and found the service, choice and quality of food to be very good. We were, of course, exhausted so retreated to bed early, ready for an early departure the following morning at 7:30 for our flight to Galápagos. Day 2 – Quito – Galápagos After breakfast and checking out, we were met by a representative of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions in the hotel lobby. The representative gave us boarding passes for the next flight, showed us how to complete required immigration forms, and our visas for the Galápagos. Luggage tags were attached to our main luggage, which we wouldn’t see again until it arrived in our cabin onboard! The luggage service was friendly
© Kyle Furey
and efficient, which allowed us to leave the Wyndham feeling confident and ready for the next exciting stage of our journey. The representative took us through domestic security at Quito airport swiftly, we had a short wait until the Avianca flight onwards to the Galápagos. All flights to the Galápagos go via Guayaquil, so we did have a short touch down here before continuing to our destination, Baltra Island. We were greeted almost immediately off the plane by large land iguanas who were just roaming freely around the grounds of the airport – quite surreal, but just the authentic welcome we were all hoping for. Another breezy airport experience and then on to our transfer bus, expertly guided by the naturalists that would be joining our Expedition. Just five minutes later, we arrived at the wooden jetty where our zodiacs awaited. We sped towards the National Geographic Islander II with the (very) warm breeze in our hair and a thrill in our (tired) eyes, but somehow – as I always find with exciting travel experiences, the adrenalin takes over and the jet lag fades in to insignificance.