Galápagos

The Galápagos are what happens when volcanic islands sit on the equator in a cold current a thousand kilometres from anything: penguins beside iguanas, tortoises the size of armchairs, birds that dance in front of you because nothing here has ever needed to be afraid. Ecuador runs the archipelago as a national park with the strictest visitor rules in tourism, and the rules are why it still works. Every site has a licensed guide, a fixed path and a two-metre distance to every animal, which the animals ignore.

What the model says

Every month is good and the year has two moods. December to May is warm and wet with calm seas and green islands; June to November brings the cold Humboldt current, cooler air, rougher water and the richest feeding, which means the most wildlife. The Climate Simulator shows the water temperature swinging from twenty-five degrees to nineteen, which decides the wetsuit. Daylight at the equator does not move at all: twelve hours, every day, sunrise at six.

What the ground says back

The choice is the ship. A cruise of a week sees the outer islands and moves at night; island hopping between the three inhabited islands is half the price and keeps your feet on land. Both are excellent; the cruise is the one nobody regrets and the one everybody budgets for twice. The sun is the underrated risk on the equator with water on every side. Cash for the park fee and the transit card, a year’s notice for the cabin.

Days

Seven days is the minimum for either version, eight is right. Ecuador’s mainland adds the Andes and the Amazon, and a fortnight from Quito covers all three.