Written by Marcelo Guerrero Oquendo, Co-Owner of Galapagos Insiders since 2015. Last updated June 2026.
December is two months in one cabin. Weeks 1–2 are quiet, calm, and shoulder-priced. Weeks 3–4 are the year's most expensive cruising week — and the hardest cabins to get.
Talk with an expert insider — we'll match you to the right December 2026 departure in 24 hours. USA & Canada 1-773-280-9571 · Ecuador +593-987-004-404 · [email protected]
If you are thinking about spending some time in the Galapagos Islands in December you may, like many visitors, wonder if this is the best month to travel to the islands. Yet there is no “best” month to take a Galapagos Islands cruise or Galapagos land-based trip Each month has a list of pros and perhaps a few cons, depending on personal preferences. While many visitors head to the Galapagos Islands in the month of December, prices can be high because the Christmas period is very much high season. This will mean it is not the best month for everyone, and especially for those looking for a better deal on price.
December starts the warm/wet season on a calm-water foundation carried over from November. Giant-tortoise hatching begins on Santa Cruz, snorkel visibility is climbing toward the February peak, and seas stay calm before the trade winds return in earnest.
Two-band pricing is the December reality nobody else publishes plainly. Weeks 1–2 (Dec 1–14) sail at normal-season rates with shoulder-month inventory still available. Weeks 3–4 (Dec 15–31) — the school-holiday peak across North America, Europe, and Latin America — is the year's most expensive cabin window. By February of the cruise year, the best holiday-week cabins on our luxury priority list are gone.
If we had one rule for December travelers, it would be this: book early or shift to weeks 1–2. Both work. The middle ground (booking inside 90 days for Dec 20–31) does not.
December travelers tend to fall into three groups in our booking data: multi-generational families locking in school-holiday cruises 9–12 months ahead, multi-program travelers combining a Galapagos cruise with the Amazon or land-based Galapagos (Michael's family below is the classic example), and shoulder-week value travelers who specifically pick Dec 1–14 to avoid the holiday premium. All three groups are well-served — but they're booking different cabins on different vessels.
For many travelers visiting the Galapagos in December, boarding a catamaran like the Seaman Journey can be a relaxed way to experience the archipelago’s transition into warmer weather and abundant marine life. With room for a small group of guests and a comfortable layout that supports daily snorkeling, kayaking, and guided walks, this vessel offers a rhythm that suits both active days on shore and calmer evenings at sea. Guests often find that cruising this way in December makes it easy to access a variety of visitor sites while enjoying the natural highlights this month brings, from mating turtles in the shallower bays to colorful iguanas and birds across the islands.
Visitors to the Galapagos Islands in December will see many of the same species as those that travel at other times of the year. However, there are some distinct wildlife highlights in the month of December that some may get to see.
On the land, some iguana species are starting their mating season. Land iguanas are one such species. They may start to defend their territories rather aggressively at this time as they try to win over a mate. Marine iguanas also work on attracting a mate at this time. They can be seen at many rocky sites across the archipelago, and they are sometimes seen at docking areas. Their colors brighten up a lot at this time of year. During the non-mating season, they are black, but when mating season gets started, they will change color to include red, green and pink colors. The actual colors they display varies by island.
Other key land wildlife highlights in December include the chance of seeing baby tortoises on Isabela Island, since this is when the young start to hatch.
In December, a great sight among the birdlife is observing the waved albatross chicks as they start to prepare to leave Espanola Island on their migration. December is the last month when waved albatross are likely to be seen on the island. Espanola is the only island with visitor sites where they can be seen. If you want to see the chicks starting to flex their new wing feathers, you will need to make sure that the Galapagos Islands cruise that you book visits Espanola Island.
In the water, Galapagos green turtles are also mating at this time of the year. Some lucky visitors might get the chance to see mating rituals of this species.
December's wildlife signature is the start of giant-tortoise hatching season on Santa Cruz, with several other species running in stable year-round mode. Here's how the month breaks down on the ground.
Source: Galapagos National Park seasonal-arrivals data; Charles Darwin Foundation species pages and tortoise breeding-center reports; Galapagos Insiders trip-report data 2024–2026.
December is our most luxury-skewed booking month. The holiday-week premium puts the year's most stable, best-staffed, strongest-snorkel-program vessels at the top of the priority list — and the families booking 9–12 months ahead are willing to pay for them.
Three vessels we're prioritizing for December holiday departures. All three sit in our 2026 luxury priority list and run December rotations across Eastern, Western, or combined itineraries.
The family-with-teenagers vessel we book most often for December holiday-week Eastern departures. Strong snorkel program (3 mm shorty wetsuits, in-water naturalist guidance on key snorkels, dedicated dry storage for cameras), and a crew that handles multi-generational holiday groups exceptionally well — the on-board energy across Christmas and New Year's is part of the booking.
Stable platform, Eastern + Western rotations, popular with honeymooners and couples steering clear of the largest holiday family groups. December's calm seas make Endemic's deep-water snorkels at Devil's Crown and Kicker Rock particularly rewarding — visibility in the 18–22 m band with the warm-season climb already underway. Both 3 mm shorties and 5 mm full suits are provided, with high in-water guide involvement. Endemic product page →
Eastern + Western variants. The vessel behind a large share of our December multi-generational bookings — its cabin layout (a mix of suites and standards) accommodates family groups blending grandparents, parents, and teenagers more cleanly than a uniform-cabin vessel. Natural Paradise product page →
For the full menu of December-capable vessels (small ship, premium catamaran, motorsailer, luxury yacht), see our best Galapagos cruises 2026 ranking.
December is a flexible-route month. Calm seas mean any class of vessel handles any route, so the choice comes down to wildlife and pace.
For the deep-dive on each route — day-by-day sequences, wildlife matrices, vessel recommendations — see our Galapagos cruise itineraries comparison.
December is our highest-volume month for multi-program bookings — families combining a Galapagos cruise (or land-based Galapagos) with an Amazon program at Sacha Lodge or aboard the Manatee Amazon Explorer, often with a few mainland days around Quito and Otavalo. The school-holiday window is long enough to make a 14–18-day combined trip feasible without anyone using vacation days outside the holiday.
"Ecuador & Galapagos Insiders did a terrific job with our 2.5 week trip. This included a river boat ride up the Amazon on the Manatee. The guide, Victor, was so knowledgeable and the food was beyond fantastic. We then visited the Galapagos Islands for a land tour. Loved the hotel and plenty to do. We finished up our trip with a land tour around Ecuador. Our guide, Freddy, and the driver, Santiago, couldn't have done a better job. There is so much to see and do in Ecuador and the tour company put together a customized and private tour that was so memorable for our family. Thumbs up for Ecuador & Galapagos Insiders."Michael (Tripadvisor Review)
A few things worth saying out loud about Michael's trip. First, the structure: Manatee Amazon Cruise + Land-Based Galapagos + an Ecuador land tour with guide Freddy and driver Santiago. That's three separate programs stitched into a single 2.5-week itinerary — the reason we steer December multi-gen families toward this pattern is that the Amazon climate is at its most pleasant in December–January, and a land-based Galapagos program lets younger kids and grandparents skip the Bolívar Channel without skipping Santa Cruz or San Cristóbal. Second, the named guides: Victor on the Manatee, Freddy and Santiago on the mainland. We can't guarantee specific guides on cruise programs (cruise naturalists are rotated by the park), but on land-based and Amazon programs we can — and Victor, Freddy, and Santiago are three of the names that come back most often in our December trip reports.
If you're looking at a 14–18-day December trip and the Amazon is on your radar, this is the pattern that delivers. For the full multi-program menu, see our Galapagos + Amazon combined trips page.
In December, the Galapagos Islands are transitioning from the cool dry season toward the warm wet season. What this means is generally warmer weather than November, though it is still usually pretty dry. Looking at temperatures, the average maximum temperature is usually around 81°F (27°C). The lowest it gets is on average around 71.6°F or 22°C. The average hours of sunshine per day sits at 5.5 hours in December. The skies can still be quite overcast. Even with overcast skies, skin can easily burn at these temperatures. For this reason, we strongly recommend bringing a sun hat and sunscreen.
Usually, it does not rain very much in December in the archipelago. The average rainfall in December is around 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) and this will mostly be seen in the highlands areas of the Galapagos. Though there will likely be very little rain, we still recommend packing a light waterproof and warmer layers for travel on deck between islands as that can feel chillier.
Humidity will be lower than in the most humid month of February. As the days are starting to get warmer, humidity also starts to creep up in December. Humidity should be relatively low, however.
December sits at the seasonal hinge between the dry/cool season (which closed in November) and the warm/wet season ramping up across the month. Surface temperatures are climbing back into the 24–26°C band, the southeast trade winds that drove August and September swell have eased, and the Bolívar Channel between Isabela and Fernandina sails at near-November calm levels through the first half of the month. Afternoon showers are real on the highlands of Santa Cruz and the upper slopes of Isabela — usually short, often clearing for a sunset. Snorkel visibility is in the 18–22 m band and rising toward the February annual peak.
For travelers who put off a Western itinerary because of motion concerns, December weeks 1–2 are the second-best window of the year (May is the first). For a deeper read on which months are calmer on which routes, see our seasickness on a Galapagos cruise guide.
The Galapagos Islands benefits from the weather that permits all activities to be enjoyed at any time of the year. In December, the weather is usually warm but not too hot, so it is just about perfect for taking walks on the nature trails, or for getting out hiking further afield. Photography is also really good at this time of year with some excellent pictures to be had, even by the most amateur of photographers that are reliant on their smartphones! Chances for sunbathing may vary by day, as it can be quite overcast.
Activities that are excellent at this time of the year are snorkeling and diving. Regular Galapagos Islands cruises do not offer diving, so the best option for this is a liveaboard vessel, specializing in offering this type of trip. The visibility of the water improves in December, though the sea is still teeming with marine life due to the Humboldt current around the islands in the previous months. There are really good opportunities to snorkel around sea lion pups that love to play with tourists in the water – though look out of the larger, protective parents!
Prices in the Galapagos Islands for Christmas and New Year vacation are among the highest that they get. You will need to book many months ahead of your trip if you want to travel to the archipelago during this time. The Galapagos Islands are never a cheap vacation and especially during December, prices are high and there will not be many good deals to be had. This is because operators know very well that they can expect to easily fill cruises, accommodation and flights at this time of year.
Tourism demand in the Galapagos Islands in December is very high. People in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand often like to travel at this time to make the most of the quieter period at work. School holidays also drive very high demand at this time. Booking a trip to the Galapagos Islands for Christmas or New Year (or both!) needs to be done very far in advance – at least months ahead of the trip. In some cases, to secure a spot on a specific boat that you have your eye on, you may have to book more than a year in advance. While there will be a lot of people in the islands in December, the way that tourism is structured, there are never too many people at any one visitor site at the same time.
Most of our December bookings come in two waves. The first — families locking in holiday-week cabins — opens in February of the cruise year and closes the best vessels by mid-year. The second — value travelers booking weeks 1–2 — runs much later, often inside 60 days, because weeks 1–2 inventory holds longer. We cannot help travelers chasing peak-week luxury cabins inside 90 days of departure. Our consistent advice: book the holiday weeks 9–12 months ahead. Christmas-week luxury cabins on our priority list fill earliest, every year.
"December is two different months on the same calendar for us. Weeks 1 and 2 are some of the calmest and quietest sailing of the year — the warm season is starting, the seas are still flat, the hatchlings have just appeared at the breeding center on Santa Cruz, and the price is normal-season. Weeks 3 and 4 are the most expensive week we sell all year. We tell families one of two things: book the holiday weeks nine to twelve months ahead, or shift to weeks 1–2 and pay shoulder rates. The middle ground — calling us in October for a Christmas-week cabin — is the position where we struggle most to help."
— Marcelo Guerrero, Co-Owner, Galapagos Insiders
Two practical implications for your December planning. First, if your dates are flexible and you can shift the trip to Dec 1–14, you'll save 15–25% per person and sail in seas that are essentially indistinguishable from the holiday-week conditions — same calm, same hatchlings, same visibility climb. Second, if your dates are fixed to the holiday week, the booking conversation needs to start in February or March of the cruise year. Cabins do not appear on calm vessels in October.
Most of our December travelers arrive in Quito the day before their domestic flight to Baltra, and we recommend at least one buffer night on either end of the cruise. December in the Ecuadorian Andes sits in the rainy season — cool mornings, regular afternoon showers, comfortable for walking around the historic center if you pack a light raincoat.
A pattern that works particularly well for December multi-gen families is the one Michael's family ran in 2025: Quito → Amazon (Manatee or Sacha Lodge, 4 nights) → Galapagos (cruise or land-based, 6–8 nights) → mainland land tour (Quito + Otavalo + Cuicocha, 2–3 nights) → home. Total 14–18 days, fits the school-holiday window without anyone needing extra vacation days, and the Amazon climate is at its most pleasant in December–January (the highest river levels of the year, which open up flooded-forest channel routes the Manatee and Sacha guides can paddle into).
A simpler pattern for December couples and smaller groups: two nights in Quito before the cruise (jet-lag buffer + a half-day city tour at Plaza Grande, La Compañía, and the TelefériQo cable car), and one or two nights in Otavalo post-cruise. The Saturday Otavalo market is the one we send most travelers to, and the textile-and-leather artisans run normal stalls through December (the market closes only on Christmas Day). The drive from Quito is about two hours and the Cuicocha crater lake sits 30 minutes beyond Otavalo if you want to make a day of it.
Yes — with one major caveat. Weeks 1–2 (Dec 1–14) are excellent value: calm seas continuing from November, warm/wet season starting on a flat-water foundation, giant-tortoise hatching just begun on Santa Cruz, snorkel visibility climbing toward the February peak, and shoulder-band pricing. Weeks 3–4 (Dec 15–31) are the year's most expensive cruising week — 15–25% over weeks 1–2 — and the holiday cabins on the best vessels sell out 6–9 months ahead. If your dates are flexible, shift to weeks 1–2. If they're fixed, start booking in February or March of the cruise year.
Giant-tortoise hatching at the Charles Darwin Research Station breeding center on Santa Cruz (December starts the hatching window; hatchlings visible through April). Galapagos green sea turtle nesting ramping up at Bachas Beach and Tortuga Bay. Red-footed boobies on Genovesa year-round, frigatebirds with red gular pouches on North Seymour, blue-footed boobies still nesting on Española and North Seymour, Galapagos penguins along Isabela and at Bartolomé, marine iguanas archipelago-wide, sea-lion pups from the September–November cohort still active. NOT in season in December: waved albatross (they leave Española in late November and don't return until the third week of May), and flightless cormorant breeding is subdued (peak is May–October).
Yes — December continues the calm-seas window that started in November. The southeast trade winds that drove August and September swell have eased, and surface temperatures are climbing back into the 24–26°C band. The Bolívar Channel between Isabela and Fernandina sails at near-November calm levels through the first half of December and remains manageable across the month. Travelers prone to motion sickness can book a single-hull yacht in December weeks 1–2 with confidence. For more, see our Galapagos cruise seasickness guide.
Two distinct bands. Weeks 1–2 (Dec 1–14): 8-day from $3,570 on budget catamarans (promotional pricing), from $4,527 mid-range, from $6,359 luxury — shoulder-band pricing. Weeks 3–4 (Dec 15–31): typically 15–25% above weeks 1–2 across budget and mid-range vessels, with the year's highest luxury floor. Add $250–600 for domestic flights from Quito or Guayaquil (carrier capacity is tight across the holiday week — book early), $200 Galapagos National Park entry fee, $20 INGALA Transit Control Card, and $200–400 in tips. Full breakdown: Galapagos cruise cost 2026.
Yes — December is the start of giant-tortoise hatching season on Santa Cruz. Hatchlings are visible in the rearing pens at the Charles Darwin Research Station breeding center from early December through April. The breeding center is on the standard Santa Cruz visitor-site list for nearly every Eastern itinerary, so most December travelers see hatchlings as part of the regular cruise day program — no special arrangement needed.
December is one of our highest-volume family-booking months. Calm seas across the month make any vessel class manageable for kids 6 and up (most vessels accept ages 6+; a few require 8 or 12). Weeks 1–2 are easier on the budget. Weeks 3–4 (the school-holiday peak) carry a premium but match the calendar most North American, European, and Latin American families work with. For multi-gen families with grandparents on the trip, the land-based Galapagos option (the pattern Michael's family ran in 2025 with the Manatee Amazon program) skips the Bolívar Channel and the panga rides without skipping Santa Cruz or San Cristóbal.
Our answer. Weeks 1–2 if your dates are flexible — shoulder-band pricing, identical wildlife, identical sea conditions, and inventory holds later (often bookable inside 60 days). Weeks 3–4 if your dates are fixed to the school holiday — but start booking 9–12 months ahead, because the best cabins on our luxury priority list are routinely 80%+ full by February of the cruise year. The position we cannot help with most years is a Dec 20–31 booking made inside 90 days. Book early or shift the dates.
"Ecuador & Galapagos Insiders did a terrific job with our 2.5 week trip. This included a river boat ride up the Amazon on the Manatee. The guide, Victor, was so knowledgeable and the food was beyond fantastic. We then visited the Galapagos Islands for a land tour. Loved the hotel and plenty to do. We finished up our trip with a land tour around Ecuador. Our guide, Freddy, and the driver, Santiago, couldn't have done a better job."Michael (Tripadvisor Review)
"From start to finish, Galapagos Insiders organized the trip well. Inquiries were answered in a timely manner. The yacht with its crew were excellent. The park interpreter was outstanding, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I highly recommend this trip."Arabianwings from Canada (Tripadvisor Review) — Grand Majestic, November 2025
Aggregate rating across our review sources: 4.9 / 5 across 350 verified reviews (2021–2026) — TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, Google Business Profile, WeTravel.
There is a lot to be said for a Galapagos Islands visit in December. On the transition from dry and cool to warm and wet, this month generally has very good weather that is not too hot and not too humid. There is little rainfall. There are also some really fabulous wildlife highlights that you might get to see, particularly the waved albatross chicks getting ready to leave Espanola Island. The snorkeling is particularly good, with young sea lions playing in the water, and good visibility for observing the marine life. However, December is a very busy month with high demand, making for a pricier visit than at other times of the year. The high demand makes booking well in advance an absolute must. We can help you book your Galapagos Islands trip for December, or advise on other suitable months, so why not get in touch?
Two ways forward.
Browse all departures — month-by-month availability across our full vessel inventory. → Galapagos cruises.
Talk with an expert insider — tell us your dates (and whether weeks 1–2 or weeks 3–4 are on the table), length, and what you want to see. We send a 24-hour proposal with live availability.
USA & Canada 1-773-280-9571 · Ecuador +593-987-004-404 · [email protected]
Use the live availability tool below to view current cabin openings for December sailings on a variety of Galapagos yachts, catamarans, and expedition ships. Browse available dates, routes, and onboard features, and then book your cruise with support from our experienced Galapagos travel specialists to help ensure you choose the option that best fits your interests and travel plans.
