This full-colour guide includes vibrant photos and easy-to-use maps to help with trip planning.Sea lions and iguanas sunbathe side by side, penguins and turtles swim together offshore, and giant tortoises wander freely. The Galapagos is both a glimpse of life before human civilization and a reminder of its fragile beauty.This is the trip of a lifetime. It will leave you with a new sense of wonder , and some great stories to share. Expert traveller Lisa Cho tells you everything you need to know to make this trip possible in Moon Galapagos Islands :How to get there, how long it will take, and where to stop along the way , including information on Quito and GuayaquilHow to choose the best means of transportation, including cruises, diving tips, and land toursBackground on the diverse wildlife of the Galapagos , including how and where to see each animal

Author Biography

Lisa Cho was born in Ojai, California to Chinese and Japanese parents, but often tells people that she is Ecuadorian-American.She discovered her love for travel at an early age when she visited extended family in rural China. Later she worked as a product manager in the biotech industry, a job that frequently sent her on business trips that seemed much too short. So after a lot of dreaming and planning, she decided to take the longest trip of her life, leaving her career and buying a one-way flight to Cuenca, Ecuador. In Ecuador the air was warmer, the mangos were cheaper, and the country was more beautiful than she had imagined. She started a blog about Ecuador and her travels around South America and later found work writing a blog about the Galapagos , work that required regular trips to the islands. Her time in the Galapagos has been an interesting mix. She has stayed in backpacker hostels, upscale eco-lodges, and sailed on cruises. She has ventured off the beaten path , taking Latin dance aerobics and trying the grilled intestines. Other times she has been quite content having a once-in-a-lifetime experience with all the other tourists, being surrounded by sharks, sea turtles, and sea lions.Two years later she now feels equally at home in Ecuador and San Francisco, and splits her time between the two. She holds a masters in bioengineering from Stanford University. Her hobbies include Argentine tango, photography, and SCUBA diving.