The Galapagos Islands were in the global spotlight when Brangelina visited earlier this year, firmly placing the archipelago on the map as a destination of choice.

G Adventures has one of the highest quality operations in the Galapagos and is upgrading its fleet for 2013 with the acquisition of three 16-passenger motor yachts, the Daphne ‘G3’, the San Jose ‘G5’, and the Queen of Galapagos, ‘G8’. The company will be adding additional vessels in the coming months as it makes room for further growth.

Jeff Russill, VP of Innovation, G Adventures, says the upgrades have been made to provide an improved customer experience and to future-proof the fleet ahead of further customer demand and new regulations.

“Our new vessels have larger and more comfortable public spaces and will be heavily focussed on the customer experience, offering the best wildlife viewing and the onboard service. Leading with service is one of our core values and these upgrades mean we can deliver on that promise and keep prices affordable.

“Additionally there have been, and will continue to be, changes made to Galapagos regulations, so we’re also ensuring the future viability of our fleet,” says Russill.

Each of the new vessels caters to a slightly different market; the G3 is the most affordable standard-level option, the G5 is a comfort-level vessel and the G8 provides an even more deluxe experience.

G Adventures will continue to use its Javier ‘G4’ comfort-level vessel, a firm customer favourite, meaning the fleet will be made up of four vessels in 2013.

G Adventures’ operation in the Galapagos is unique as the company only books customers on its own vessels. This means they travel with other G Adventures’ travellers and have a complete G Adventures experience.  The company operates and staffs the vessels and employs its own naturalist guides, all of whom understand the G Adventures core values and our customers’ expectations.

Current vessels will maintain operations as per the normal G Adventures high quality service until the end of the year when the G3, G5 and G8 will take over operations.