How you dress on the islands will depend greatly on your tolerance for the sun. The sun is intense in the Galapagos and the UV Index is 10+ every day. I burn easily so this was a big deal for me. Other people will wear a tank top and flip-flops and enjoy getting a tan.
On our dingy and land excursions I wore long pants (thin REI hiking pants) and a long-sleeve t-shirt. I wasn't always comfortable but I wasn't going to let a bad sunburn disrupt my trip.
20-30 minutes before leaving the boat for an excursion I applied sunscreen so that it had time to soak into my skin. In the US I use SPF 30 but I brought along a second bottle of SPF 50 for this trip.
Everyone should have a wide-brim hat with a neck cover. I had a hat and improvised a neck over using a t-shirt.
Most of the people in my group did not dress for sun protection quite like I did. That said, some of them got burned once or twice. Our guide's required uniform was long pants, long sleeves, and a hat similar to what you see above. That made me take it more seriously.
I was a little disappointed to learn on the boat that they offered 'short' wet suits like the one that you see below. A full-body wet suit certainly would have helped with the cold water in August and September but this also left me with more exposed skin while snorkeling.
I ended up wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt under the suit to cover my arms. If i had known to expect a short suit I probably would have brought along a full-body suit liner to at least have the additional coverage on my legs. Given how cold the water was, I might have considered just bringing a full-body wet suit.
On our dingy and land excursions I wore long pants (thin REI hiking pants) and a long-sleeve t-shirt. I wasn't always comfortable but I wasn't going to let a bad sunburn disrupt my trip.
20-30 minutes before leaving the boat for an excursion I applied sunscreen so that it had time to soak into my skin. In the US I use SPF 30 but I brought along a second bottle of SPF 50 for this trip.
- Sunscreen is very expensive on the islands. A 4-ounce bottle can be $24 USD so bring it from home.
- I brought two full-size bottles of Coppertone Sport (one SPF 30 and one SPF 50). I didn't use it all and ended up giving away the unused SPF 50 but I don't regret bringing extra.
- The only sunburn I experienced was on my head and it was from our snorkeling trips. My hair is a bit thin and I felt a slight burn on my scalp. After that I just put a t-shirt on my head before applying my snorkel mask. It looked silly but it worked.
- The first time I applied sunscreen for snorkeling I focused on the back of my legs. Then we got in the dingy and I realized that my knees and the tops of my feet were exposed. After that, I applied the sunscreen to pretty much all exposed skin.
- Out snorkeling excursions where planned for one hour but due to the colder water none of them lasted longer than 45 minutes. This was well within the 80-minute window for water resistant sunscreen.
Everyone should have a wide-brim hat with a neck cover. I had a hat and improvised a neck over using a t-shirt.
Most of the people in my group did not dress for sun protection quite like I did. That said, some of them got burned once or twice. Our guide's required uniform was long pants, long sleeves, and a hat similar to what you see above. That made me take it more seriously.
I was a little disappointed to learn on the boat that they offered 'short' wet suits like the one that you see below. A full-body wet suit certainly would have helped with the cold water in August and September but this also left me with more exposed skin while snorkeling.
I ended up wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt under the suit to cover my arms. If i had known to expect a short suit I probably would have brought along a full-body suit liner to at least have the additional coverage on my legs. Given how cold the water was, I might have considered just bringing a full-body wet suit.
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