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My dream is to be surrounded by the strange and unique creatures of the Galapagos archipelago. I imagine diving with the hammerhead sharks and feeling the spray of ocean as I watch the giant tortoise moving slowly through the cactus forest. I imagine the grunts of sea lions and the chatter of penguins.

- Janet Wilson, Calgary

The backstory

In 1835, the Galapagos Islands received their most famous visitor, naturalist Charles Darwin, aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin was very impressed by the animals and birds, which oddly did not flee when men approached. Years later, the finches he had caught and preserved helped him develop his theory of evolution, which will forever be associated with the islands.

The archipelago has changed a great deal since Darwin visited. There are towns, complete with comfortable hotels, and first-class touring ships. What hasn't changed is the islands' magical allure: timeless rock, labyrinthine mangroves, pristine trails and crystalline waters. Most of all, the stars of the show are still there: the tortoises, penguins, sharks, sea lions and iguanas that so impressed the young Darwin more than a century ago.

How to do it

Several flights leave daily to Galapagos from Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador's capital and largest city respectively. Whatever tour you book will arrange for your flight.

Now comes the fun part: picking your cruise and/or itinerary. You have three basic choices: You can stay on a ship, in a hotel or a combination of both.

The best way to see the islands is probably on a ship. Your guide will pick you up at the airport, take you to the ship, and off you go. In general, you'll visit two islands or visitor sites each day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The visitor sites may involve a guided hike, some snorkelling or an hour on a beach. You can see pretty much the entire Galapagos on a week-long tour. Shorter trips are also available.

There are at least 80 boats offering expeditions to the Galapagos Islands. You can also find information on ships (and valuable comments from former passengers) at specialized sites such as http://www.vivatravelguides.com and http://www.nauticagalapagos.com.

Look for a ship with air conditioning - the cabins can get very stuffy.

Your biggest choice is this: small ship or big ship? There are four or five large liners like Lindblad Expedition's Polaris (80 berths; http://www.expeditions.com) and any number of smaller, 16-passenger boats. The smaller ones are cozier and offer more flexibility: If you want to snorkel for an extra hour somewhere, it's usually no problem. The bigger ships are more stable (get seasick easily?) and large enough that if some of your fellow passengers are irritating, you can escape them.

Some visitors prefer to stay in a hotel and day trip out to the islands. This option is generally less expensive, but you'll spend several hours a day on a small boat zooming from one island to another.

It is possible to combine hotel and cruise trips. Metropolitan Touring (593-2-298-8200; http://www.metropolitan-touring.com), for example, owns two of the nicest ships in the Galapagos, as well as the elegant Finch Bay Hotel (http://www.finchbayhotel.com) on Santa Cruz, and they offer multi-day packages ranging from about $965 a person.

When to go

There's really no bad time to go to the Galapagos. The islands are on the equator, so it's always warm and pleasant. Veteran guides all agree that the best time to visit is May, when the islands start to cool down after the hottest season, from January to April. The waved albatross, one of the island's most famous endemic species, leaves the islands from January to March to feed, so be sure to visit some other time if seeing an albatross is important to you.

Intelligence

Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle narrates not only his 1835 visit but also the rest of his voyage. An outstanding modern book covering everything about the Galapagos from nature to history is Michael H. Jackson's Galapagos: a Natural History. There are also any number of guidebooks to Galapagos wildlife, from general, all-inclusive field guides to specific books about birds, reptiles, fish and even echinoderms (sea stars).

Good resource websites are http://www.galapagos.org, http://www.galapagosisland.net, http://www.ecuadortouristboard.com and http://www.ecuador.us.

You'll never forget

Your first time snorkelling in the Galapagos. The water is cool but not unpleasant. Sea lions glide past, chasing fish. If they're feeling playful, they may come over to nip your flipper. On the blue bottom, a white-tipped reef shark slowly swims along, looking for fish and mollusks to eat. A moray eel, lurking in the rocks, sticks his snaky green head out to see what all the fuss is about. If you're very lucky, you may see a hammerhead.

On land, it's the animals. Blue-footed boobies nest in the middle of the trail and give visitors a puzzled look, as if they weren't expecting guests that day. The giant tortoises munch grass in a green meadow, occasionally lumbering a short distance to soak in a muddy pool. It's a zoo without walls.

Christopher Minster is a professor of literature at the San Francisco de Quito University. He is a regular visitor to the Galapagos.