Explore Galápagos with Extraordinary Individuals

You never know who you'll meet in the Galápagos Islands!

For 50 years we’ve been exploring Darwin’s iconic islands, connecting with the people, wildlife, and importantly, the efforts to conserve and protect this pristine archipelago. This season we’re celebrating these connections, old and new, by inviting an array of fascinating individuals to join our expedition team on board. Travel alongside legendary ocean conservationist Sylvia Earle, author and staff writer for The New Yorker Susan Orlean, or renowned undersea photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes—all slated for upcoming departures. See the full list below and prepare for an extra-interesting experience in the islands if you join us there in 2022/23. Get Inspired By Photos, Videos, Webinars, Stories, And Exclusive Offers. Sign Up

Susan Orlean, Author

Susan Orlean is a bestselling author and one of her generation's most distinctive voices. Her nonfiction works range from Rin Tin Tin to The Orchid Thief, on which the 2022 film Adaptation is loosely based. Her latest is On Animals, an essay collection about the creatures with whom we share our homes, lives, and the world. A staff writer at The New Yorker for over three decades, Orlean is currently at work on adapting The Library Book for a forthcoming limited series with Paramount TV.

Join her on the November 18, 2022 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II

Photo: Corey Hendrickson

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Marine Biologist

Sylvia Earle is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet," she has pioneered research on marine ecosystems, with a special focus on exploration, conservation, and the development of new technologies for effectively accessing the deep sea and other remote environments. Earle is former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and founder of SEAlliance, which partnered with National Geographic on Mission Blue to further global initiatives aimed at restoring health and productivity to the ocean. She has led more than a hundred expeditions, logged over 7,000 hours underwater, and authored more than 190 scientific, technical, and popular publications.

Join her on the December 2, 2022 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II.

Carl Safina, Author

Carl Safina writes about the human relationship with the natural world. His books include, Song for the Blue Ocean, Voyage of the Turtle, and Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. His writing also appears in The New York Times, TIME, Audubon, and online at National Geographic News and Views, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and elsewhere. Safina hosted the PBS series Saving the Ocean. He is now the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, where he co-chaired the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and runs the not-for-profit Safina Center.

Join him on the December 9, 2022 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II

Jonathan Kingston, National Geographic Photography Expert

Photographer, climber and diver Jonathan Kingston is a visual storyteller, passionate about supporting scientific research and documenting the natural history and human story of our world through photography. From arresting photographs of vibrant tribal dances to underwater scenes of elephants swimming at sea, Jonathan’s penchant for travel and love of the wild have taken him to some of the most remote and unmapped corners of the globe. His work has appeared in print and online in National Geographic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal and he has received multiple honors from the prestigious Communication Arts and PDN Photo Annual competitions.

Join him on the December 9, 2022 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II

Rich Reid, National Geographic Photography Expert

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Rich Reid has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for over two decades. On assignment with National Geographic Adventure magazine, he cycled Alaska’s Inside Passage by ferry and explored California’s Gaviota Coast by bike and kayak. North American Nature Photography Association elected Reid as a Fellow for his significant contributions to the nature photography industry, and he was a finalist for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his time-lapse video documenting forest fire ecology.

Join him on the September 8, 2023 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II

David Doubilet & Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic Photography Experts

Underwater photography experts David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes are married partners who work together as a team to produce National Geographic stories from equatorial coral reefs to beneath the polar ice. David estimates he has spent nearly half his life in the sea since taking his first underwater photograph at the age of 12 with a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a bag. Between them, Jennifer and David have photographed and explored the ocean depths in such places as New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Tasmania, Scotland, and Antarctica. David has produced more than 70 stories for National Geographic magazine and several books, and has received the Explorers Club’s prestigious Lowell Thomas Award and the Lennart Nilsson Award in Photography.

Join them on the December 8, 2023 departure of GALÁPAGOS ABOARD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDEAVOUR II

Explore Galápagos with Extraordinary Individuals

You never know who you'll meet in the Galápagos Islands!

Susan Orlean, Author

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Marine Biologist

Carl Safina, Author

Jonathan Kingston, National Geographic Photography Expert

Rich Reid, National Geographic Photography Expert

David Doubilet & Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic Photography Experts

Family Adventures in the Galápagos Islands

Deep-Sea Discoveries

Galápagos Through the Lens

Explore Galápagos with Extraordinary Individuals

You never know who you'll meet in the Galápagos Islands!

Susan Orlean, Author

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Marine Biologist

Carl Safina, Author

Jonathan Kingston, National Geographic Photography Expert

Rich Reid, National Geographic Photography Expert

David Doubilet & Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic Photography Experts

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Family Adventures in the Galápagos Islands

Deep-Sea Discoveries

Galápagos Through the Lens