Puerto Ayora (Galápagos)

Puerto Ayora needs 4 days as a base for exploring the Galápagos Islands, with daily boat trips to different islands of the archipelago. June-November is the cool, dry season, with nutrient-richer waters for marine wildlife viewing. It's expensive, among South America's priciest destinations due to the logistics of protecting a unique ecosystem. It's the gateway to the islands that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, with wildlife that shows no fear of humans (marine iguanas, giant tortoises, sea lions) for having had no natural predators for millennia.