Meteo Puerto Ayora (Galapagos) in settembre

September is the heart of the garua season in Galapagos - cool, misty, choppier seas and a lot of overcast, particularly over the towns, which sit on the windward sides of their islands. A September trip report gives the day's shape exactly: garua in the morning, cloud until around noon, then a lot of sun, cloud again in the afternoon, and more mist by evening. Mid-70s F with moderate humidity makes it the best hiking weather of the year, and it is the least-visited month, so the landings are quiet. The currents make it the best of the year for snorkelling and diving too. The record: 26.3C days that feel like 28C, 20.9C nights, 0.3 precipitation days, 10.5 hours of sun and a 25.1C sea.

Regulars are specific this falls within the less-warm half of the year here, June through November, in contrast to the warmer December-through-May stretch, days themselves still genuinely warm even as evenings on a boat turn properly chilly, especially up on the top deck while underway. Our row backs that warm, genuinely dry read, 27.9C over 22.8C nights feeling 25C, with rain minimal at 9.8mm across 4 days and humidity at 77 percent. Regulars are consistent conditions stay genuinely variable day to day, some trips reporting mostly cloudy skies, others a good mix of sun, a light jacket for evenings the standard advice throughout this half of the year. The sea sits at a warm, swimmable 27.9C. The record: 10.9 hours of sun, a 20.5 kph wind and AQI 34.

July opens the garua season here, when the colder Humboldt current pushes up from the south and brings mistier mornings and evenings, though someone who lived here four years describes the pattern precisely: the mist gathers near the islands and dissipates by mid-morning before reforming later, leaving genuine sunshine in between - our column's 10.6 hours a day fits that pattern of clearing rather than an overcast month. Reports vary from almost no mist at all to two mornings out of eight, so neither extreme is the rule. Our row backs the season's coolness at 27.1C over 22C, with the sea at 26.7C - regulars still recommend a wetsuit for snorkelling even though the water rarely feels cold in the tropics sense. Evenings on a boat want a sweater. Rain is negligible, 5.5mm across 2.2 days. The record: humidity 76 percent, a 21 kph wind and AQI 33.

November is the last of the garua months and the beginning of the turn. Regulars describe the same pattern as October - misty early and late with fine drizzle, good sun between about eight and four - but add that the sea is starting to settle, though not yet as calm as it gets from January to May. They put the water at 20 to 23C and say wetsuits are still wanted for snorkelling; our row reads 24.6C, so treat theirs as the figure to pack for. It is also the last reliable month for the waved albatross on Espanola, which leaves around now. Our row gives 27.1C over 21.4C with 2.5mm across a single precipitation day. The record: humidity 73 percent, 11 hours of sun, a 20.3 kph wind and AQI 32.

October sits in the garua season, roughly June to November, and the reputation is worse than the experience. Regulars describe low cloud dropping a fine mist that forms near the islands and lifts mid-morning, so the sky is usually clear from about nine until three or four and you still get six to ten hours of sun - our row says 10.8. What our figures cannot show is the mist itself: 2.2mm across 0.9 precipitation days is a month our gauge calls dry. The season's real costs are choppier seas and cooler water, 24.9C here, cold enough that snorkellers want a wetsuit, with fresh early mornings and evenings under a 26.7C day. Wildlife is good all year; the one deadline is the waved albatross on Espanola, gone by about November. The record: humidity 74 percent, a 20.7 kph wind and AQI 28.