If you're like me you're probably already looking ahead to 2013 and planning your next adventure. If that happens to be the case, and the Galapagos Islands have been a destination that you've always dreamed about, then perhaps January is the time to make that dream a reality. That's when renowned adventure travel company Mountain Travel Sobek is offering a $500 discount on their first two departures of the year.

These two early season excursions are actually quite different from one another. The first, which sets out on January 17, charts a course for the western Galapagos Islands while the other, which gets underway on January 24, heads to the east. Both itineraries are 11-days in length, beginning and ending in Quito, Ecuador, where travelers will spend the first few days soaking up the country's colonial history while visiting local markets and exploring the cloud forest.

On the third day they'll catch a short flight to the Galapagos, where they'll board a yacht that will serve as their home for the remainder of the journey. Over the course of the following week, they'll have the opportunity to visit beautiful beaches, hike to the top of a volcano and go snorkeling in crystal clear ocean waters. They'll also witness first hand some of the wildlife that has made the Galapagos so famous, including sea turtles, swimming iguanas, fur seals and blue-footed boobies. For a more detailed look at the itineraries, click here.

The Galapagos remain one of my top destinations that I would still like to visit at some point. I've been told that it is a magical experience with amazing animals in a beautiful setting. I'm sure these two excursions will more than live up to that hype and they'll do so while saving you some cash in the process.

Filed under: South America, Ecuador, Ecotourism, Travel Deals, Cruises, Luxury Travel