Congratulations to Jean Carlisle and her family, winners of our $20,000 family vacation to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions.

The Wisconsin resident said a Galapagos trip in late February or early March will be “a nice break from our cold winters.”

She entered the contest because she’s seen photos and videos of the Galapagos beaches and unique wildlife in magazines, on the National Geographic channel and on TravelingMom, TakingtheKids.com and Family Travel Forum as well as in the vacation brochures on Lindblad.

“Just seeing pictures of the huge tortoises and colorful species are amazing so I can't imagine how exciting it will be to see them in real life,” Carlisle wrote in an email after she was notified she had won the coveted Dream Vacation.  “My husband and I have enjoyed cruises before so we are really excited about being on a cruise with the opportunity to explore the islands in a way that a typical cruise would never allow.”

Next big challenge for her: deciding which of her five kids, ages 15-25, will get to join them for the week-long cruise.

Stay tuned to TravelingMom for our next Dream Vacation giveaway, a family ski vacation in Aspen!