Day | Visitor Site |
---|---|
Saturday | AM - Baltra Island Airport: Arrival and Transfer to the boat |
PM - Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz) | |
Sunday | AM - Rabida |
PM - Puerto Egas (Santiago) | |
Monday | AM - Tagus Cove (Isabela) |
PM - Punta Espinoza (Fernandina) | |
Tuesday | AM - Urbina Bay (Isabela) |
PM - Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela) | |
Wednesday | AM - Puerto Ayora and the Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz) |
PM - Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) | |
Thursday | AM - Prince Phillip's Steps (Genovesa) |
PM - Darwin Bay (Genovesa) | |
Friday | AM - Bartolome |
PM - Cerro Dragón (Santa Cruz) | |
Saturday | AM - Las Bachas (Santa Cruz) |
Tour Ends - Transfer to Airport |
Day 1 – Baltra Island & Santa Cruz Island
AM: Arrival at the airport and transfer to the boat. Briefing onboard about the boat and the island.
PM: Black Turtle Cove is located on the north side of the island and is only accessible by boat and with a guide. This shallow inlet is surrounded by mangroves and provides natural protection for a variety of marine life, attracting the vulnerable juveniles of many species. Below the surface of the water, you can see both blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, golden cownose rays, spotted eagle rays, and an occasional hammerhead shark. Pelicans and Boobies hunt here, diving gracefully into the water.
Day 2 – Rábida Island & Santiago Island
AM: The high amount of iron contained in the lava at Rábida gives the island a distinctive red color. White-Cheeked Pintail Ducks live in a salt-water lagoon close to the beach, where brown pelicans and boobies have built their nests. Up until recently, flamingos were also found in the salt-water lagoon, but they have since moved on to other islands, likely due to a lack of food on Rábida. Nine species of Finches have been reported in this island.
PM: Puerto Egas, with its black sand beaches, was the site of small salt mining industry in the 1960s. A hike inland to the salt crater is an excellent opportunity to sight land birds such as finches, doves, and hawks. A walk down the rugged shoreline will turn up many marine species. Iguanas bask on the rocks and sea lions laze in the tide pools. At the end of the trail there is a series of grottoes or sea caves where fur seals and night herons are found.
Day 3 – Isabela Island & Fernandina Island
AM: Tagus Cove was named after a British warship which anchored here in 1814, this cove is located to the west of the island and you can take a panga (zodiac) trip below the high cliffs. Here there is an opportunity to see penguins as well as marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs and sea lions. Blue-footed boobies are also in abundance.
PM: Punta Espinosa is a narrow stretch of land where hundreds of marine iguanas gather largely on black lava rocks. The famous flightless cormorant inhabits this island and Galápagos penguins, pelicans and sea lions are also abundant. Different types of lava flows can be compared and the mangrove forests can be observed.
Day 4 – Isabela Island
AM: The waters of Urbina Bay are a good place to see turtles and rays and ashore is a short trail leading to a coral reef, which is evidence of an uplift from the sea which occurred in 1954. This provides the rare experience of walking in the middle of a bed of coral. Marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and pelicans can be seen at this site.
PM: At the Vicente Roca Point the remnants of an ancient volcano form two turquoise coves with a bay well protected from the ocean swells. The spot is a popular anchorage from which to explore the cliffs, where masked and blue-footed boobies perch while flightless cormorants inhabit the shoreline. The upwelling of coldwater currents in this part of the Galápagos give rise to an abundance of marine life, which make Punta Vicente Roca one of the archipelago’s sough after dive spots.
Day 5 – Santa Cruz Island
AM: The Charles Darwin Research Station is an international not-for-profit organization that provides scientific research, technical information and assistance to ensure the proper preservation of the Galápagos Islands. Visitors can learn about natural history, issues concerning the islands, and see the tortoise breeding and rearing project at work.
The highlands are located in the northern part of the island and can reach elevations up to 1500 meters. On a journey into the higher elevations of Santa Cruz you will experience all seven different vegetation zones. The vegetation here is abundant and lush and the weather moist.
PM: Puerto Ayora is the economic centre of the Galápagos Islands with many restaurants, souvenir shops, discotheques, bars, internet coffee shops and other stores. A good way to wind down after a Galápagos Islands cruise is to take a stroll through the town of Puerto Ayora. The bay is a good location to spot brown pelicans, golden rays, marine iguanas, herons, lava gulls, frigate birds, Galápagos sea lions, and large numbers of blue-footed boobies.
Day 6 – Genovesa Island
AM: Prince Phillip´s step is an extraordinary, steep path that leads through a seabird colony full of life, up to cliffs that are 25m high. At the top the trail continues inland, passing more seabird colonies in a thin palo santo forest. Leaving the forest you can overview a rocky plain. You could get a view of masked and red-footed boobies, great frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropicbirds and hundreds of storm petrels at the edge of the cliff.
PM: Arguably the best snorkeling site in the islands, Devil’s Crown is a collapsed volcanic cone that boasts an extraordinary number and variety of fish. It is a popular roosting site for seabirds such as boobies, pelicans, and frigates. In addition, sharks, sea lions, sea turtles and eels can be found amongst the rocks and corals.
Day 7 – Bartholomew Island & Santa Cruz Island
AM: Bartholomew is the most photographed island in the Archipelago, and its pictures are the most shown next to Galapagos’ name. In fact, a walk through an unusual lava landscape, and then up some wooden stairs, will take you to the top, from where the view is more spectacular than what the images suggest.
PM: The Dragon Hill (Cerro Dragon) visitors’ site was established by the Galápagos Islands National Park administration. A hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon behind the beach is often frequented by flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks and other species of birds. There is a short walk to the hill, which has rewarding views of the bay and a nesting site of land iguanas.
Day 8 – Mosquera Island & Baltra Island
AM: Located on the north shore of Santa Cruz, Las Bachas is a swimming beach. One of the few remnants of the U.S. World War II presence in the Galápagos, a floating pier, can be seen here. You may see flamingos, Sally Lightfoot crabs, hermit crabs, black necked stilts, and whimbrels. Sea turtles also nest off the beach.
Transfer to the Airport.
Departure | Arrival | |
---|---|---|
Saturday 4th of January 2025 | Saturday 11th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 18th of January 2025 | Saturday 25th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 1st of February 2025 | Saturday 8th of February 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 15th of February 2025 | Saturday 22nd of February 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 1st of March 2025 | Saturday 8th of March 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 15th of March 2025 | Saturday 22nd of March 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 29th of March 2025 | Saturday 5th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 12th of April 2025 | Saturday 19th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 26th of April 2025 | Saturday 3rd of May 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 10th of May 2025 | Saturday 17th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 24th of May 2025 | Saturday 31st of May 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 7th of June 2025 | Saturday 14th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 21st of June 2025 | Saturday 28th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 5th of July 2025 | Saturday 12th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 19th of July 2025 | Saturday 26th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 2nd of August 2025 | Saturday 9th of August 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 16th of August 2025 | Saturday 23rd of August 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 30th of August 2025 | Saturday 6th of September 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 13th of September 2025 | Saturday 20th of September 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 27th of September 2025 | Saturday 4th of October 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 11th of October 2025 | Saturday 18th of October 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 25th of October 2025 | Saturday 1st of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 8th of November 2025 | Saturday 15th of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 22nd of November 2025 | Saturday 29th of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 6th of December 2025 | Saturday 13th of December 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 20th of December 2025 | Saturday 27th of December 2025 | [request availability] |
Saturday 3rd of January 2026 | Saturday 10th of January 2026 | [request availability] |
Saturday 17th of January 2026 | Saturday 24th of January 2026 | [request availability] |
Saturday 31st of January 2026 | Saturday 7th of February 2026 | [request availability] |
Saturday 14th of February 2026 | Saturday 21st of February 2026 | [request availability] |
Saturday 28th of February 2026 | Saturday 7th of March 2026 | [request availability] |
Saturday 14th of March 2026 | Saturday 21st of March 2026 | [request availability] |