Day | Visitor Site |
---|---|
Sunday | AM - Baltra Island Airport: Arrival and Transfer to the boat |
PM - Las Bachas (Santa Cruz) | |
Monday | AM - Darwin Bay (Genovesa) |
PM - Prince Philip's Steps (Genovesa) | |
Tuesday | AM - Bartolome |
PM - Sullivan Bay (Santiago) & Chinese Hat | |
Wednesday | AM - Daphne & Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz) |
PM - Cerro Dragón (Santa Cruz) | |
Thursday | AM - Puerto Ayora and the Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz) |
PM - Highlands of Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz) | |
Friday | AM - Post Office Bay & Baroness Lookout (Floreana) |
PM - Cormorant Point & Devil´s Crown (Floreana) | |
Saturday | AM - Punta Suarez (Espanola) |
PM - Gardner Bay / Gardner Islet / Osborn Islet (Espanola) | |
Sunday | AM - Leon Dormido & Interpretation Center (San Cristobal) |
Transfer to the Airport |
Day 1 – Baltra Island & Santa Cruz Island
AM: Arrival in Baltra airport and transfer to the boat. Briefing on board about the boat and the island.
PM: 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.
Day 2 – Genovesa Island
AM: The beach of Darwin Bay is a coral beach where a 750m trail takes you through more seabird colonies. You get to see the cliffs from the seaward side, which are home to a large red-footed booby colony. Once ashore the number of birds seems overwhelming – Nazca boobies soar overhead, great frigatebirds display their pouches while resting on the nearby rocks and plants, and mockingbirds scamper quickly across the sand.
PM: 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.
Day 3 – Bartholomew Island & Santiago Island
AM:Bartholomew Island 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 Sullivan Bay lava field has a variety of interesting patterns made by the shapes and textures of trees that once existed there and hornitos caused when pockets of gas or water trapped under the lava exploded. The low-lying mollugo and the lava cactus are the only plants that have managed to take root in this harsh environment. On the shoreline black and white oystercatchers can be seen fishing for crabs and molluscs in the tide pools.
Sombrero Chino is named after its shape formed by volcanic rock giving it the name, Chinese Hat. Since it was given a maximum visiting capacity by the National Park Service it offers rare, up close viewing of Galapagos wildlife and well preserved remnants of fragile volcanic rock that can’t be found in such a unique condition anywhere else. The islet is home to a colony of sea lions on the white coral sand beach. Here you can see American Oystercatchers, Galapagos Penguins swimming along the shores, and Sally-Lightfoot Crabs in bright contrast to the dark volcanic rock.
Day 4 – Daphne Island & Santa Cruz Island
AM: Daphne Island is a volcanic tuff cone, formed by successive explosions produced by the mixture of lava and water. On this island, Dr. Peter Grant has made a long-term study of Darwin’s finches, which is why you can see these birds are banded. The palo santo present herein Bursera malacophyla is endemic to the Daphne Islands, North Seymour and Baltra. The blue-footed booby nests inside the craters and the masked booby nests on the flanks of the cone and the edge of the craters and the tropical bird that nests in cavities in the cliffs.
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 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.
PM: 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.
Day 6 – Floreana Island
AM: The best known site on Floreana is Post Office Bay, a white-sand beach where in the past sailors used to leave and receive their letters in a barrel. The tradition continues – leave your postcard in the barrel and see how long it takes to be delivered, and at the same time if there is a postcard with an address close to your home, please take it with you.
PM: Noted for the volcanic green olivine crystals found in the beach, Cormorant Point offers a trail overlooking a saltwater lagoon that is a favourite of flamingos. Beyond the lagoon the trail leads to a magnificent white-sand beach. Green sea turtles lay their eggs in the sands here during the night and their tracks leading to and from the sea mark the beach.
Day 7 – Española Island
AM: Suárez Point is one of the most outstanding wildlife areas of the archipelago, with a long list of species found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches. In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there are the curious and bold Española Island mockingbirds, Galápagos doves and Galápagos hawks. Several types of reptiles, including the marine iguana and the oversized lava lizard, are unique to this island.
PM: Gardner Bay has a magnificent beach with turquoise waters. Around the small islets nearby, snorkellers will find lots of fish and sometimes turtles and sharks. The bay is also frequented by a transient colony of sea lions which like to swim with you. Birds, like the endemic Hood-mockingbird and different species of Darwin finches, are omnipresent.
Day 8 – San Cristobal Island
AM: León Dormido is a small, distinctive island that comprises two rocks which jut out of the ocean and is home to a large colony of sea birds. Kicker Rock is an excellent dive site where you could see many reef fish as well as hammerhead and Galápagos sharks. Sightings of large rays and turtles are common but not guaranteed.
Transfer to the Airport.
Departure | Arrival | |
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Sunday 5th of January 2025 | Sunday 12th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 19th of January 2025 | Sunday 26th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 2nd of February 2025 | Sunday 9th of February 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 16th of February 2025 | Sunday 23rd of February 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 2nd of March 2025 | Sunday 9th of March 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 16th of March 2025 | Sunday 23rd of March 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 30th of March 2025 | Sunday 6th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 13th of April 2025 | Sunday 20th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 27th of April 2025 | Sunday 4th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 11th of May 2025 | Sunday 18th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 25th of May 2025 | Sunday 1st of June 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 8th of June 2025 | Sunday 15th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 22nd of June 2025 | Sunday 29th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 6th of July 2025 | Sunday 13th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 20th of July 2025 | Sunday 27th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 3rd of August 2025 | Sunday 10th of August 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 17th of August 2025 | Sunday 24th of August 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 31st of August 2025 | Sunday 7th of September 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 14th of September 2025 | Sunday 21st of September 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 28th of September 2025 | Sunday 5th of October 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 12th of October 2025 | Sunday 19th of October 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 26th of October 2025 | Sunday 2nd of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 9th of November 2025 | Sunday 16th of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 23rd of November 2025 | Sunday 30th of November 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 7th of December 2025 | Sunday 14th of December 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 21st of December 2025 | Sunday 28th of December 2025 | [request availability] |
Sunday 4th of January 2026 | Sunday 11th of January 2026 | [request availability] |
Sunday 18th of January 2026 | Sunday 25th of January 2026 | [request availability] |
Sunday 1st of February 2026 | Sunday 8th of February 2026 | [request availability] |
Sunday 15th of February 2026 | Sunday 22nd of February 2026 | [request availability] |
Sunday 1st of March 2026 | Sunday 8th of March 2026 | [request availability] |
Sunday 15th of March 2026 | Sunday 22nd of March 2026 | [request availability] |