Tip Top IV – 8 Days B

Friday, Day 1

Flight from mainland Ecuador (Quito or Guayaquil) to Baltra, with TAME Airlines, arriving at 11:00 a.m. approximately. A guide meets us and accompanies us as we ride the bus to the Itabaca Channel, we cross the channel by barge and then we continue to Puerto Ayora by bus. We board the Yacht and the crew greets us and offers us a light snack and we have our first orientation. In the afternoon, we land at the pier for a visit to the Charles Darwin Station and its Interpretive Center. Return to the Port for a walk through the little town to appreciate various handicrafts. We board and we have a welcome cocktail with the entire crew, and dinner.

Saturday, Day 2

After breakfast, we make an early dry landing on Punta Suarez to walk along lava beds where we will observe unique colonies of marine birds, including Albatross (May – December). Return to the Yacht for lunch. In the afternoon, we make a wet landing in Gardner Bay for a walk on the beach and observe a colony of sea lions, which inhabit the beach in great quantity during the breeding season; this is also an important nesting area for sea turtles. Then we make a panga ride around the Osborn Islet and the islets of Gardner.

Optional: time for those who would like to swim and/or snorkel. Return to the Yacht for dinner and our nightly orientation.

Sunday, Day 3

After breakfast, we make a dry landing on the Interpretation Center of San Cristobal, this tour take us through the geological and human history of the islands, natural history and conservation. We come aboard for a delicious lunch. Later in the afternoon, our experienced Captain sails easily around Kicker Rock (León Dormido), a massive tuff-rock that juts abruptly almost 500 feet straight from the ocean. Kicker Rock serves as nesting place for many sea birds. Optional: time for those who would like to swim and/ or snorkel. Then we make a wet landing on Cerro Brujo to walk on a white sand beach and observe sea lions, brown pelicans, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. Optional: time for those who would like to swim, snorkel and/ or Kayak. We return to the Yacht for dinner and our nightly orientation.

Monday, Day 4

After breakfast, we make an early wet landing on Mosquera Island, a reef of rocks and coral (the result of an uprising) and a great white sand beach and tide pools. We observe colonies of sea lions, brown pelicans, blue footed boobies and sally light-foot crabs, the contrast between these bright red crabs on top and blue on the bottom and the black lava is stunning.

Optional: time for those who would like to swim and/or snorkel. We come aboard for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon, we make a panga ride on Black Turtle Cove, series of mangrove-surrounded coves and islets; here we can observe white-tipped sharks, marine turtles, spotted eagle rays, and yellow cow-nosed rays. We board the Yacht for dinner and the first of our nightly orientations.

Tuesday, Day 5

After breakfast, we make a dry landing on Dragon Hill, here we can see land iguanas; we walk to a hypersalinic lagoon (saltier than the ocean), where we can observe flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks and other species of birds. Optional: time for those who would like to swim and/or snorkel. Return to the Yacht for lunch. In the afternoon, we make a wet landing on Rábida, to walk and observe marine iguanas and sea lions, pelicans, blue-footed boobies, masked boobies and brown pelicans. We walk and we arrive at a small saltwater lagoon where we can see pink flamingos. Optional: time for those who would like to swim, snorkel and/ or kayak. We return to the Yacht for dinner and our nightly orientation.

Wednesday, Day 6

After breakfast, we make a wet landing on Sullivan Bay, a perfect place to get a feel of the volcanic origin of the islands. Optional: time for those who would like to swim and/or snorkel. We return to the boat for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon, we make a dry landing on Bartolomé Island, to hike to the summit; during the hike we observe colonies of marine iguanas and lava lizards. On the summit we see an impressive view of the surrounding islands, including the eroded tuff cone of Pinnacle Rock. We return to the yacht for a delicious dinner and our nightly orientation.

Thursday, Day 7

After breakfast, we make a wet landing on Santa Fe Island to visit the cactus forest and a colony of land iguanas native from Santa Fe. Optional: time for those who would like to swim, snorkel and/or kayak. Return to the Yacht for lunch and sail to South Plaza, where we make a dry landing on the pier of the island, there we can enjoy the antics of the sea lions. A walk through a cactus forest allows us to observe land iguanas and many species of tropical birds. At the end of the afternoon, we return to the Yacht for dinner and our nightly orientation.

Friday, Day 8

After breakfast we make an early disembark on Las Bachas Beach, a place where we can appreciate a Flamingos lagoon. During the walk, your guide will be explaining details about the lives of the birds and animals. We return to the Yacht for disembarking on the pier at 09:00. Your guide accompanies you on the bus ride directly to the airport.

Departure	Arrival
Friday 27th of December 2024	Friday 3rd of January 2025	[request availability]
Friday 10th of January 2025	Friday 17th of January 2025	[request availability]
Friday 24th of January 2025	Friday 31st of January 2025	[request availability]
Friday 7th of February 2025	Friday 14th of February 2025	[request availability]
Friday 21st of February 2025	Friday 28th of February 2025	[request availability]
Friday 7th of March 2025	Friday 14th of March 2025	[request availability]
Friday 21st of March 2025	Friday 28th of March 2025	[request availability]
Friday 4th of April 2025	Friday 11th of April 2025	[request availability]
Friday 18th of April 2025	Friday 25th of April 2025	[request availability]
Friday 2nd of May 2025	Friday 9th of May 2025	[request availability]
Friday 16th of May 2025	Friday 23rd of May 2025	[request availability]
Friday 30th of May 2025	Friday 6th of June 2025	[request availability]
Friday 13th of June 2025	Friday 20th of June 2025	[request availability]
Friday 27th of June 2025	Friday 4th of July 2025	[request availability]
Friday 11th of July 2025	Friday 18th of July 2025	[request availability]
Friday 25th of July 2025	Friday 1st of August 2025	[request availability]
Friday 8th of August 2025	Friday 15th of August 2025	[request availability]
Friday 22nd of August 2025	Friday 29th of August 2025	[request availability]
Friday 5th of September 2025	Friday 12th of September 2025	[request availability]
Friday 19th of September 2025	Friday 26th of September 2025	[request availability]
Friday 3rd of October 2025	Friday 10th of October 2025	[request availability]
Friday 17th of October 2025	Friday 24th of October 2025	[request availability]
Friday 31st of October 2025	Friday 7th of November 2025	[request availability]
Friday 14th of November 2025	Friday 21st of November 2025	[request availability]
Friday 28th of November 2025	Friday 5th of December 2025	[request availability]
Friday 12th of December 2025	Friday 19th of December 2025	[request availability]
Friday 26th of December 2025	Friday 2nd of January 2026	[request availability]
Friday 9th of January 2026	Friday 16th of January 2026	[request availability]
Friday 23rd of January 2026	Friday 30th of January 2026	[request availability]
Friday 6th of February 2026	Friday 13th of February 2026	[request availability]
Friday 20th of February 2026	Friday 27th of February 2026	[request availability]
Friday 6th of March 2026	Friday 13th of March 2026	[request availability]