Northern Galapagos – Tuesday to Monday

Our itinerary together begins on San Cristobal Island and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the capital of the Galapagos Province. On our first afternoon, we visit Cerro Colorado, breeding centre of the islands’ famous giant tortoises amid a fantastic deciduous forest. We sail north overnight, to awake at the sunken caldera of Genovesa Island, a privileged place to visit amid thousands of marine birds. Back in the central islands, on Thursday we learn about Buccaneer Cove’s distant and recent history aboard our inflatable dinghies, before exploring the underwater realm, snorkelling or aboard the glass-bottom boat. Across the way, we disembark at the popular site of Puerto Egas, a great place to see land and marine birds amid a landscape of tuff-stone layers and lava flows.

Motoring overnight, we find ourselves amongst the youngest islands of the Galapagos. Here, we explore Punta Espinoza with its amazing combination of barrenness and abundant wildlife. Highlights include hawks, penguins and the flightless cormorant. Later, at Tagus Cove, an uphill hike takes us to the rim of Darwin Crater and some lovely views, followed by an inflatable dinghy ride to spot local wildlife, a swim, kayak or snorkel. We continue our exploration of Isabela Island the following day, at Urbina Bay, the intriguing result of an uplifting of the ocean, home to large and very colourful Galapagos land iguanas, and then at Punta Vicente Roca with its abundant wildlife and, hopefully, sightings of green sea turtles. Sunday sees us anchor to visit the red beach of Rábida Island and its large colony of sea lions, marine iguanas, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, and several species of Darwin’s finches. In the afternoon, we visit the north shore of Santa Cruz, host to Cerro Dragón (Dragon Hill), home to land iguanas and with a trail that offers a beautiful view of the bay.

Southern Galapagos – Friday to Tuesday

Our itinerary begins on Santa Cruz Island, the most populous in the archipelago. Journey to the lush vegetation of the highlands to meet giant tortoises face to face before venturing down to the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. After embarking at the end of the day, we sail south to the island of Floreana, where we disembark at two history-filled sites: Post Office Bay in the morning and Cormorant Point in the afternoon. We then head west to Española Island and its remarkable visitor site, Punta Suarez, a favourite of many visitors. Here, we’ll wander along the rugged coastline, home to hundreds of marine iguanas, sea lions, marine birds, including the Galapagos albatross (from April to early January). In the afternoon, Gardner Bay provides a wonderful setting for a combination of beach-time, swimming, snorkelling or exploring aboard the glass-bottom boat. Next, stop on San Cristobal Island, the capital of the Galapagos Province. We explore the northern shores of the island, visiting the fascinating sites of Punta Pitt and Cerro Brujo, taking us back to young Charles Darwin’s visit of 1835. We end our journey at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

Central Galapagos – Monday to Friday

Our itinerary begins on Santa Cruz Island, one of the inhabited islands in Galapagos. We first explore the highlands with its lush vegetation before venturing to the famous Charles Darwin Research Station to meet face-to-face with the iconic Giant Tortoises. We board the vessel late in the afternoon, and early next day sail to a stunning anchorage at Santa Fe Island. Here, we find a white beach with many sea lions, as well as the Santa Fe land Iguana and, possibly, the Galapagos hawk. In the afternoon, we explore South Plaza Island, where we find endemic yellow land iguanas munching on cacti amidst a spectacular show of nature’s colours: the azure sea, green cacti and red sesuvium. We now move to North Seymour Island, a highlight for many visitors, and it starts with a rewarding walk along the coast and then inland, observing bird colonies including magnificent frigatebirds, blue-footed boobies, gulls, and also sea lions and marine iguanas. Here, we snorkel too. Later, we disembark on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island, at the glorious white beach of Las Bachas, for a refreshing swim and search for some lagoon birds. We continue now to Bartolome Island, with its unbeatable volcanic viewpoint on a hill, golden-sandy beach and stunning wildlife exploration for snorkellers or glass-bottom boat guests. We hope to find some Galapagos penguins, both on land and in the water. Afterwards, we land at the white beach of Sullivan Bay, with a trail over a dramatic lava field from 1897.