DAY 1 (-/S/-)
QUITO – SAN CRISTOBAL
Your Naturalist will be waiting for you at the San Cristobal airport. Transfer to the hotel where bags will be drop. We will start our first visit with Interpretation Center, where you will learn about the islands, evolution of their species, fauna, migration, and how humans came to live here. Then continue to playa Carola for water activity
Accommodation in Hotel Casa Opuntia or similar.
DAY 2 (B/L/-)
KICKER ROCK
After breakfast, excursion to One of the most sought-after sites in Galapagos, Kicker Rock, also known as León Dormido, is the remains of a volcanic cone, eroded by the sea across hundredths of years. It is the eroded cone of an extinct volcano in the shape of a sleeping lion which earned it the name, Leon Dormido. Above the water, the monolithic rock formation towers over 500 feet above the Pacific Ocean and is home to various Blue-Footed Boobies, Frigatebirds, California Sea Lions, Red-billed Tropicbirds, its locations and unique ecosystem makes it an underwater paradise.
Accommodation in Hotel Casa Opuntia or similar.
DAY 3 (B/ L/-)
PUERTO AYORA – CHARLES DARWIN STATION – SANTA CRUZ ISLAND HIGHLANDS
In the morning (07:00 AM) you will take the public speedboat from San Cristobal to Puerto Ayora (approximately 2,5 hours). Drop bags at the hotel , you will have a breakfast at a local restaurant and transfer to the Highlands of Santa Cruz to make closer contact with the Giant Galapagos Tortoises in their natural habitat. You will be surrounded all the excursion by the endemic vegetation of the Galapagos. Lunch included, after the meal you will be drive to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, where you can see the memorial site for the last living Galapagos tortoise of its species.
Accommodation in Hotel La Isla or similar.
DAY 4 (B/L/-)
Depending on the day and availability, guests will take part in one of the following full-day adventures:
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North Seymour.- After breakfast leaving for Itabaca Channel. You’ll board the Finch Bay’s Sea Lion Yacht. Your day will include a dry landing and a 1.5 km/1 mi walk over a mixture of sand and rounded boulders. Experience a live biology lesson with land and marine iguanas, Nazca- and blue-footed boobies, frigates, sea lions and fur seals. Lunch will be had aboard the Promesa Yacht or similar. The other highlight here is Las Bachas, a stunning white beach with dreamy and small brackish lagoons, which are home to various waders, such as plovers, stilts and flamingos. You will have the chance to swim and/or snorkel here.
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Santa Fe. After the Finch Bay’s generous buffet breakfast, we will board the Promesa Yacht or similar, which will be waiting for us just minutes away from the hotel at Academy Bay. The yacht cruises over to Santa Fe, an impressive volcanic island 17 nautical miles away from Puerto Ayora. After a wet landing on a fantastic white and sandy beach that’s filled with basking sea lions, we will walk along rocky terrain to find the island’s highlight: the endemic Santa Fe land iguana, patiently waiting under the enormous and giant cacti for falling fruits and pads. Other species you can expect to see on this day are pelicans, boobies and the archipelago’s top predator, the Galapagos hawk. Return to the yacht and enjoy one of the best Galapagos snorkeling sites. After that, we’ll have lunch aboard the Sea Lion Yacht. Upon the cruise back to Puerto Ayora, we will scan the sea surface for pelagic birds and whales.
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Bartolome.- After buffet breakfast, You’ll board the Finch Bay’s Promesa Yacht or similar. A 21-nautical mile sailing stretch is well worth its length, as dolphins or whales are often seen in these waters. A dry landing marks the start of our 1.5 km/1 mi walk. Much of the trail is over a wooden boardwalk and up a staircase that consists of 366 steps. There are several observation platforms on the way up to the summit of Bartolome (150 meters/490 feet above sea level). Once up top, you will get to enjoy one of the Galapagos’ most famous views: the tilted Pinnacle Rock, the golden beach of Bartolome and the impressive lava fields of Santiago Island. Upon descending back to the coast, you will have a chance to scan the volcanic shore, in search of flashy Sally Lightfoot crabs and Galapagos penguins, before enjoying a soothing dip at the beach. Lunch aboard the Sea Lion Yacht and a brief exploration of nearby Sullivan Bay will be done before sailing back to the Itabaca Channel and then your drive back to the hotel.
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South Plaza.- After breakfast, you will board the Promesa Yacht or similar (depending on the day, it might be moored in Itabaca Channel or in Academy Bay). This day includes 2 highlights: One of them will involve snorkeling/swimming over at beautiful Punta Carrion while the other, which sits just, 8 nautical miles away, is South Plaza Island. This second site impresses visitors with the vast volume of amazing wildlife that greets them right upon arrival: dozens of frolicking sea lion pups, patrolling alpha male sea lions, basking marine and land iguanas, stunning red crabs and various Darwin finches. The trail is over 1.5 km/1 mi long, and consists of walking along and over rounded boulders. Lunch will be had aboard the Promesa Yacht or similar
DAY 5 (B/-/-)
MORNING AT LEISURE – ISABELA ISLAND – FLAMINGO LAGOON
Morning at leisure, suggested to visit Las Grietas. Around 1:30 PM, you will take a public speedboat to Isabela Island, which takes approximately 2,5 hours. Upon arrival in Isabela, you will visit the Flamingo Lagoon. This place is the largest coastal lagoon found in the Galapagos and is one of the main reproductive sites for the majority of flamingos.
Accommodation in Hotel Volcano or similar.
DAY 6 (B/BL/-)
LOS TUNELES SNORKELING
After breakfast, your guide will take you to what is said to be one of the best snorkeling places in the world, Los Tuneles. The water is shallow, calm and very clear- a sea sanctuary. A series of lava flows have produced unique geological formations, a series of arcs and tunnels underneath and above the water- a habitat for many local Galapagos Species. The entrance to the site is shallow and the waves can be strong, for this reason, the access can be complicated. You will have lunch on board and then return to Puerto Villamil.
Accommodation in Hotel Volcano or similar.
DAY 7 (B/BL/-)
SIERRA NEGRA – AFTERNOON AT LEISURE ( SUGGESTED CONCHA PERLA )
After breakfast, Sierra Negra Volcano: Walk along the rim of Galapagos’ largest caldera – one of the largest in the world – and see recent volcanic activity and the resulting fascinating formations. Wildlife will focus on Darwin’s finches, flycatchers, mockingbirds, and occasionally the Galapagos hawk and rail. Box lunch included. After this you can go snorkeling or swimming by yourself at Concha Perla where you can observe wide variety of underwater life.
Accommodation in Hotel Volcano or similar.
DAY 8 (BOX B/-/- )
TRANSFER OUT TO BALTRA AIRPORT
At 6:00 AM you take the public speedboat to Puerto Ayora (2,5 hours), meet at the pier by a local representative that will take you to the airport (about 40 minutes). Ferry from Itabaca Channel and Transportation in Baltra are included, the driver will help you check in at the airport
End of services
PRICE P/PER USD $2940 MINIMUM 2 PAX UP TO 4 PAX
