DAY 01:
Monday: San Cristobal, La Galapaguera
Our guide will be waiting for you in San Cristobal Airport and once the group of passengers is completed He/She will accompany you to the Archipell Catamaran which anchors at Baquerizo Moreno harbor. After arrival on board, we will check in and give you general information. You will have the lunch. Afterwards you will start with your first excursion to the Galapaguera which is located in the northeast part of San Cristobal island. It has been created to conserve the San Cristobal tortoise specie. The center has as objective to lead and guide the tourists in conservation topics and protection of the environment. An attractive trail native plants leads to meeting giant tortoises in their natural habitat. (L, D)
DAY 02:
Tuesday: South Plazas island - Santa Fe Island
South Plaza has unique Sesuvium plants and Opuntia cactuses scattered across the landscape which provide some of the most interesting wildlife observations available in Galapagos. Land iguanas are easily seen from the trail, frequently under the shade of cactuses, waiting for a prickly pear to fall. Santa Fe is one of the most entertaining destinations for shore excursions in the Galapagos Islands. It has two trail choices for visitors, one of which takes you to the tallest Opuntia cactus in the Galapagos. While the other trail takes you into the highlands where land iguanas can be seen. After a long walk, the opportunity to swim in calm waters or snorkel with playful sealions will be pretty tempting. (B, L, D)
DAY 03:
Wednesday: Floreana, Peace Asylum - Loberia
The Peace Asylum is a visitor site where an artisan spring is located. This spring attracted pirates, whalers and later settlers to Floreana as it was one of the very few year-round sources of fresh water in the Galapagos. The Cueva de los Piratas (Pirate’s Cave) is quite literally where pirates carved temporary shelter out of soft stone and is also where one of the original settlers. La Loberia, is a small beach which is home to a colony of sea lions, as well as some marine iguanas. It’s possible to walk there from the town for some recreational snorkeling. If you’re lucky, the sea lions will come out to join you! Extremely fortunate snorkelers may spot a ray or a shark. (B, L, D)
DAY 04:
Thursday: Santa Cruz Island - The Charles Darwin Research Station – El Chato
The Charles Darwin Research Station is formed by an information centre, a museum, a library and a tortoise breeding station. In the tortoise breeding you can encounter tortoises of different subspecies, which are prepared for reintroduction to their natural habitats. The most popular inhabitant of this Station is probably the Lonesome George turtle. (If you cruise is only for 4 days after this visit you will fly back to the mainland of Ecuador) The highlands of Santa Cruz have incredible zones of vegetations. There you will visit the private farm “Las Primicias”. This reserve offers you one of the best possibilities to see the huge turtles of Santa Cruz Island in their natural habitat. You can observe them from very close. (B, L, D)
DAY 05:
Friday: Isabela Island – Tintoreras – Humedales
Isabela Island is the largest of the archipelago with a surface of 4588 sq.km. It engages more than the half of the land area of whole Galápagos. You will reach the small island of “Tintoreras”. There you will take an easy walk through the bizarre landscape of lava with its huge colonies of sea lizards and sea lions colonies. Often you can observe white tip sharks, resting in the flat water near the shore. Humedales (The Wetlands) are a complex trail of 6km long, located south of Isabela Island, Galapagos. They have a wide variety of flora and fauna, as well as the spectacular scenery of the bay, the town of Puerto Villamil, volcanoes, islets and rocks. Isabela wetlands present both themselves and introduced species. (B, L, D)
DAY 06:
Saturday: Isabela Island – Moreno Point – Elizabeth Bay
At Punta Moreno, a young volcanic landscape with numerous fresh-water pools and lagoons, you can flamingos, bahama ducks and other birds. Then you will go to the mangrove area of Elizabeth Bay with little islands off-shore. Here you can see little dwarf penguins as well as schools of manta rays, turtles and other giants of the ocean such as whale-sharks and more. The mangrove woods are the home of different seabirds and herons. Elizabeth Bay is a marine visitor site, the excursion is carried out in a zodiac and so there is no landing point. Your zodiac ride starts with a visit to the Marielas islets where there is the largest and most important penguin colony in the Galapagos Islands. The excursion continues into the cove that is surrounded by red mangroves where it is here that you are able to observe sea turtles, flightless cormorants, spotted eagle rays, golden rays, brown pelicans and sea lions. (B, L, D)
DAY 07:
Sunday: Isabela: Tagus Cove – Fernandina: Espinoza Point
Tagus Cove, a tour along the cliffs in a zodiac will give the visitors a good chance to see the Galapagos penguin, the flightless cormorant and other sea birds. From the landing dock it is about a 30 minute hike along the trail up to the top of the cliff from where you can view Darwin Lake, an uplifted ultra saline lake saltier than the sea. You can also see several volcanoes from this location. Espinoza point, one of Fernandina’s visit points, is situated within a fascinating lava scenery with Lava-Cactuses and on the surface of the lava growing mangroves. The highlights are sea lions, penguins, the flightless cormorant (especially in spring and summer) and one of the biggest iguana colonies of Galápagos. Do not miss a snorkeling trip during which you have the possibility to explore the beautiful underwater world. (B, L, D)
DAY 08:
Monday: Las Bachas Beach – Baltra Airport
Las Bachas is a beautiful white-sand beach on the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island. There you can go for a stroll or do some easy snorkeling in the gentle surf. Sea turtles lay their eggs at the edge of the vegetation: You can also look for a rusted pontoon, a relic of the Second World War. In fact, “bachas” is a poor pronunciation of “barges,” two of which were wrecked offshore at that time: the locals mispronounced the name and it stuck. After that, you will be transferred to the Baltra’s Airport to fly back to the mainland of Ecuador. (B)
Note: According Galapagos national Park, itineraries are subject to changes.
