The perfect way to get into the magical World of Galapagos is through
our "Bewitched Islands Cruise". For this we have selected two motor
sailers that will be part of the enchantment of the islands. The
itinerary covers the western part of Isabela and also the island of
Fernandina. On this trek, you will be able to visit the most outstanding
sites and learn a bit more about the diversity of the wildlife of the
Galapagos Islands. Our 8 day long itinerary on the islands will allow you to
see much more than the traditional cruises, make the most of every
single day on the islands and live a unique experience that you will
cherish forever.
Trip Details
- 11 days / 10 nights tour program
- 8 days / 7 nights Naturalist Cruise of the Galapagos Islands
- Cruise itinerary includes Isabela and Fernandina islands
- Daily hikes, snorkeling and kayaking
- Amazing wildlife encounters and photo opportunities
- Naturalist Guide Level III (highest level)
- Excellent on board meals, both international and Ecuadorian
cuisine
- 3 nights in a hotel while in Quito (2 options *)
- Welcome and Farewell Dinner
- Meals while in Quito served "a la carte" (**)
- Private tour of Quito accompanied by guide with high level
of expertise (all day)
- Special attention to traveler diet requirements
- Small group of up to 16 participants
- Private transfers, personalized attention
- Arrival / departure point: Quito
(*) Option 1:
5-Star
Swissôtel -
For the same price we upgrade your room to Junior Suite
Option 2: 3-Star Hotel
Café Cultura
(**) Welcome and farewell dinner, lunch at
the best restaurants in Quito
We have selected two of our preferred yachts for this
itinerary:
S/S Sagitta
M/S Diamante
Day 1 - Monday
Arrival in Quito, private transfer to the Hotel.
Day 2 - Tuesday
Quito city
tour. Visit of the colonial district, with its ancient churches, 500-year
old buildings constructed over Inca ruins and its colonial Spanish-style
plazas.
Day
3 - Wednesday
Morning flight to the Galapagos. Arrive at Baltra Airport.
Our Guides will escort you on a short bus ride to the harbor.
After a briefing and a light lunch the first site is visited.
North
Seymour is
the perfect place for marine bird watching, like blue footed boobies,
frigates, swallow tailed gulls, all of these nesting in season. The sound,
the variety of their activities, the colonies sizes, is part of one of the
most fascinating experiences in Galapagos. In the other side of the
Island, you will be able to see sea lions, playing with the waves, which
afterwards crash against the rocks that are covered with marine Iguanas.
Day 4 -
Thursday South Plaza
is one of the smallest islands visited, 426 feet wide (130
meters) and just over ½ mile (800 meters) long. Here you can watch land
iguanas, in a small Opuntia cactus forest. A trail will take you, from the
sea lion colony, to the cliffs, where you can observe sea birds, such as
frigates, swallow tail gulls, boobies, red billed tropic birds, pelicans,
and so on.
Santa
Cruz Island.
In Puerto Ayora functions the National Park's office,
as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station, where you will
see the incubation and raising of the Giant tortoises. Here
you will observe the baby tortoises before their repatriation
to their natural habitat. After touring the Station, a journey
by bus into the highlands to Los Gemelos, the two deep pit craters
situated in the Scalesia forest with lots of interesting bird
life. Go for a walk through the giant lava tunnels,
of more than a kilometer in length. Lava tubes were made by
the solidification of the surface of a lava flow. When the flow
stops, the liquid lava inside keeps on flowing, leaving the
exterior surface solidified and forming the tunnels.
Day 5 - Friday
Española
Island. In
Gardner Bay you will find one
of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the Islands, with
excellent opportunities of swimming and snorkeling around the
nearby small, rocky islands. This beach is frequented by a
transient colony of sea lions, and is a major nesting site for
marine turtles. Around the small islets nearby, snorkelers will
find lots of fish and sometimes turtles and sharks. On a trail
leading to the western tip of the island you'll pass the only
nesting site in the Galapagos of the waved albatross. These huge
birds nest here from April to December.
In the afternoon we head for Punta
Suarez, one
of the most interesting places in the whole archipelago, where you will be able to see a subspecies of marine
iguanas with red and green spots, endemic to Española. You will
also see blue footed boobies, masked boobies, Hood mockingbirds,
swallow tailed gulls, oystercatchers and red-billed tropicbirds.
Day 6 - Saturday
In Floreana Island,
one of the
most interesting places is Punta Cormorant, with its green beach
due to olivine crystals. A short walk takes you to a lagoon where
you can see flamingos next to a few other wading birds. A
spectacular place to snorkel and dive is the Devil's Crown, the
top of a partially submerged volcano that resembles a black crown.
Over the tops of the rocks that emerge from the sea, red-billed
tropicbirds and Audubon Shearwaters are nesting. Under the water,
you will find thousands of colorful fish, rays and coral
formations. In the afternoon, the visit to Post Office Bay can be very pleasant for those who are interested
on the human history of the Islands.
Day
7 - Sunday Isabela
Island.
To the southwest lies Punta Moreno, where one lands on an
impressive lava flow, and there can be found several species of
pioneering plants. Walking on this flow will take you to several
sunken brackish water ponds, with moor hens, pin tailed ducks,
frigates, pelicans, and occasionally flamingos and pied bill
grebes.
At Elizabeth bay, you will be able to snorkel, and find rays and
sea turtles. A dinghy ride on the hidden lagoons will give you the
opportunity to observe dozens of sea turtles on a pristine and
peaceful environment. After this, still on the dinghy, a trip
around the "Marielas", where penguins roost and nest.
Day
8 - Monday
Isabela
Island.
Urbina
Bay is an easy wet landing on a gentle sloping beach. This area is
very interesting in that it is a perfect example of the geological
activity of the islands. In 1954 over 3 miles (5 kilometers) of
the marine reef at the edge of the shore were uplifted by 13 feet
(4 meters). You will find here flightless cormorants, pelicans,
penguins, blue-footed boobies and marine and land iguanas, as well
as Alcedo tortoises, if you get lucky. At the bay you will find
rays and sea turtles.
Fernandina Island has remained almost intact in the face of man's presence in the
archipelago, due to its remoteness, making it probably the most
pristine Island in the Galapagos, where at least up until today,
no introduced species are found. Volcanically, this island is the
most active and its very young volcanic landscapes are
impressive. Here you can find formations of pahoe-hoe and aa lava,
which gives you an idea of how everything started in this planet.
The only visitor's site is Punta Espinosa, where you can see the
largest concentrations of marine iguanas in the Archipelago, as
well as flightless cormorants, sea lions, penguins, Sally Lightfoot
crabs, lava lizards, hawks, and mangrove forests.
Day
9 - Tuesday Santiago
Island has several sites to visit at the western end of James
Bay. Puerto Egas is
one of the most popular sites of the islands. There is a wet
landing on a black sand beach and then the walk goes along the
shore, where black lava formations, tide pools, caves and entries
will captivate you with their shapes and colors, and so will the
wildlife you will find in this place. Big marine iguana colonies
feed from green seaweed that contrast above the black lava from
the shores, next to the red Sally light foot crabs that attract
lava herons which are their predators. At the end of the road you
will meet a colony of
fur seals, and walking to the interior you can always see
some Darwin's finches, large billed fly catchers, Galapagos
doves, Galapagos mockingbirds, dark billed cuckoos
and the Galapagos Hawk.
Bartolome
is
the most photographed island in the Archipelago. 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. There is a beautiful crescent shaped beach
where you can snorkel among the endemic penguins from Galapagos,
marine turtles and tropical fish schools.
Day
10 - Wednesday Santa Cruz Island.
Black Turtle Cove is a salt-water lagoon surrounded by different mangrove
species and in its quiet crystal clear waters you can observe marine turtles,
sharks and rays. In the afternoon we head for
Baltra, and return to Quito.
Day
11 - Thursday Depart home or take a trip
extension
Note: This
is our standard Galapagos National Park approved itinerary.
Time spent
at each site will depend on environmental variables such as
wildlife, weather, etc. Changes will be decided upon by
captains.
All
itineraries are subject to change by the authorities of the
Galapagos National Park or acts of providence.
①
②
③
④
⑤
Hikes in two visitor sites every day, through nature trails, on sand,
dirt or volcanic rock, usually one or two miles long (both ways). Dry or
wet landings, on rocks, jetties or directly on a sandy beach.
This type
of adventure is graded EASY level of difficulty, although one should be in
decent physical form and be an active person.
Quito is situated at 9,180 feet above sea level.
Bewitched Islands
- 11 Days / 10 Nights
With
Hotel Café Cultura in Quito
|
Yacht
|
|
|
M/S Diamante
|
$ 3,165 |
|
S/S Sagitta
|
$ 3,678 |
Bewitched Islands
- 11 Days / 10 Nights
|
Yacht |
|
|
M/S Diamante |
$ 3,527
|
|
S/S Sagitta |
$ 4,040
|
Not included in cost:
- Flight Quito - Galapagos - Quito: $ 395 (subject to change)
- Galapagos National Park entrance fee: $ 100 (subject
to change)
- Tips; imported alcoholic beverages; personal expenses.
Note:
Air tickets and park fees are subject to change
without previous notification
Prices valid until December 31 / 2007
|
Underwater Paradise
