The trip of your dreams is something that must be taken seriously. And
talking about the Galapagos, the best choice is a yacht where you can
make your dreams come true. Life aboard is a very important part in a
tour around this archipelago and if you want this moments to be really
pleasant, it is better to choose a boat that fulfill all the comfort you
deserve.
Your experience in Galapagos must be complete! That is why we have
selected an itinerary that covers the largest part of the archipelago in
a non interrupted 8 day cruise, which will allow you to enjoy at its
fullest and dedicate most of your time to explore the visitor sites and
join in water activities like snorkeling and/or kayaking.
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:
Swissötel -
For the same price we upgrade your room to Junior Suite
Option 2: Hotel
Café Cultura
(**) Welcome and farewell dinner, lunch at
the best restaurants in Quito
For those who prefer to enjoy the best ambiance, comfort and attention
to detail, we have selected two luxury yachts to satisfy the most
exigent taste:
M/S Alta
M/Y Parranda
Day 1 - Thursday -
Arrival in Quito, transfer to the Hotel.
Day 2 -
Friday -
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 -
Saturday -
Arrive at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island.
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.
On Puerto
Baquerizo Moreno is the Interpretation Center newly opened by the
Galapagos National Park in 1998, which is truly an extraordinary
contribution to the information and education of the island
communities and the travelers; its 80% is focused in the
anthropology of the Galapagos, the 20% is scientific. Free time
will be offered for leisure in town.
Day 4 -
Sunday
- Española
Island. One
of the most interesting places in the whole archipelago is Punta
Suarez, 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.
In the afternoon we head for Gardner Bay, where 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.
Day 5 -
Monday
-
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, 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 tubes, visit the Tortoise Reserve to
search for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings.
In
the afternoon we head for Floreana Island, where 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.
Day 6 -
Tuesday
-
Isabela
Island.
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.
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.
Day 7 -
Wednesday - Fernandina Island has remained almost intact in the face of man’s presence in the
archipelago, due to it’s 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 it’s 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.
Among
the west side of Isabela we have Tagus Cove, right in front
of Fernandina, where the first sailors frequently anchored, and
left their ships names painted in the rocks. On the towering
cliffs of Tagus Cove, 19th and early 20th century ships’
graffiti can be seen. After hiking beyond Darwin Lake, a saltwater
lagoon above sea level, you will be rewarded with extraordinary
views of Darwin and Wolf volcanoes.
Day
8 -
Thursday -
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.
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.
Day
9 - Friday - 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.
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.
Day
10 -
Saturday
- Isla
Lobos is located North of San Cristobal, 1 hour across a small
channel. It is also a nesting place for blue-footed boobies and a good
place for snorkeling; an early panga ride will be offered. Kicker Rock
(Leon Dormido) is a magnificent rock in the middle of the sea. Rising 500
feet strait from the ocean, this giant uplifted rock has the shape of a
sleeping lion. It has a split with towering vertical walls on either side,
forming a narrow channel through which small vessels can navigate. Puerto
Baquerizo Moreno, San
Cristobal; return to Quito.
Day
11 - Sunday - 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.
Galapagos Expedition
- 11 Days / 10 Nights
With
Hotel Café Cultura in Quito
|
Yacht |
|
|
M/S Alta |
$ 4,375
|
|
M/Y Parranda |
$ 4,524
|
Galapagos Expedition
- 11 Days / 10 Nights
|
Yacht |
|
|
M/S Alta |
$ 4,695
|
|
M/Y Parranda |
$ 4,845
|
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