Western Galapagos Islands Cruise

9 days

Highlights

• Snorkel amidst colourful marine life
• See dolphins, iguanas and more...
• Meet giant tortoises at Charles Darwin Research Station
• Cruise amongst the enchanting Galapagos Islands

Proposed Itinerary

Day 1 (Mon) Quito

Fly to Quito where you will be met and transferred to the Hotel Patio Andaluz (or hotel of your choice)

Day 2 (Tue) Quito

Guided tour of Quito, including the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) monument, at the spot (23 kilometres north of Quito) where Frenchman Charles-Marie de la Condamine determined the equator to be in 1736.

Day 3 (Wed) Baltra / North Seymour Island

Morning transfer to the airport for your flight to the Galapagos Islands. On arrival at the island of Baltra, transfer directly to the jetty to board the 90-passenger M/V Santa Cruz for a 5-night Galapagos cruise. Introductory briefing and lunch.

Afternoon dry landing on North Seymour for a walk along the coast and into the interior to see colonies of blue-footed boobies, two species of frigate bird, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions and marine iguanas. Afterwards there will be an opportunity to snorkel or explore the beach. Briefing for the next day, welcome cocktail and dinner. (LD)

Day 4 (Thu) Isabela / Fernandina Island

Anchor on the northwest side of Isabela. As there is no landing site at Punta Vicente Roca, you explore the coast by panga (Zodiac inflatable), while your naturalist guide explains the area's dramatic geology: the remains of lava flows and layers of tuff. This is a nesting place for flightless cormorants, the only seabird other than the penguin to evolve from flying to diving. The wildlife includes sea lions, Galapagos fur seals, Galapagos penguins, blue-footed and Nazca boobies, and noddy terns. Depending on sea conditions, it may be possible to snorkel along the cliffs of the partly-sunken Ecuador Volcano, near the northern tip of the island. Marine life is very rich here, and green sea turtles and oceanic sun fish (Mola mola) visit on a seasonal basis. Lunch on board.

Afternoon visit to the youngest island in the archipelago, Fernandina. Disembark (dry landing) at Punta Espinoza for a one mile walk over dark lava - an amazing combination of barren landscape and copious wildlife. As no mammals have been introduced to Fernandina, the environment is unique and it has the highest density of marine iguanas in the islands; these share space with sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, Galapagos hawks, penguins and flightless cormorants. Snorkel off the shore. Briefing for the next day and dinner. (BLD)

Day 5 (Fri) Isabela Island - Tagus Cove & Urbina Bay

After breakfast, dry landing on the north-west side of Isabela in secluded Tagus Cove, which was a favourite anchorage for pirates and whalers over the centuries - you can still find their graffiti carved into the walls here. The vegetation includes fragrant, white-barked palo santo trees; although they are leafless and appear dead for most of the year, each wet season they spring back to life and produce leaves.

An uphill hike takes you around the back of Darwin Crater, which is filled with seawater. The view at the end of the trail is worth the climb. Darwin is one of Isabela's six volcanoes, and the mountainous terrain is a complete contrast to the low-lying islands in the east of the archipelago. You will take a panga ride along the volcanic shore to see boobies, penguins, flightless cormorants, terns and sea lions. ill have a chance to swim or snorkel. Although there is no beach here, you can swim or snorkel from the panga. Lunch on board.

After lunch disembark (wet landing) at Urbina Bay, at the foot of the volcanoes of Alcedo and Darwin in western part of Isabela, the result of an uplifting of the ocean floor in 1954. Here you can find corals, shells and many other calcareous organisms exposed above the waterline. This area is home to large and very colourful Galapagos land iguanas, and giant tortoises are occasionally seen; it's also a good spot to see Darwin's finches. After your hike, you may come across flightless cormorants along the shore, and see penguins while snorkelling in the beautiful cove. Briefing for the next day and dinner. (BLD)

Day 6 (Sat) Santa Cruz Island

Morning dry landing in Puerto Ayora to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, whose giant tortoise pens are home to celebrities like "Lonesome George". The headquarters of the Galapagos National Park, a centre for scientific investigation and conservation, is set within an impressive forest of giant prickly-pear cactus, which is home to many land birds. Lunch by the pool in Finch Bay Eco Hotel.

After lunch, a 30-minute bus ride takes you up to the Highlands of Santa Cruz, which has one of the largest tortoise populations in the Galapagos, to visit the famed Giant Tortoise Reserve. Here you can learn about the extraordinary migration these giant reptiles make each year to feed and reproduce. Santa Cruz. The enclosure is surrounded by lush vegetation, and you can see unique birds such as the rare woodpecker finch, one of the few species to use a tool. Return to Puerto Ayora to board the Santa Cruz. Brifing for the next day and dinner.

Day 7 (Sun) Floreana Island

Morning visit to Post Office Bay, on the island of Floreana. A short walk leads to the historic barrel, where by a two hundred year old tradition you can leave mail for passengers from other vessels to hand-deliver to its destination. You then explore the north shore of Floreana, sailing through narrow channels that teem with life - you can see rays, turtles and sea lions swimming next to the panga. After a wet landing and a short walk up a volcanic cone, you reach the Baroness' Tower, from where there is a view of the entire northern coast of the island. Learn more about the fascinating past of this island. Lunch on board.

Disembark at Cormorant Point (wet landing) on an olivine-crystal beach for an easy walk to visit a brackish lagoon with greater flamingos, pintail ducks, common stilts, herons, sandpipers and other bird species. You will also see a white-sand beach where between December and May sea turtles emerge from the sea at night to nest. There will be time to snorkel or take ride in the glass-bottomed boat to the reef of Devil's Crown to see its undersea life. Farewell cocktail, departure briefing and dinner.

Day 8/9 (Mon/Tue) Baltra & homeward

Disembark at Baltra and transfer directly to the airport for your flight back to the mainland, to connect with your flight home. Arrive UK the following day.