trip specifics

price

ALL-INCLUSIVE prices include 3 nights hotel, transfers, Quito tour, flights to Galapagos Islands, park fee and cruise.

Discover the Galapagos Islands on board the finest boutique cruise ship available. The 48 passenger Eclipse allows the more discerning traveler to experience one of the world’s greatest natural treasures in the comfort of an elegant and unique expedition vessel

Ever since her arrival in Ecuador, the Eclipse has left an impression on visitors as one of the finest cruise ships in the Galapagos Islands, offering unparalleled levels of comfort and service. She was converted specifically for upscale cruising in the islands, and was designed to meet the exacting demands of luxury travel.

A cruise aboard the Eclipse combines luxurious comforts and delicious meals with the most talented naturalist guides offering a range of activities designed to bring you into intimate contact with the unique creatures and ecosystems of the Galapagos. Spend more time ashore hiking among nesting frigate birds or albatross, more time snorkeling with sea lions, or perhaps just relaxing on a crescent beach.

Our Galapagos Eclipse cruise packages begin and end in colonial Quito, Ecuador and include Quito hotel accommodations, airport/hotel transfers, round trip flights from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands and a half day tour of the Quito's old town, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. Join us and see why, quite simply, our small ship and yacht cruises to the Galapagos Islands are the vacation of a lifetime!

Day 1 - Arrive Quito Ecuador

Upon arrival at the Quito, Ecuador international airport you are met by our local representative and transferred to your hotel.

Accommodations: Hotel Patio Andaluz or similar
Included Meals: none

Day 2 - Colonial Quito

South America's oldest capitol city, Quito sits at 9,184-feet elevation. It has been amazingly preserved and is protected as a UNESCO world heritage site. Enjoy a three hour guided walking tour of Quito's colonial center including Independence Plaza, La Compania Church and San Francisco Cathedral. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy this lively city, rest or prepare for your Galapagos Cruise.

Accommodations: Hotel Patio Andaluz or similar
Included Meals: breakfast

Day 3 - Fly Quito to Galapagos Islands & Santa Cruz: Bachas Beach

This morning, depart on a three-hour flight to the island of Baltra in the Galapagos. Upon arrival, meet your Expedition Leader and transfer to the ship. Following a warm welcome aboard, a safety briefing, and delicious lunch, set sail for Las Bachas Beach located on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. The soft, white sand found on Bachas Beach is derived from decomposed coral, making it a favorite nesting site for sea turtles. Take a short walk behind the beach and find a brackish water lagoon, where it is possible to observe flamingos and other coastal birds, such as black-necked stilts. After ample exploration of this first visitor’s site, return to the Eclipse and prepare for a delicious first dinner.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 4 - Santiago(James) Island: Puerto Egas & Bartolome

Puerto Egas (James Bay) is located on the northwest side of Santiago Island. Land on a black beach with interesting eroded rock formations in the background. Hike along a trail that crosses the dry interior, where the remains of a salt mining enterprise can still be seen. Continue walking along the coast to explore the lively tidal pools that are home to a variety of invertebrate organisms, including sea urchins, octopus and starfish. The trail then continues to the Fur Seals Grottos, one of the only places in the islands where fur seals can be seen. Following the walk, return to the beach and spend your time swimming or snorkeling from the beach. The afternoon will be spent on Bartolome Island. Most likely the first of the islands to rise from the sea, Bartolome is a small island that has beautiful white sand beaches and luxuriant green mangroves. Enjoy your time swimming and snorkeling around Pinnacle Rock, where penguins are usually seen. Following your time spent in the water, take a hike to the summit of a once-active volcano passing different volcanic formations, including spatter and tuff cones, lava flow and lava tubes. Once at summit, enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock and the lovely Sullivan Bay.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 5 - Santa Cruz Island: Cerro Dragon & Rabida Island

The name Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) stems from the fact that it was one of the few sites on Santa Cruz Island where a healthy population of land iguanas were found in 1975. After landing at the pier, take a hike to a salt water lagoon behind the beach, frequented by common stilts, pintail ducks and occasionally flamingos. Continue walking up the hill to reach a land iguana nesting site, with breathtaking views of the bay. Before coming back to the ship, spend some time at the beach for a chance to go swimming after the walk.
In the afternoon visit Rábida Island, the geologic center of the Galapagos Archipelago. Rabida Island, also known as Jervis, is a small island with red volcanic rocks surrounding a beautiful red sand beach, where there is a noisy colony of sea lions and a pelican nesting site. Hike the trail that leads to a salt water lagoon where shore birds can be seen. Following the hike, enjoy your time snorkeling, as Rábida is considered to be one of the best snorkeling sites in the Galapagos Islands due to its wide variety of colorful fish.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 6 - Isabela Island: Tagus Cove & Elizabeth Bay

Tagus Cove, located on Isabela Island, was historically used as an anchoring place for pirates, buccaneers and whalers. As you arrive to Tagus Cove, observe the names of the numerous ships painted on the high ridges many years ago. Upon landing, take a hike on a trail through the typical dry vegetation zone and through an unusual volcanic landscape. At the top of the trail, enjoy spectacular views of Darwin and Wolf Volcanoes, and Darwin Lake. Following the hike, return to the landing site and take a panga ride for a chance to see a large number of blue-footed boobies perched on the ledges of the cliffs, as well as marine iguanas, penguins, brown pelicans, brown noddy terns and swallow-tailed gulls. In the afternoon, continue exploring by panga in Elizabeth Bay, the furthest point in the Galapagos that we will visit on our cruise. Cruise around two islets, the Marielas, in search of a wide variety of bird life such as flightless cormorants, herons, and blue-footed boobies. Enter a sheltered cove and navigate around a wonderful mangrove ecosystem that is a refuge for sea turtles and rays. After the panga ride enjoy an opportunity to swim or deep water snorkel.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 7 - Fernandina: Punta Espinosa & Isabela: Punta Vicente Roca

In the early morning, visit Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island. Fernandina is the youngest and most active volcano in the Galapagos, with its last eruption taking place in 1955. The La Cumbre Volcano dominates the landscape, with lava fields stretching towards the ocean from its base. Punta Espinosa is a narrow piece of land where some of the most unique Galapagos species can be seen, including the flightless cormorant, Galapagos snakes, marine iguanas, penguins and the Galapagos hawk. This afternoon, disembark at Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. Punta Vicente Roca is a wonderful snorkeling site, where you can usually see turtles and other marine life. After snorkeling, go on a panga ride close to the shoreline and study some of the Galapagos’ most spectacular geological rock formations. Nazca boobies, pelicans, swallow-tailed gulls, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and penguins are often seen in the area.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 8 - Santa Cruz: Darwin Research Station & The Highlands

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz's main population center, is home to about 10,000 people. View the famed giant tortoise while visiting the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. The research center aids the National Park Service in its efforts to save the Galapagos wildlife; the museum at the station has a facility for rearing tortoises, a project to increase the depleted population. After visiting the Research Station in Puerto Ayora, travel by bus to the lush, green highlands of Santa Cruz. Visit a tortoise reserve and search for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings. The opportunity to walk through lava tunnels also exists, so take a flashlight if you have one. Later this afternoon, enjoy your time freely exploring the town of Puerto Ayora.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 9 - Espanola(Hood) Island: Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez

Gardner Bay, located on the eastern shore of Espanola, hosts a magnificent white sand beach 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 many fish and possibly turtles and sharks. The second visitor site of the day is Punta Suarez, one of the most popular and attractive sites in the Galapagos. Due to its isolation from other islands, Punta Suarez has a high proportion of endemic fauna. A few steps inland from the landing site, a trail leads to groups of Española marine iguanas basking in the sun. Further inland, Nazca and blue-footed boobies nest almost on the trail, Galapagos doves peck around unaware of visitors and finches go about their business. Continues along the trail and arrive at a blowhole - a fissure in the lava where water spurts high into the air like a geyser. The cracks in the cliffs above are home to swallow-tailed gulls and red-billed tropicbirds. Further up the cliff in an area of low-lying trees you will find waved albatrosses nesting. The 10,000 to 12,000 pairs of albatrosses on Española represent the entire population of this species on the planet.

Accommodations: Eclipse
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 10 - Santa Cruz: Black Turtle Cove, Baltra & Return to Quito

Anchor this morning at the entrance to Black Turtle Cove. Black Turtle Cove is one of the most beautiful marine sites in Galapagos. It is a complex maze of tranquil salt-water inlets, surrounded by three different species of mangrove. This is a great place to see large schools of Golden Rays, Green Sea Turtles (they are on the rare and endangered species list), White-tipped Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, Lava Herons, Yellow Warblers and a variety of other bird species. Later in the morning, sail into Baltra Island and transfer to the airport for your flight back to the Ecuador mainland.

Accommodations: Hotel Patio Andaluz or similar
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 11 - Depart Quito

Transportation will be provided to the airport for return flights home or for excursions into the Amazon Basin rainforest or Machu Picchu.

Accommodations: n/a
Included Meals: breakfast


Notes on Itinerary: We may occasionally alter itineraries slightly for safety, or to take advantage of weather, wildlife, and unplanned discoveries. Our ability to be flexible makes our style of cruising unique.

Single Travelers: There are two "single" cabins aboard the Eclipse. If the single cabins are not available, travelers can book a double room at 1.5X the double rate.

Family Travelers: Children under 12 receive a discount. Families traveling with children under 12 can be accommodated in selected cabins. These cabins have a sofa that can be converted into a comfortable bed. Minimum child age is 10 years old.

Land Cost Includes: Two hotel nights in Quito prior to the cruise and one night hotel post cruise; breakfasts at the hotel; Quito city tour; all airport transfers; roundtrip flights to the Galapagos; Galapagos National Park entrance fees & taxes, Galapagos transit card, cruise, meals as outlined in the itinerary, and naturalist guide.

Not Included: Airfare from US to Quito; excess baggage charges; airport departure tax from Quito; tips to local staff and items of a personal nature such as soft drinks or alcoholic beverages, laundry fees and insurance of any kind.

Arrival and Departure: This trip begins and ends in Quito, Ecuador. Plan flights to arrive at any time on Day 1 and depart anytime on the last day. Airport transfers are included for travelers arriving and departing on scheduled arrival/departure days. This trip can also be arranged to begin and end in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Payment and Cancellation Policy: A special cancellation policy applies to all Galapagos trips, which is stricter than the AdventureSmith Explorations policy. When a trip cancellation is received inside of 70 days from departure, all trip costs are 100% non-refundable. Please see AdventureSmith Explorations Terms and Conditions.

Travel Insurance: We highly recommend our travelers protect their investment with Access America Travel Insurance. See our Trip Planning for more information.

Accommodations Aboard: The Eclipse can accommodate 48 guests. The Eclipse offers comfortable accommodations. Life aboard a small boat requires some physical agility and a flexible and social nature. Accommodations are in double cabins, each with toilet and shower. The crew is comprised of the captain, multilingual naturalist guides, cook, barman/waiter, mechanic and two to four sailors. All meals are prepared and served by the crew on board. Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase on board.

Qualifications: This trip will be enjoyed by anyone who is in good health and leads an active life. Daily excursions from the boat to the islands will be made in pangas (dinghies). Trip members will hike from the landing point to specific areas for wildlife observation. Hiking time for most landings will be a couple of hours roundtrip with lots of time to stop to study, photograph and enjoy the flora and fauna. Some landings are dry but many are "wet", requiring cautious footing on slippery rocks. The boat staff will be on hand to assist. There are numerous opportunities to swim and snorkel. Easy-to-use, sit-on-top kayaks are also available.

Extending Your Trip: Call AdventureSmith Explorations about the possibilities of combining this trip with our Mainland Ecuador and Peru: Machu Picchu extensions.

General Information: This trip is subject to AdventureSmith Explorations "Terms and Conditions". Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A packing list, extensive pre-departure and travel insurance information is sent upon confirmation. We strongly recommend the purchase of Trip Insurance through AdventureSmith Explorations. If purchased within 14 days of sign-up, the pre-existing condition exclusion is waived.

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Call today.

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