Discover, Plan & Go!

Day 1: Arrive Quito, Ecuador

Upon your arrival in Quito, you will be met and transferred to the Hilton Colon.

Day 2: Quito/Mitad del Mundo

Explore the city of Quito, and visit Mitad del Mundo (the “Center of the Earth”), where we will have the chance to stand on the equator! Transfer this afternoon to San Jorge Ecolodge, a quaint hacienda in the hills overlooking Quito. Gather at approximately 7:00pm for dinner.

Day 3: San Jorge Ecolodge

Today, we will explore the areas around the San Jorge Eco Lodge. Plant and bird walks give travelers an authentic and exciting nature experience. You may even choose to take an optional horseback ride amid stunning scenery!

Day 4: Quito to Galapagos/Isla Lobos

This morning, we will depart on a three-hour flight to the island of San Cristóbal in the Galapagos. Upon arrival in San Cristóbal, we will be met by our Expedition Leader, board our yacht, and embark on our journey. Isla Lobos, meaning “Sea Lion Island”, is located approximately one hour north of San Cristóbal, across a small channel. At Cerro Brujo, we disembark for our first opportunity to snorkel with a colony of sea lions. At sunset, we cruise around Kicker Rock (known as “Leon Dormido” as it is shaped liked a sleeping lion) – a vertical tuff cone formation that abruptly juts up almost 500 feet out of the ocean. The rock is split in two with towering vertical walls on either side, forming a narrow channel through which small vessels can navigate. On the cliffs, we find blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and frigate birds.

Day 5: Tower (Genovesa): Prince Philip’s Steps & Bahia Darwin

On our way to Tower Island, the most northeastern part of the archipelago, we may encounter dolphins, whales and immature red-footed boobies, which sometimes land on the boat’s railings and lines to hitch a free ride home. The island of Tower is a collapsed volcano, and ships are able to sail directly into its large breached caldera to anchor at the foot of the steep crater walls. Tower attracts vast numbers of pelagic seabirds that come here to nest and breed. This morning we will explore “Prince Philip’s Steps”, where red-footed and Nazca boobies nest near the trail. We may find large numbers of storm petrels in an open lava field, as well as the elusive short-eared owl. After lunch, sea kayaks are available to paddle along the shoreline. This afternoon, we will land at Darwin Bay and follow along a trail which leads from a coral beach past tidal lagoons where lava gulls and yellow-crowned night herons are seen, to a forest of Optuntia cactus and mangroves where magnificent frigate birds nest. Swim from the beach with sea lions.

Day 6: Santa Cruz: Las Bachas/North Seymour

This morning we visit Las Bachas, a stretch of soft white-sand beach and interior lagoons where we may find the Greater Flamingo and can snorkel from the beach. This afternoon we will visit the island of North Seymour. Here we may find nesting sites for a large population of magnificent frigate birds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Sea lions dot the beach, along with marine iguanas.

Day 7: Isabala: Tagus Cove/ Fernandina: Punta Espinosa

This morning we will visit Tagus Cove on the western and largest island of Isabela, where six volcanoes flowed together. We discover salt water lagoons, graffiti dating back to the 1800’s, and lovely ocean views. Explore the cove by panga or sea kayaks to observe penguins, pelicans and other seabirds. Be on the look-out for whales and dolphins as we pass through the Bolivar Canal en route to Fernandina, the youngest and most active volcano in the Galapagos, with eruptions taking place every few years. The flat lava of Punta Espinosa offers a stark and barren landscape, but here flightless cormorants build their nests on the point, sea lions sprawl on the beach or play in the tide pools and large numbers of marine iguanas dot the sand.

Day 8: Bartolomé/Santa Cruz: Black Turtle Cove

This morning will be spent on Bartolomé. Most likely the first of the islands to rise from the sea, Bartolomé is a small island that has beautiful white sand beaches and luxuriant green mangroves. Here, penguins may join us at the white sand swimming beach, and a hike to the summit of a once-active volcano rewards us with beautiful panoramic views of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock. This afternoon, we will visit Black Turtle Cove, where we may have the opportunity to observe sea turtles mating in the mangrove-lined waters from our panga, along with rays and white-tipped reef sharks. Beginning in 2007, we have planned an optional camping night this evening. For those passengers who wish to participate, we will disembark at Itabeca Canal and transfer to the highlands of Santa Cruz for this unique excursion.

Day 9: Santa Cruz: Darwin Station & The Highlands

This morning we will journey by bus into the highlands of Santa Cruz to Los Gemelos – two deep pit craters situated in the Scalesia forest that host a variety of interesting birdlife. Here, we may go for a walk through the giant lava tubes and visit the Tortoise Reserve (June-January) to search for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings. Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz’s main population center, is home to about 10,000 people. It is on here that we will have the best opportunity to see the famed giant tortoise while we visit 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 touring the station where we observe “feeding day” and have the opportunity see the famed “Lonesome George” there may be some free time to explore the town of Puerto Ayora.

Day 10: Hood (Española): Punta Suarez & Gardner Bay

One of the oldest of the islands, Hood is small and flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. Gardner Bay, located on the eastern shore, hosts a magnificent 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, invertebrates and possibly turtles. On a trail leading to the western tip of the island, you will pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos of the waved albatross. These huge birds nest here from April to December and represent the majority of the world’s population. Located on the western tip of the island, one of the world’s densest and most diversified concentrations of wildlife is found at Punta Suarez. The area is famous for its marine iguanas with unique copper-red patches, swallow-tailed gulls, lava lizards, finches, long-billed mockingbirds, blue-footed and masked boobies and oystercatchers. When heavy swells are running, Punta Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with thundering spray shooting thirty yards into the air.

Day 11: San Cristóbal: Interpretation Center/Return to Quito

San Cristóbal is the easternmost and one of the oldest islands of the archipelago, and is comprised of ancient volcanic peaks in the north and lush vegetation in the south. We will drop anchor in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the second largest settlement area in the islands and the capital of the providence of Galapagos, where we will visit the impressive Interpretation Center, which opened in 1999. Here, we gain a more complete understanding of the natural and human history of the islands. You may have some free time today to spend at your leisure in town. This afternoon we bid farewell to the Galapagos Islands and board our flight back to Quito. Upon arrival in Quito, you will be transferred to your hotel where you will spend the rest of the day at your leisure.

Day 12: Quito / Home

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