Cruising the Galapagos

Upon arrival transfer to Puerto Ayora for embarkation. Settle into your cabin and enjoy lunch onboard before visiting the Charles Darwin Research Centre. Here you can learn more about the protection and conservation efforts that are in place in the Galapagos Islands and visit the resident young and adult giant tortoises that are studied here.

In the morning you will disembark at Whale Bay on the west coast of Santa Cruz Island. This is a historic site where a number of ceramic relics have been found which reflect human settlement as early as 1846. Cruise to Dragon hill, located in the north western part of Santa Cruz. Here you will walk along a short trail to a salt lagoon that is home to flamingos, pintail ducks and many other species of birds. The site has been repopulated with land iguanas who have been brought here from Seymour and Isabela islands. A short hike to the top of the hill offers beautiful panoramic views over the bay.

Today enjoy a zodiac ride to Tintoreras, a small group of islands on the Puerto Villamil coast. Look for Galapagos penguin and sea lions, as well as white tipped reef sharks resting in the shallow water. In the afternoon you will land on Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island and visit the largest coastal lagoon in the Galapagos. The lagoon is one of the main reproductive sites for flamingos, and an excellent place to see a wide range of bird species. From 1946-1959 the site was a penal colony. You will follow a trail called ‘The Wall of Tears’ where prisoners were made to build a wall with huge blocks of lava and learn about the history and harsh conditions that prisoners lived in here.

This morning you will disembark on Isabela Island and visit Punta Moreno where you will enjoy a walk along a lava flow trail that takes you to a complex of coastal lagoons and mangroves where several species of endemic and native birds can be found. In the afternoon visit Tagus Cove where a tour along the cliffs in a zodiac gives a good chance to see the Galapagos penguin, the flightless cormorant and other sea birds. Disembark at the landing site and enjoy a 30-minute hike to the top of a cliff where you will enjoy scenic views over the saline Darwin Lake, which is saltier than the ocean. You will also enjoy an impressive outlook over several volcanoes. The site also has some graffiti that has been written by pirates, whalers, and buccaneers over the last few centuries.

Today visit Punta Espinoza, the sole visitor site on Fernandina Island. This site is home to large groups of marine iguanas and they will more than likely be waiting to greet you on arrival at the landing dock. Enjoy a scenic walk in search of the flightless cormorant, a unique species found here. Your guide will explain how they have had to adjust for survival and you will learn more about their evolution as a species. Whilst having lunch we will cross the Bolivar Channel for the last time to Vicente Roca Point, just at the mouth of Isabela’s seahorse-shape. While entering a dark cave below a spectacular arch, roaring echoes of the waves will accompany you. Just around the corner the collapsed amphitheatre of Volcan Ecuador offers another impressive view. The calmer waters of the coves are well-protected against the ocean swell and are a fairly cold, but great place for snorkelling amongst various species of shark, penguins, puffer fish and even seahorses!

Disembark at James Island onto the black sand beach at Puerto Egas, for a morning of exploration. During lunch, cruise to Rabida Island with its striking red sand beach and brackish lagoon that is home to a colony of American flamingos along with other birds native to the Galapagos, including finches, doves and yellow warblers.

Your final excursion is at Las Bachas, home to two small beaches with soft white sand that are a favourite nesting site of sea turtles. Visit the nearby lagoon where you can observe flamingos, black-necked stilts and whimbrels, and see the relics of two old barges that were abandoned by American forces on a nearby beach during WWII. Then transfer to the airport for your departure flight back to the mainland.