Galapagos North Central Islands in Luxury 10 days aboard Silver Galapagos

Arrive and stay at JW Marriot Hotel in Quito, including breakfast. Evening tour of Quito's historic city highlights.

Morning flight from Quito to Baltra Island and transfer to Silver Galapagos

We will make two landings on this very special island. The first on the sandy beach at Darwin Bay. This is one of the main nesting sites for the rare red-footed booby and you will walk close to lots of these birds, as well as frigate birds, blue-footed boobies, night herons, gulls and many more. There are also seals basking on the rocks and inland. Later we will climb Prince Philip's steps for a longer walk across the volcanic landscape and see nesting Nazca boobies and more frigate birds and be on the lookout for the elusive short-eared owl.

We will find time for optional snorkelling and kayaking too.

This small island is home to an amazing profusion of wildlife, with two species of frigatebird, blue-footed boobies, brown noddies and more. Sealions doze on the beach and on the rocks and bothe marine and colourful land iguanas patrol the beach and surroundings.

On the east coast of Santiago Island, we land on the beach or on lava rocks, distinctive for their swirly appearance. As the day heats up, we will cool off with some welcome snorkelling.

Rabida is distinctive for its red rocks and almost maroon coloured beach. Here we look for Darwin's finches,lava lizards and Galapagos mockingbirds. We have opportunities for spectacular snorkelling with sealions, reef sharks, marine iguanas and myriad tropical fish. Alternatively, kayak along the shoreline and spot birds on the cliffs.

Later at Eden Islet off Santa Cruz, we can do more snorkelling and kayaking. We see great blue herons, blue-footed boobies and more here.

At Galapaguera Cerro Colorado reserve, there has been a successful breeding programme for the Galapagos giant tortoise and here we can see adults and young in a natural environment.

Elsewhere on the island, we wet land at Punta Pitt, where there are breeding colonies of red and blue footed and Nazca boobies as well as great and magnificent frigatebirds. We will climb the cliff for some scenic views.

Espanola is the ldlest island in the archipelago. At Gardiner Bay, we can swim off the beach with sealions, a delightful experience. Further out, there is great snorkelling and kayaking. A varied and relaxing morning.

In the afternoon, we go to Punta Suarez to watch the boobies and gulls soaring above the cliffs. This is the only breeding place of the waved albatross, which can be seen here from April to December. Mockingbirds, doves and Galapagos hawks can also be spotted here.

Santa Cruz is the most populated island and also has the biggest town, Puerto Ayora. We go ashore to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, whose principal project is the restoration of Galapagos giant tortoises - here we will see and learn about he different species to be found on specific islands. We will also see land iguanas - a breeding programme for these has rescued numbers after predation by dogs and cats. Some rare time for a little souvenir shopping in town before heading back to ship.

In the afternoon, we sail round to the small and picturesque island of Santa Cruz, with its prickly pear cactus and the red-coloured sesuvium plant. We see nesting swallow-tailed gulls as well as iguanas and sealions.

After breakfast, we transfer to the airport for flight to Guayaquil.