Luxury Galapagos - West & Central Islands

Arrive independently to Quito and take your transfer to the hotel for your included overnight stay. Depending on your arrival time you may have time to explore some of this fascinating and historic city set high in the Andean foothills that is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the evening your tour representative will meet you at the hotel for a briefing on what lies ahead and what to expect from your luxury Galapagos cruise.

After breakfast this morning your transfer will take you to the airport for your included flight to the Galapagos Islands. Upon arrival in Baltra your expert naturalist guide will meet you and take you across to Santa Cruz Island for your highlands and wild tortoise excursion. You will get to see these giant reptiles, the Galapagos’ most famous residents, in their natural habitat of the Scalesia Forests. There will also be great birding opportunities here with us looking out for vermilion flycatchers and Darwin’s finches including the famous Woodpecker Finch.

Speaking of Darwin, our afternoon will then be spent at the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center and Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we will learn all about the ongoing conservation efforts on the islands and see several subspecies of adult and hatchling tortoises, including seeing the famous Galapagos tortoise up-close, learning about how these programs are helping them to avoid extinction. We will then make our way to your luxury yacht and enjoy dinner as you settle in to your beautiful home for the next 7 nights.

Today we will explore Floreana Island, landing at Punta Cormorant in the morning to enjoy guided walks and to discover two amazingly different beaches. Accompanied by your expert Naturalist you will learn all about the wildlife and natural history of the area and can enjoy a hike to a salt-water lagoon which is home to flamingos. You will also have the chance for your first snorkelling excursion as you explore under the waters of Champion Islet, considered one of the most beautiful places in all of the Galapagos for snorkelling.

After lunch on board it will be time to go back to land again as we land on the beach of the famous Post Office Bay to see, and maybe even use, their iconic barrel mailbox, before making our way to Asilo de la Paz to explore a lava cave inhabited by ancient pirates, search for more sightings of tortoises and enjoy unforgettable views at the top of the hill.

We now make our way to Isabela Island to attempt a dry landing at Punta Moreno to see the lava formations and crystal tide pools that have formed in the craters created by lava flows from the three most active volcanoes in the archipelago. Surrounded by beautiful landscapes we will search these pools for sightings of marine wildlife including sea turtles and white-tip reef sharks, and the surrounding areas for birdlife including common gallinules, Galapagos doves, white-cheeked pintails and more pink flamingos.

In the afternoon we will head to Elizabeth Bay for a thoroughly enjoyable Panga/Zodicac boat cruise through the mangroves in search of sightings of more wildlife including penguins, the iconic blue-footed boobies, pelicans, flightless cormorants, rays, marine turtles and much more.

Staying around Isabela Island, this morning we will land at Urbina Bay at the base of Alcedo Volcano to see the area’s fascinating geological formations and stunning volcano views, and search for sightings of sea turtles, stingrays and land and marine iguanas.

In the afternoon we will sail over to Fernandina Island to land at Punta Espinoza to enjoy some fantastic walking trails across the lava flows that will lead us to some of the archipelago’s largest colonies of marine iguanas and sea birds, as well as good numbers of sea lions and a flightless cormorant nesting site. We also have good chances of seeing the Galapagos hawk here and for the snorkellers among us this is likely to be one of the most memorable areas for up-close marine life sightings.

Back on Isabela Island this morning you can take an enjoyable hike in Tagus Cove that will reward in some stunning views of Darwin Lake, the Darwin and Wolf volcanoes and the bay, whilst learning about the whalers and pirates that used to frequent here as you walk. You could also choose to explore the area by dinghy, join a kayaking excursion or snorkel with schools of tropical fish and look for sharks, seahorses and rockfish.

In the afternoon you can explore by land or underwater around the two coves of Punta Vicente Roca on the lookout for penguins, sea lions, Nazca and blue-footed boobies, puffer fish, rays and sea turtles.

Today we will move on to Santiago Island with our first stop being Buccaneer Cove to see its towering cliff wall rock formations that are home to hundreds of seabirds. This is also another great spot for snorkelling.

In the afternoon we will move on to Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay, for more snorkelling opportunities and the chance to follow some gorgeous trails along the coastline to see grottos full of fauna including Galapagos fur sea lions and an abundance of reptiles and shore birds.

Our last full day in the Galapagos will take us back to Santa Cruz Island where we will visit the beautiful swimming beach of Bachas to walk along the soft white sand and spot a wide range of wildlife including the famous Sally Lightfoot crabs walking along the lava rocks, nesting sea turtles, flamingos, marine iguanas, black necked stilts and much more. Alternatively, you could enjoy some more snorkelling or just enjoy a moment of reflection as you dip your toes in the crystal-clear waters and look back on what will have been a thoroughly enjoyable Galapagos experience.

Our last island visit this afternoon will bring even more wildlife encounters as we visit North Seymour Island and follow the lava flow trails that lead us to flocks of pelicans dive-bombing into the waters in search of dinner, blue-footed boobies performing their courtship dances, magnificent frigatebirds watching over their chicks, and sea lions and iguanas going about their everyday lives…a wonderful wildlife adventure to end a wonderful cruise.

Having enjoyed our last night on board, on the morning of day 9 we will disembark in Baltra and fly back to Quito for one final night on the Ecuadorian mainland.