Day By Day

Guides will meet you, collect your luggage, and escort you on a short bus ride to the harbor. Motorized rafts, called 'Pangas' will transport you to Bachas in Santa Cruz, and finally to the Galapagos Odyssey where our crew will welcome you onboard. After departure and lunch, the first island visit will be made

PM: Santa Cruz Island - Bachas Beach. The sand is made of decomposed coral, which makes it white and soft, making it a favourite nesting site for sea turtles. Behind one of the beaches there is a small brackish water lagoon, where occasionally is possible to observe flamingos and other coastal birds, such as black-necked stilts and whimbrels.

AM: Bartolome Island. Bartolome Island is situated across Sullivan Bay. It has volcanic cones, lunar-like craters, lava fields, and the famous Toba formed pinnacle eroded by the sea. There is very little vegetation on this island. It has two breathtaking beaches where marine turtles exist and at the base of the pinnacle, as well as a very small colony of Galapagos penguins.

PM: The Sullivan Bay (Santiago). Santiago, also called James, or San Salvador Island, is located in the west central part of the Galapagos archipelago. It is the fourth largest island in the archipelago (following Isabela, Fernandina and Santa Cruz). Santiago actually consists of two coalesced volcanoes: a typical shield volcano on the northwest end and a low, linear fissure volcano on the southeast end.

AM: Sierra Negra Volcano, Isabela Island. Isabela Island is the largest and one of the youngest islands in the Galapagos archipelago. Sierra Negra is the second widest crater in the world. From this viewpoint, you have fantastic sights to the 6 x 5 -mile-wide crater, the rest of the volcanoes, and Perry Isthmus, a 12 Km wide lava field. From here we can hike to Chico Volcano to watch the striking lava formations, examples of the geological occurrences that have created the Galapagos Islands.

PM: White Tipped Reef Shark Canal (Tintoreras). A delightful place that can be reached by a nice zodiac ride. "Tintoreras" are small islands in front of Puerto Villamil coast. There is Heron lava on the lookout on mangrove branch, and Galapagos Penguin and sea lion often pop out on shore. Their name in Spanish is Tintorera, thus the name of this site as they are always found here resting in the shallow waters.

AM: Highlands (Santa Cruz). The trail to the highlands leaves from Bellavista and passes through the agricultural zone, near the National Park boundary, the Miconia Zone, and then goes to the Fern and Sedge zone. With clear weather (unpredictable) this area affords beautiful scenes of rolling hills and extinct volcanic cones covered with grass and lush greenery all year round.

PM: Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz). It is interesting to learn how the protection and conservation of the islands are carried out. Some of the main attractions, along with the Charles Darwin Center, are the National Park information center, the Van Staelen Exhibition Hall, the Breeding and Rearing Center for young tortoises, Lonesome George (tortoise from Pinta), and adult Galapagos tortoises in captivity.

AM: Leon Dormido - Interpretation Center (San Cristobal). Kicker Rock is also known as the Sleeping Lion because of its resemblance. It is located of the coast of San Cristobal, and you can find the remains of a lava cone eroded by the ties, as well as two vertical rocks rising 500 feet from the ocean that form a small channel that is navigable by small boats. Later on we head to the Interpretation Center, which was built with the cooperation of the Spanish Science Centre, and it gives a very good introduction to the Galapagos islands, its marine and land life, fauna and flora.

PM: Loberia (San Cristobal). In the afternoon we will visit Loberia, which is located at a short 10 minute bus ride or a nice 30 minute walk south from Puerto Baquerizo. La Loberia is home to a large sea lion colony and nursery. There are frequently dozens of sea lions visible at any time. Low tide is one of the best times to visit, since it is when the mothers bring the pups into the tide pools for swimming lessons.

AM: Española Island - Gardner Bay. Located on the north-eastern coast of Hood, Gardner Bay provides an excellent beach for relaxing, swimming and the opportunity to observe sea lions. Here we can also observe sharks in the crystal clear ocean waters.

PM: Española Island - Punta Suárez. This rocky land spot sustains one of the most impressive and varied colonies of sea birds in the Galapagos. Along its southern shore, high cliffs rise up from the sea affording the visitor spectacular views of soaring birds, and of the blow whole where water spouts up to 50-75 feet into the air according to the intensity of the surf.

AM: Punta Cormorant (Floreana). This site offers probably the best Flamingo lagoon in the Galapagos, and it is also one of the largest in the islands. There are various species of shorebirds to be seen like stilts, white-checked pintail ducks and other migratory birds. It is also very interesting to see the two distinct beaches: "The Green Beach" (due to its high percentage of olivine crystals in the sand) and the "Flour Sand Beach" which is made up of coral.

PM: Post Office Bay (Floreana). Historically, this site is the location of a wooden barrel that was placed in the 18th century by the crew of a whaling ship. It has been used since this time by mariners and tourists as a post office. The idea is to carry letters or postcards to their destination by hand. Apart from being the Post Office Barrel, this site was the landing area for some of the first colonists.

AM: Seymour North Island. North Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island and so is generally flat and strewn with boulders. There are good nesting sites here for a large population of magnificent frigate birds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open areas and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges.

AM: After your visit to Seymour North Island, transfer to the airport in Baltra. Flight back to Quito or Guayaquil.