Sample Galapagos cruise itinerary

Day 1
Baltra - North Seymour Welcome at Baltra Airport! New arrivals are greeted by your guide and transfered to our yacht the Angelito. Your first visit North Seymour was like a few other islands, uplifted by underground sismic activity. This tiny island is packed with countless sea lions and it's one of the most popular breeding grounds for sea birds. A very large colony of frigate birds nest here, and it's almost guaranteed to see a few males proudly displaying their red pouches to impress a mate.

It is also one of the best places to see blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigate birds. If you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of their courtship dance, which is quite peculiar and amusing. Also, while visiting this island, you might very well witness a great show of acrobatic flight, namely a frigate bird robbing a booby, a gull or even another frigate bird of their food.
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Day 2
Chinese Hat - Bartome - Santiago Island (Sullivan bay)
The Sombrero Chino is a miniature volcano that is shaped like a Chinese hat and therefor received its name. Reached by a shallow channel, where the yachts need to navigate close to the coast of Santiago, this island is one of the highlights of the visit to Galapagos.

As you land on this island you will find that little has changed since its first discovery many centuries ago. Today one will still be amazed by the lava formations, spatter cones, lava tubes and the lava Cactuses struggling to grow in the scarce soil. You will be greeted by colorful Sally Lightfoot Crabs fleeing from the crushing waves on the shore, and flabbergasted by underwater schools of fish, Manta Rays and sharks.

Bartolome is home of the famous landmark, Pinnacle Rock. Visitors can climb almost 400 feet to a summit and enjoy the impressive panoramic view. There is also a chance to swim or snorkel and to see the rare Galapagos penguins.
Sullivan Bay
At the turn of the century a huge lava flow spilled forth and right down to the sea; today you can stroll across this black volcanic expanse admiring its time-frozen ripples, bubbles and ropes.
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Day 3
Genovesa island also known as Tower
Genovesa is a sensation of unspoiled nature and is considered a bird-watchers paradise. The volcanic sea cliffs around Darwin Bay offer prime breeding places for frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, storm petrels, tropic birds and red-footed boobies. If you climb up the Prince Phillip's Steps onto the plateau, you will find that no matter where you look there will be a bird.

Genovesa offers good snorkeling opportunities at the beach or alongside the cliffs on the shoreline. Because of the richness of nutrients in the bay, you never know what you might encounter. BLD

Day 4
Puerto Egas (Santiago Island) - Rabida
Santiago island was once home to a salt mining enterprise and its remains can still be seen if you walk from the black beach where you land, and continue along the coast. You will also see many inter-tidal pools that are homes to a large variety of invertebrate organisms.

Fur seals were thought to have gone extinct by 1905, but have since made a dramatic comeback. Santiago provides habitat for many of the 30-40,000 fur seals that call the Galapagos home. If you plan on taking pictures of the fur seals, Puerto Egas is an excellent spot. At dawn or sunset, the light is perfect for great photography. There are also plenty of sea lions on the black beach of Puerto Egas.

Take a moment after exploring the island and swim with the playful sea lions off the coast of two small coral-lined beaches.

Rabida
One of the special features of Rabida is the remarkable red color, which is a result go the high percentage of oxidized iron in the composition of the lava.

Rábida is a bird-watchers delight. Some of the rarest species are in abundance, such as 9 varieties of finches, large billed flycatchers, Galapagos hawks and brown pelicans. The dark red sand beaches and a horde of snoring sea lions make for spectacular snorkeling. Also, the island is home to the skinny legged Flamingo, which can be seen in a salt-water lagoon near the beach.

From the observatory on the southeastern part of the island, you can appreciate the red color of the beach and the rocks surrounding it.
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Day 5
Santa Cruz Island - Puerto Ayora - Charles Darwin Research Station - Highlands
Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos. The small town of Puerto Ayora is the economic center of the archipelago, with the largest population of the 4 inhabited islands, approximately 8,000. Tourism, fishing, boat building and commerce are the major productive activities. Santa Cruz is also the only island where six different vegetation zones can be seen: Coastal, Arid, Transition, Scalesia, Miconia and Pampa zones.

Santa Cruz is home to the Charles Darwin Station, where visitors can observe tortoise research and breeding programs. Scientists, park rangers, and park managers among others conduct the conservation of the islands and make huge efforts to preserve this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Don't forget to say hello to the tortoise Lonesome George - the last of his species.

A trip to the lush greenery of the Santa Cruz highlands offers a welcome contrast with the arid scenery of the smaller, lower islands. You will get a chance to see enormous pit craters, lava tunnels and giant tortoises roaming freely.
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Day 6
Española (Hood Island)
This is southernmost island and because of its remote location, it has a high proportion of endemic fauna. For example it is the breeding site of nearly all of the world's 12,000 pairs of waved albatrosses. These large birds perform one of the most spectacular rituals of the animal world. Watching them take off is an unforgettable moment. Española teems with mockingbirds, blue-footed and masked boobies, Darwin finches, Galapagos doves, hawks, red and green marine iguanas, and sea lions.

Gardener Bay offers great opportunities for enjoying some beach time in the Galapagos. Here the mockingbirds will be the center of your attention as they keep you company on top of your hat or investigating your belongings.

Punta Suarez is quite an amazing site and one of the most attractive in the Galapagos, because of the quantity and variety of wildlife. The trail along the island will take you past sea lions surfing the breaking waves, iguanas basking in the warm sun and boobies nesting right in your path. The trail continues towards the cliffs and the blowhole, which is a fissure in the lava where water spurts high in the air like a geyser.
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Day 7
Santa Fe - Plazas Island
Unlike most of the islands in the Galapagos that were formed by volcanic eruptions, Santa Fe was formed by an uplift caused by tectonic activity. This means that the island does not have the typical cone shape. Santa Fe has one of the most beautiful coves of all the visitor sites in the region - a turquoise lagoon protected by a peninsula of rocks and small islands that extends from the shore.

Hike along the coastline and discover colorful flora and fauna. The well-known land iguanas here can grow over five feet long. The Sanfa Fe species of iguana are more bright yellow and have uncommonly large spikes on their spine. In true Galapagos style the opuntia cactus, a favorite food of the land iguana, has responded by growing tall and woody - up to 33 feet high and are the largest of their kind in Galapagos. Manta rays and sea turtles flit by as dark shadows against the sandy bottom of Santa Fe's beautiful anchorage.

After a long hike, relax with a swim in the calm waters of the beautiful bay, or snorkel along in the company of sea lions at the base of the rocks.

Plazas

This small steep-cliffed island was formed by uplifted lava and is covered by opuntia cactuses - a tree like cactus endemic to Galapagos. It is also home to one of the largest sea lion colonies. Be careful not to get too close! Each colony is lead by a bull and consists of 15-20 females. After about 3 months of playing king, these bulls retire to the "Bachelors" colony and rest. These colonies consist also of very young bulls that are still too young to hold a territory or be a threat to the reining bull.

 

Also, on South Plaza, you will find the lazy but colorful yellow and red land iguana. This animal likes this island because of its richness in the opuntia cactus, which is an iguana delicacy. There are about 700 iguanas on the island and this species seems to be one of the smallest iguana species.

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Day 8
Black Turtle Cove - Baltra - Mainland Ecuador
This lovely cove does not have any landing sites so it is usually visited by panga. Sea turtles can sometimes be seen mating in the mangrove-lined waters. Pelicans, herons, rays, and white-tipped reef sharks also frequent the area. After docking we will take a bus to Baltra airport for departure flight to mainland Ecuador.
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