Galapagos cruises itinerary - Adventure yacht - day by day itinerary

This island is best known for its endemic plant life, such as the Galápagos millwork, Passion flower, and unique button mangrove. Novice snorkelers can practice back on the main beach where the sea lions are playful, while experienced snorkelers can roam the waters around Devils Crown.

Our guide will have told us some of the intriguing human history of Floreana and in the afternoon we will visit the legendary Post Office Bay and/or Black Beach, where the Wittmer family resides.

Post Office Bay is historically the location of a wooden barrel, which was placed there originally in the 18th century by the crew of a whaling ship. Since then, it has been used by whalers, yachtsmen and tourists alike as a post office. If you find a letter or postcard in the box that is addressed to someone living near your next destination, take it with you and continue an ancient tradition.
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Day 3
Thursday Morning: Hood (Española) Island—Gardner Bay Our first visit this morning is in Gardner Bay on the North East side of Española, near Gardner Island. We anchor in a protected bay which has a beautiful white sandy beach dotted with hundreds of basking sea lions.
Thursday Afternoon: Hood (Española) Island—Punta Suarez
After a 45 minute cruise along the northern shores of Española we will go ashore at Punta Suarez in the afternoon. The path leads us past the nesting sites of blue footed and masked boobies, rising gently until we get to a plateau with steep cliffs. This is the area where at the end of April and in the beginning of May the waved albatrosses arrive to mate, nest and raise their young. In December, the young albatross use the updraft of air at the edge of the cliffs to soar into their element for the first time. A colony of reddish colored marine iguanas usually sunbathes on the rocks along the foot of the cliffs, often one on top of the other as they try to find the most advantageous position. Apart from these most noticeable inhabitants, Española is home to snakes (harmless), finches, mocking birds, owls, lava herons, oyster catchers and swallow tailed gulls, among many others.
This was our last visit during our week and we will head back to the airport on Baltra Island.
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Day 4
Friday morning: North Seymour Island
North Seymour is the perfect place for marine bird watching, like blue footed boobies, frigates, swallow tailed gulls, all of these nesting in season. The sound, the variety of their activities, the colonies sizes, is part of one of the most fascinating experiences in Galapagos. In the other side of the Island, you will be able to see sea lions, playing with the waves, which afterwards crash against the rocks that are covered with marine Iguanas.
Friday afternoon: Bachas Beach
Las Bachas is a white sand beach that is a major egg-laying site for sea turtles, and the name Las Bachas refers to the indentations left in the sand by laying turtles or departing hatchlings.  On the shore there are marine iguanas and in the lagoon flamingos are common.
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Day 5
Saturday Morning: Santiago (San Salvador, James) Island—James Bay
Today's first destination is James Bay, situated on the western side of Santiago Island. We walk along the shore to look for fur seals and there is a good chance that we will encounter a variety of herons, such as the Lava Heron, Common Egret and the Great Blue Heron. And with some luck, we may be able to watch the Galapagos Hawk."
Saturday Afternoon: Bartolome (Bartholomew) Island
Early afternoon we will cruise along the eastern shores of Santiago and drop anchor at a short distance from the small island of Bartolomé. A bizarre, moon-like landscape surrounds us as we climb to the top of the island. The impressive view of Pinnacle Rock and the recent lava flows of Santiago in the background is perhaps the most photographed scenery in the islands. Later we may take a refreshing swim from the beach.
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Day 6
Sunday Morning: Tower (Genovesa) Island—Darwin Bay Beach
During our overnight cruise NNE to Genovesa Island, we cross the Equator and in the early morning anchor in Darwin Bay, which is formed by a submerged caldera of an extinct volcano.
Not far from the beach, where our dinghy takes us ashore, there is colony of red footed boobies and frigate birds. It is an unforgettable sight, especially if we are lucky enough to see the male frigate birds with their pouches inflated to attract the females during the mating season, or watch these birds feeding their young.
Sunday Afternoon: Tower (Genovesa) Island—Prince Philip’s Steps
A second trail called Prince Philip Steps, leads to an open area for masked boobies, frigates, and red-footed boobies. At the end of this trail are thousands of band-rumped storm petrels at the cliff's edge, where they nest in crevices. Short-eared owls can sometimes be seen here, hunting the storm petrels during daylight hours.
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Day 7
Monday morning: South Plazas Island
Although only a very small island, South Plaza is an ideal introduction to the Galapagos, with an abundance of wildlife seldom seen elsewhere in such a confined area. The northern coastline, composed of smooth, rounded boulders of lava, forms an ideal habitat for sea lions, which are so unafraid of man that they might even obstruct our path as we go ashore. 

Not far from the landing point, in an area surrounded by tree cacti, we will encounter land iguanas, a subspecies that can only be found here, as well as three species of finches. At the edge of the surf-sprayed cliffs on the opposite side of the landing point, a fabulous scenery awaits us, where we can watch the diving-, feeding- and breeding-activity of a variety of seabirds, such as the swallow tailed gull, Audubon shearwater and red billed tropic bird, among others.
Monday afternoon: Santa Fe Island
At Santa Fe after landing on a beach next to a sea lion colony, a short walk will bring you to one of the widest Opuntia cactus forest in the Islands. Here you will find Cacti of close to 10 m. in height. You will also see a different land Iguana species, endemic to Santa Fe, as well as rice rats, also endemic.
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Day 8
Baltra airport - Mainland Ecuador
Check out and transfer to airport for flight to mainland Ecuador 
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