Galapagos Essential Wildlife Discovery 5 Days

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
San Cristobal Adventure
1 stop
1
San Cristobal
Your morning flight from the Ecuadorian mainland will arrive at San Cristobal Island, from there you can make your way to your hotel. Wander around the town and choose somewhere to have lunch. Once you’ve eaten, your Galapagos wildlife voyage begins with a self-guided walk to explore the local Interpretation Center, delving deep into unique wildlife, geology, natural history, and human history of these amazing islands. In the evening, you’re free to taste some of San Cristobal’s legendary seafood in the port of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno by yourself. Strangely, San Cristobal is the Galapagos’ capital but not its biggest settlement.
4 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 2
Snorkel the northern coast of San Cristobal
1 stop
2
San Cristobal
A day dedicated to discovering the astonishing underwater world of the Galapagos, snorkeling in crystal waters! Your knowledgeable guides lead a shared group in search of sea turtles, frigate birds, blue-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies around the nearby coves and cliffs. It’s likely you’ll find yourself playing with sea lions – the young pups are ever-curious and mischievous. There’s every chance that we’ll be sharing the seas with eagle rays, golden rays, Galapagos sharks, starfish, clams, and thousands of tropical fish as we snorkel. We either visit Leon Dormido (Kicker Rock) or Punta Pitt. The visitor site depends on the day of the week and the Galapagos National Park regulations. When the afternoon sun begins to fade, we come back to the hotel for a peaceful evening enjoying the sleepy island town.
6 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 3
Discover Isabela’s beaches, lagoons and islets
3 stops
3
Isabela Island
After breakfast, then bid farewell to San Cristobal to board your light aircraft for an inspiring journey across the islands’ crystal seas and jagged scenery to Isabela Island, one of the most volcanically active spots on the planet. In fact, many locals witnessed the last major eruption in 2005. Once checked into your hotel, set out on a one-of-a-kind, self-guided easy hike. Isabela is a true treasure trove. As you explore along wooden walkways, observe an incredible variety of fauna and flora, including giant tortoises, flamingos, finches and mockingbirds. Continue through coastal ecosystems including white sand beaches, the alluring poison apple forest, a gaping lava tube, dark mangroves and brackish lagoons.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
4
Playa Puerto Villamil
Seafood, Ecuadorian and international cuisine are all available in the small beach town of Puerto Villamil, and you’re free to sample them by yourself.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
5
Las Tintoreras
You can grab a quick dip in the ocean, or a swing in a hammock, before setting out to explore the Tintoreras visitor site, as part of a shared basis boat tour. It’s a group of small rocky islets filled with hidden coves and isolated beaches, explored by small boat and with snorkeling gear. Get ready for close encounters with the endemic Galapagos penguin, as well as reef sharks, sea turtles and sea lions. At the end of the day, your evening is free and easy.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 4
Charles Darwin research station - Santa Cruz bay tour
3 stops
6
Santa Cruz
We take an early morning public speed boat out of Isabela, heading for Santa Cruz Island and Puerto Ayora, the Galapagos’ largest settlement. We meet you at the dock and head to the hotel.
2 hours • Admission ticket free
7
Charles Darwin Research Station
A short walk from the port is the famous Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park’s tortoise breeding program – head there on your own to discover the nerve center of Galapagos scientific research and conservation.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
8
Santa Cruz
Bay Tour - Once you’ve had lunch on your own in Puerto Ayora – where there are options aplenty for you to choose from – we join a naturalist guide and with a shared group we take a boat and head west from the port, pausing by the Lobería where we can observe sea lions. We arrive at the islet of Punta Camaño, a perfect spot to put on our snorkels, masks and fins to swim with sea lions and brightly colored fish. Getting romantic in the Canal del Amor, we then come to shore at Playa de los Perros, where inky-black marine iguanas warm themselves on the rocks. Afterwards, stroll by yourself around the port, browsing through its shops, restaurants and bars in the evening.
Day 5
Transfer out
1 stop
9
Finally, it’s time to bid a fond farewell to the Galapagos. Accompanied by a guide, you board a transport to take you north over Santa Cruz Island to the Itabaca Channel. At this point we leave you to continue your journey alone: all that remains is a hop on a ferry and a short bus ride to take you to Baltra Island’s airport.
2 hours • Admission ticket not included

Additional info

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

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