Galapagos land tour from Santa Cruz

The Adventures begin! After our flight from Guayaquil/Quito, we land at Baltra´s Airport. Once we passed the National Park checking point, we will meet our naturalist guide. Then, we continue our journey to Puerto Ayora, but first, we will do our first visit to the Highlands of Santa Cruz.

This first visit will let us impressed by the different types of life zones that Santa Cruz has, from the agricultural coast to the mist covered forest. Also, there are plenty of lava tubes, sinkholes, and craters during this journey. Hold on! Not everything is landscaped and beautiful geological formations in the highland. This is going to be our first approachment to the amazing birds of Galapagos. With some luck, we will be enchanted by the red feathers of a vermillion flycatcher or one of the Darwin´s Finch. Finally, we can see wild tortoises in their habitat.

After had this sneak peak of Galapagos views, landscapes, and wildlife, we will have our delicious lunch, and then we will continue to the next stop, the well known Tortuga Bay. But first, we have to walk approximately 45 minutes, through a cactus trail on the first beach, which is called “Playa Brava” do to its strong currents. Have you seen marine iguanas? Here you can see them, as well as marine birds and pelicans.

Continuing our journey, we will go to “Playa Mansa” which is the opposite of “Playa Brava” because it´s a natural lagoon where we can swim and sunbathe, surrounded by blue-footed boobies and pelicans.

After enjoying this marvelous day, we will go to our hotel for resting and dining

Overnight: Santa Cruz

Meals: -/L/D

After resting from the first day, and maybe after catching the marvelous Galapagos sunrise, we will have our breakfast. Later we will meet our naturalist guide who is going to assist us with the plan chosen by us. This day we can choose between four programs, subject to availability, and there are:

Bartolome Island Full Day Seymour Island Full Day Plazas Island Full Day Santa Fe Island

This day starts very early with our breakfast, and then we will meet our driver who is going to pick up and transferring us to the dock, from where our adventure begins.

After 2-2:30 hours of navigation approximately, we will reach The Junco Lake or el Junco, as it is called by locals, is an inactive volcano that has a fresh water lake where frigate birds and Bahamas ducks rinse their wings from the salt. This will be our first approach to the amazing view of Galapagos and its wildlife. Here, we will have our first delicious lunch at the archipelago.

Moving on in our daily journey, after an approximate hike of 1 hour, we will have the opportunity to watch the famous Galapagos Giant Tortoises in their natural habitat. Where? At the Galapaguera Breeding Center. This center, run by the Galapagos National Park Authority, allows us not only to watch these magnificent tortoises but also touch and see some of their eggs. This visit is ideal for understanding the behavior of this massive animal that may weigh up to 200kg (440 pounds) and live up to 150 years.

After this amazing contact with the wildlife of Galapagos, we will move on to Puerto Chino. This is a breathtaking beach where we can lay down or having a sunbath.

Once we were astonished by the Galapagos first overview and the impressive animals, we are going to reach our hotel, where we will rest after a long but rewarding day as well as having a delicious meal. (-/L/D)

Our day starts early in the morning at the Baquerizo Moreno Dock, where the adventure begins. We will be by the hand of our bilingual guide, who is going to help us board the zodiac that will take us to the Galapagos Hopper Catamaran.

After a navigation of approximately 2.5 hours, we will arrive at the Española Island, considered the crown jewel of the Galapagos archipelago! Here we will enjoy a full day of activities.

Española Island is located at the south side of the archipelago, 22 miles from San Cristobal Island. Here, we will be astonished by two main locations, our visitor site Punta Suarez and Gardner Isle.

At Punta Suarez, which is located at the northeast of the Española, we will be amazed by the nesting Nazca Boobies as well as the famous blue-footed boobies, finches and Galapagos dove. But, hold on! If we are traveling between May and
December, we will be able to visit the world’s entire population of Waved Albatros, as it only nests in this area. There also is the presence of sea
lions and marine iguanas. We will have the opportunity to enjoy the amazing landscape of the cliffs and the blow hole.

Because this side of the island is a rocky terrain, we should wear comfortable shoes (no sandals), bring enough water for a two hour hike, and if we want we can bring our trekking poles. Later on, we will move on to Gardner Isle, at the northeast side of the Española Island. Here, we can do snorkeling among the friendly and playful sea lions, and we will be astonished by the colorful
fish within the turquoise water of the bay.

As soon as we board again the Galapagos Hopper Catamaran, we will be received with a refreshing and delicious snack, and for the lunch we will enjoy a three course meal. Also, we will have soft drinks, coffee, tea and infusions available on board.

Kicker Rock: Today our adventure begins at the Baquerizo Moreno Dock early in the morning. We are going to be by the hand of our bilingual guide, who will help us board the zodiac that will take us to the Galapagos Hopper catamaran. We will navigate the west side of San Cristobal Island, so we will be able to watch frigate birds and the unique marine iguanas. With a little luck we will be able to spot manta rays and dolphins jumping amongst the sea alongside with other marine wildlife.

Our first snorkeling excursion will take place at Kicker Rock also known as the sleeping lion. This astonishing rock is a tuff cone eroded into twin peaks. There is vast wildlife living in its surroundings, it’s cliffs are home to blue footed boobies and other sea birds. In terms of marine life some of the species that we can find at this place are sea lions, reef fish, rays, hammerhead shark, sea turtles and much more. For lunch we will board again the Galapagos Hopper and will enjoy a succulent 3 course meal.

Also here, we will be served with soft drinks, coffee, tea and infusions. After enjoying Kicker Rock, we will disembark at the beach where we can walk in search of coastal birds and sea lions, or relax and take a sunbath. If we chose the option of discovering the shore by foot, we can see mangrove forests. Later we can dip into the turquoise water before returning to the Galapagos Hopper catamaran for our navigation back to Baquerizo Moreno Dock in the afternoon.

Pitt Ile: Today our adventure begins at the Baquerizo Moreno Dock early in the morning. We are going to be by the hand of our bilingual guide, who is going to help us to board the zodiac that will take us to the Galapagos Hopper Catamaran. Our navigation will last approximately 2h15 minutes.

The fun starts with a wet landing at the Golden Sand Beach (Playa Arena Dorada). Punta Pitt is an eroded volcano, it is one of the few places in Galapagos where we can spot the three species of boobies, the blue and red­footed boobies and the Nazca boobies.

The excursion at Punta Pitt is on rocky terrain, so we should be prepared for the two hours hiking with comfortable shoes to avoid any inconvenience and being able to enjoy this unique landscape.

After hiking around the site, we will be able to do snorkeling at the Pitt Islet. Thus, we will watch an amazing variety of fishes, and with luck we will snorkel among sharks.

As soon as we board again the Galapagos Hopper Catamaran, we will be received with a refreshing and delicious snack, and for lunch we will enjoy a three course meal. Also, we will have soft drinks, coffee, tea and infusions vailable aboard.

Sadly, our daily adventure in Galapagos arrived at its end! Our guide will assist us in our return flight or to move on to our next experience in Galapagos, hopefully, onboard of an expedition cruise like the Boutique Yacht Galapagos Sea Star Journey and the First Class Catamaran Galapagos Seaman Journey.