Island Hopping in the Galapagos

Begin the adventure in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, high in the Andes. To make things easy, there are free transfers from the airport to the hotel for everyone today – check the Joining Instructions for further details. Around 6pm, say hola to your Quito tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader ensures a big Ecuadorian welcome by arranging a group dinner tonight. Want more time in Quito? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative. Upgrade to a junior suite today – speak to your sales representative for more details

Leave the hotel around 6.30am and transfer (five minutes) to Quito Airport, where we catch our flight to San Cristóbal in the Galápagos via Guayaquil. Bid farewell to our mainland tour leader at the airport; our Galápagos tour leader (an official Galápagos National Park Naturalist Guide) then meets us at San Cristóbal Airport and takes us to the hotel for check-in and our first briefing about our time in the archipelago. Once checked in, we have time to explore the town and enjoy a restaurant lunch before the afternoon activity with two options available, depending on your preference. Option one: Snorkel from La Lobería beach, a wonderful stretch surrounded by mangroves, volcanic rocks and sea lion colonies. You’ll start by visiting a local store for an equipment fitting – this equipment is yours until the final day in the Galápagos, when our local team returns it for you. Then, guided by our Galápagos tour leader and assistant, we head into the water from the beach, ensuring everyone is paired up for safety. Please inform your tour leader if you are not a confident swimmer, so they can provide you with additional swim aids. Sea conditions can change. At times, the waves can be strong, plus the shore is rocky. Option two: Enjoy one of the coastal walks on San Cristóbal. A favourite is the Puerto Baquerizo Moreno walk, which takes you to Charles Darwin’s first landing spot.

Start with an exciting tour to Isla Lobos, a small, uninhabited island near San Cristóbal. This excursion takes us by boat to one of the best spots in the Galápagos for birdwatching, with a chance to see frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies. It is also a great place to see sea lions in their natural habitat. This island is made of volcanic rock, so the terrain is uneven. Our team can provide you with wooden walking poles if needed. After our slow walk around the small island, we have a second opportunity to snorkel. From the boat, we enter the clear waters around the island, guided by our tour leader and an assistant. We swim along the coastline hoping to see marine life such as turtles, rays and, occasionally, whitetip reef sharks. Please let your tour leader know if you would like additional swim aids. You are also welcome to stay on the boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery. After lunch on board, we head to Playa Ochoa, a white-sand beach with turquoise waters. It’s ideal for relaxing, while also offering excellent birdwatching and further snorkelling opportunities. Once back in town, the rest of the afternoon is free.

Bid farewell to San Cristóbal and take a three-hour navigation by motorboat to Floreana, one of the first Galápagos Islands to be inhabited. En route, we may see whales, dolphins and seabirds. After lunch at a local restaurant, we take a short drive up to the highlands, where we spend an hour visiting lava caves once used by pirates and a large enclosure of Galápagos giant tortoises. In the afternoon, we travel (2hr 30min to three hours) by speedboat to Isabela Island.

Spend 15 minutes sailing to the islets and lava channels of Las Tintoreras, one of the best places in the Galápagos to see whitetip reef sharks, penguins and sea lions. We take a slow 40-minute walk over the uninhabited island, marvelling at the iguana nests and trying to spot endemic creatures, such as lava lizards. After, we have another fantastic opportunity to snorkel. We enter the water from the boat, led by our tour leader and an assistant. This afternoon, we have an optional walk (7.5mi/12km round-trip) to the Wall of Tears, a sad reminder of Isabela’s very different past when it was used as a penal colony. Between 1946 and 1959, convicts were forced to build this wall from huge blocks of lava as a form of punishment, which, combined with the harsh conditions, led to many deaths.

Navigate by motorboat (two hours to 2hr 30min) to Santa Cruz early this morning. Upon arrival, we leave our luggage at our hotel and head out to visit the Charles Darwin Research Centre’s breeding facility – the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center. Here, we are introduced to some of the important work that takes place on the island, such as rearing giant tortoises until they reach an age where they can be introduced to the wild. After, we visit the exhibition hall and gift shop, where we can get our passports stamped in commemoration. In the afternoon, we walk to Tortuga Bay, a long stretch of white sand that’s regarded as one of the best beaches in the Galápagos. The trail leading to the beach is paved and takes 45 minutes to one hour each way (5.5mi/9km total). There are possibilities to observe Galápagos finches and lizards en route. The beach is scattered with marine iguanas, which lie among the clusters of black rocks or stroll along the sand. Turtles can sometimes be seen in the water, though swimming is not recommended due to the strong currents. Santa Cruz is the most inhabited of the Galápagos islands, meaning you can enjoy perusing the souvenir shops and restaurants.

Visit either Bartolomé, South Plaza, Santa Fe or North Seymour. The island we visit depends on the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) regulations, who monitor tourism closely. South Plaza has a remarkable vegetation of succulents and cacti, which provide a unique habitat for land iguanas. The iguanas form small colonies at the base of the tall opuntia cacti, waiting for their flowers and dead pads to fall to the ground so they can feed on them. The island rocks are home to swallowtail gulls, shearwaters and sea lions. North Seymour is a flat, boulder-strewn island and a major nesting site for frigatebirds. It’s also a good place to see blue-footed boobies performing courtship rituals and sea lions playing in the powerful surf. Bartolomé is a spectacular scene of dramatic lava cones, clear seas and affords perhaps the most famous view of the Galápagos Islands, looking across the red cinder cones to the recent black lava fields on James Island. If weather permits, we snorkel today where the water is calm. Please ensure you inform your trip leader if you require a swim aid. Lunch is on board the boat.