Welcome to Quito, the highest capital city in the world (2,850 m/9,350 ft; over 2.6 MM inhabitants). 

Its historic centre is one of the largest, least-altered, and best-preserved in the Americas, and it was the first World Cultural Heritage Site declared by UNESCO.

You will be welcomed at the airport an and brought to the assigned hotel

Guide: Included for the day

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Ikala Quito Hotel

Today you fly to the magical Galapagos Islands! 

In the morning, you will be picked up at the hotel and brought to the airport. There, at the departures hall, a check-up is carried out, to ensure that no foreign plant or animal species are introduced on the islands. Furthermore, Transit Control Card is needed to enter the Galapagos , please complete the purchase (US $ 20), following the steps below before your flight: Visit the official website: https://siig-cgreg.gobiernogalapagos.gob.ec/tct/emission?lang=en. Must be kept safe during the trip as it has to be presented again upon return.

Then you will catch the flight to Baltra island, and upon landing there, entrance to the Galapagos National Park is due for entry (US $ 200 per adult, US $ 100 per child), if this has not yet been paid.

First, you will be taken to the island’s Interpretation Center, where you will get a first glimpse of the seriousness and complexity of preserving the unique ecosystems of Galapagos.  Photos, historic documents and maquettes are used as educational means. 

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Hotel Blue Marlin

Today, you will embark on a shared navigable tour to Kicker Rock. 

Kicker Rock is an impressive natural sculpture that rises up from the ocean at the northeast coast of San Cristobal Island. 

From the side it has the shape of a giant shoe upside down with the tower as a high heel (hence its name Kicker Rock). In its longitudinal direction, it rather resembles a sleeping lion (which explains its Spanish name Leon Dormido).

Plunge into this chilly tropical aquarium, carefully overseen by your guide and the closely following boat. The surge around hauls you into the wide channel between the tower and the main formation of Kicker Rock, an area teeming with rarely seen marine life. While floating between its high walls, a bright day may offer dazzling views down to the bottom.

Before and after your swim, you might also enjoy the plentiful presence of seabirds that nest and breed in the edges of Kicker Rock. Galapagos shearwaters, red-billed tropicbirds, blue-footed and Nazca boobies are a regular sight. This tour will be shared with scuba divers and snorkelers.

** DESTINATION SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AND ACCORDING TO PARK REGULATIONS

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Hotel Blue Marlin

In the morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to Isabela’s dock, from where you must pick a water taxi that costs $1 (not included) to the offshore pier, where you will board a public speedboat (included) to Santa Cruz island. 

Following this, you will be taken to start your first tour in the magical islands. Santa Cruz is a huge island, with different climates and ecosystems. On the way from the airport to your hotel -located in the sunny coast- you will stop at the wooded highlands.

Your guide will show you the Twin Craters: impressive lava formations that appeared during a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago, and now are covered by rich forest ecosystems. The endemic carpenter finch, which is considered a holy-grail of evolution, can be seen in these areas using tools to feed. 

Next, you will visit an area populated by Galapagos giant tortoises. Because these magnificent reptiles don’t stop their migration patterns at the official limits of the National Park, dozens of them also roam the island’s agricultural properties, enjoying muddy baths, devouring fallen fruits, and carrying birds on their backs. 

Lunch is programmed at a restaurant here, followed by the transfer to your hotel in Puerto Ayora.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Dejavu

Today you will enjoy a navigable tour: A) North Seymour islet, B) Bartolomé, C) South Plaza, OR B) Santa Fe The destination set is selected by operator based on daily availability.

1. North Seymour, is a pure natural paradise, teeming with seabird colonies of the fearless blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds, who share habitat with Galapagos sea lions and endemic land iguanas. You may also swim in close company with those Galapagos sea lions, which form right on this beach their largest colony of the archipelago.

2. Bartolome is one of the most remarkable sites in the Galapagos. Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by a giant pinnacle rising majestically from the bay. Enjoy stunning views from various angles before disembarking and climbing to the top of the islet. Along the way, you may encounter lava lizards, hawks, and endemic snakes. The view from the top is simply breathtaking.

3. While landing at South Plaza islet, the island's striking red and purple landscape, covered in vibrant Sesuvium, contrasts with its tall prickly pear cacti, creating a stunning backdrop. Home to a unique colony of hybrid iguanas, this island offers an experience like no other.

With over 1,000 sea lions, South Plaza buzzes with life, and its cliffs are perfect for nesting seabirds, including blue-footed boobies, shearwaters, and red-billed tropicbirds. The lush cactus forests also provide essential food and nesting sites for Darwin’s finches.

D. Step back in time with a visit to Santa Fe Island, one of the oldest islands in the Galapagos, estimated to be between 4 to 4.5 million years old. This incredible age places Santa Fe in a unique position in natural history, even by Galapagos standards. The island’s ancient origins mean it is home to a wealth of endemic species not found anywhere else on Earth.  A day on Santa Fe offers the possibility of encountering creatures and landscapes that are truly one-of-a-kind.

Santa Fe’s picturesque landscape features a stunning turquoise bay surrounded by towering cactus forests. This dramatic setting is not only visually spectacular but also supports the highest variety of endemic wildlife in the Galapagos.

** DESTINATION SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AND ACCORDING TO PARK REGULATIONS

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Dejavu

In the morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to the dock of Puerto Ayora, to board a public speedboat with destination to Puerto Villamil, on Isabela island. The journey lasts approximately 3 hours. Please bring with you a windbreaker, sunglasses, sunscreen and seasick pills.  Upon arrival, at the dock an entrance fee of $10 is due (Entrance fee not included) 

You will be welcomed to discover Tintoreras, a jurassic-looking Islet with a breeding colony of large Isabela marine iguanas (each member measures up to 1.5 m/5 ft!). 

Snorkelling here is excellent, as the site features a unique tidal channel where you will be able to swim in turquoise clear waters and find sea lions, marine turtles, iguanas, sting rays, and white tip sharks.  Also, you will have one of the best chances of spotting the only tropical penguins in the world.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Volcano Hotel

Today’s adventurous tour to the marine sanctuary of Los Tuneles Labyrinth, near El Finado Lagoon, is the favourite Galapagos excursion for many snorkelling enthusiasts. This program explores a paradisiacal, flooded lava labyrinth.

You will enjoy two immersions at very contrasting environments. First, you can swim around rock outcrops to find adorable, endangered Galapagos penguins, followed by an exploration of a semi-open lagoon that is full of large Pacific green turtles and the rarely seen Pacific horses.

Next, the Shark Caves in the backwaters of El Finado Lagoon promise another exhilarating, face-to-face adventure. Take a deep breath and follow your naturalist guide down into these underwater tunnels, which may be full of resting white-tip reef sharks (totally careless about humans). 

During your boat ride to and from the Lava Tunnels, stay very attentive to the sea around you. Schools of dolphins might make an appearance.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Snacks

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Volcano Hotel

Sierra Negra is the only major volcano on Isabela which crater regions are currently open to tourism. 

Its impressive caldera is the largest of the Galapagos Islands. This quite long and strenuous, but most adventurous hike, lets you experience dramatic scenic contrasts. 

If you embark on today’s tour to Sierra Negra, you will start the day boarding a local chiva-ride (open truck with wooden benches) leading from Puerto Villamil to the National Park Entrance. After crossing a barren lava flow with cacti and passing a flamingo lagoon, the main dirt road leads through Isabela's surprisingly lush agricultural highlands. While gaining altitude, no less than five vegetation zones will be passed.

A trail along the rim of Sierra Negra Volcano leads to a viewpoint where you can try to grasp the incomprehensive dimensions of its caldera (clear weather unpredictable, but thanks to prevailing winds fog usually tend to dissolve on approach). Besides this, you will also enjoy watching songbirds amid the steaming volcanic landscapes. 

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Volcano Hotel

In the morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to Isabela’s dock, from where you must pick a water taxi that costs $1 (not included) to the offshore pier, where you will board a public speedboat (included) to Santa Cruz island. 

In the afternoon, you will pick a public speedboat at the dock in Puerto Ayora which will take you to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, in San Cristobal island. 

Please bring with you a windbreaker, sunglasses, sunscreen and sea sick pills, just in case.

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel with Spanish-speaking driver.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Dejavu

This morning you will be transferred-out from your hotel in Puerto Ayora to Baltra airport, in order to catch your flight back to Quito.

Upon arrival, you will be welcomed and transferred to the hotel.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• STANDARD: Ikala Quito Hotel

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Quito’s international airport to board your outbound international flight.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast