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Please note that this itinerary is subject to change without notice due to seasonal changes, last minute weather conditions and the decision of the Galapagos National Park authority.
Day 1
Arrive Quito.
You will be met at the airport and transferred to your boutique hotel.
Day 2
(B)
Day to acclimatize in Quito and take the opportunity if you wish to visit Old Quito - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Day 3 – Fly to Galapagos and Hike on San Cristobal Island
(L)
You will be collected early from your hotel and taken to the airport in Quito.
Fly Quito to San Cristobal.
You will be met upon arrival and be taken for lunch and an initial briefing about the trip.
After lunch you will hike out of town to the San Cristobal Interpretation Centre to learn about the island's formation, evolution and natural history. You will then continue hiking to explore the island's unique dry forest and see cacti, acacia, palo santo and Galapagos cotton. You will hike towards Frigate Hill along trails of lava rock with splendid views of the coastline and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Here we may enjoy our first encounters with the local wildlife. The hill is often visited by Galapagos wildlife such as frigate birds, blue footed boobies, brown pelicans, gulls, herons and land birds including Darwin finches, warblers and mockingbirds. On your way back we can stop for a refreshing swim at Carola Beach. In the evening you can explore the town and dine at a waterfront restaurant.
Day 4 - Sea Kayak at Playa Ochoa & Snorkel at Leon Dormido
(B, L)
In the morning we take to our ocean kayaks and spend the morning paddling along the coast, heading north to explore bays and coves and abundant wildlife. Darwin Bay is where Darwin's HMS Beagle landed for the first time. This route is filled with sea lions, marine turtles, blue footed boobies and frigate birds. From Playa Ochoa we continue on to nearby Isla Lobos on the look-out for marine iguanas. We can also to enjoy the company of sealions in what is one of the best locations in the archipelago to swim with them. Our final challenge for the day is to reach Leon Dormido, the jagged remains of an old tuff cone whose flanks are home to thousands of sea birds. Leon Dormido offers excellent snorkelling. There is a chance of seeing hammerhead and white tipped sharks, eagle and golden rays, as well as dozens of species of tropical fish, clams, starfish and marine invertebrates. In the afternoon we return to our hotel for our last evening in San Cristobal.
Day 5 - Hiking in the Santa Cruz Highlands
(B, L)
After breakfast, we take a fast boat from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz Island. Upon arrival, you will be taken to the El Chato Reserve in the Santa Cruz Highlands. This is an important habitat for the Galapagos tortoise. As we explore this area, we'll also come across pintail ducks, egrets, flycatchers, finches and frigate birds, bathing in fresh water lakes. We will also visit lava caves and tunnels created by hot flowing lava.
You will then continue to Los Gemelos: two volcanic craters near the top of the Island. Here you can walk amongst tropical scalesia forest which is covered with epiphytes and ferns. If you are lucky you will be able to see the short-eared owl - one of the two types of owls that live in the Islands. We return to Puerto Ayora in the afternoon. The evening is free to dine at any of the good selection of Island restaurants, or the excellent open air food market four blocks back from the quayside.
Day 6 - Sea Kayaking at Santa Cruz Island & Hike to Tortuga Bay
(B, L)
After breakfast, you will be taken to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station to learn about conservation and management efforts in the archipelago. We also get to meet Lonesome George, the last giant Pinta tortoise. Later the same morning we will pick up sea kayaks and head around Divine Bay and Punta Estrada, paddling through several lava channels with their calm, turquoise waters. Within the channels, white tipped sharks and rays patrol beneath the waves, while colonies of blue footed-boobies, tropic birds, herons and marine iguanas perch along the jagged cliffs.
In the afternoon we will hike to Tortuga Bay - a beautiful white sand beach area and nesting site to thousands of marine turtles. This trail is 3½ miles (6 kilometers) long and crosses through a dry forest lava habitat home to hundreds of iguanas. We return to Puerto Ayora to spend the evening at leisure in the Galapagos' most populous town.
Day 7 - Moutain Biking and Sea Kayaking on Isabela & Las Tintoreras islets
(B, L, D)
From the seafront in Puerto Ayora, we will board a fast boat for Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island. Between July and October you can hope to see dolphins and whales on this run. Isabela is the largest Island in the archipelago, formed by 6 shield volcanoes - Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf. All but one of these volcanoes are active, making this island one of the most volcanically active places on earth.
When we arrive we set up our mountain bikes to explore Isabela's beautiful coastline, starting with a visit to El Muro de las Lágrimas which means Wall of Tears. This historic site that dates back between 1946 and 1959 when Isabela Island was used as a penal colony. The wall was built with lava blocks and had no other purpose that of keeping prisoners busy from the madness of isolation. We continue riding along the coast as we explore expansive white sand beaches, mangroves and brackish lagoons. This area is filled with birdlife such as American oyster catchers, herons, flamingos, finches and many shore birds, as well as sea lions and marine iguanas.
In the afternoon we take our ocean kayaks and paddle out to Las Tintoreras: a set of small Islets within Isabela bay. The islets are filled with wildlife and are home to the Galapagos Penguin, the only penguin that lives in equatorial region. We can also see white-tip sharks, marine turtles, sea lions and much more wildlife as we explore its many small coves and beaches. The evening is spent in the tranquil port town of Puerto Villamil.
Day 8 - Hiking or by Horseback to Volcan Sierra Negra
(B, L, D)
In the morning we will head up to the highlands to prepare our horses for a ride of about 6 miles (9 km) on irregular terrain taking us to the rim of the Sierra Negra volcano. Sierra Negra is the second largest caldera in the world. You have a fantastic view from here, of the 6 x 5 mile-wide caldera, the other the volcanoes and the Perry Isthmus beyond. From here we will leave the horses and hike to Chico Volcano, with its puffing fumaroles and striking lava formations which are examples of the dramatic geological events that have forged the Galapagos Islands over millennia. Sierra Negra last erupted in October 2005. In the late afternoon, we will return to Puerto Villamil for a last chance to enjoy its exotic white sand beaches.
Day 9
(B)
In the morning we will return to Santa Cruz Island to be transferred by bus to Baltra Island for our flight back to the continent. Here you will be met and taken for your final night in Ecuador.
Day 10
(B)
You will be collected from your hotel and taken to the airport for your flight home.
Suggested items to pack: Water sandals, rain jacket, flashlight, water bottle, non-cotton trekking gear, sun block, hat and mosquito repellent.
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