10-Day Tour in the Galapagos Islands

Upon arrival, your guide will pick you up at San Cristobal airport. to take you to your hotel in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and begin the adventure.

We begin our tour with a visit to the Interpretation Center. Located on the outskirts of Puerto Baquerizo, this center is dedicated to the history of human presence in the Galapagos. From the time of the first Spanish explorers to the present day, including distinguished visitors such as Charles Darwin, this permanent exhibition will take you through the dangers and struggles of the first settlers who tried to survive in the harsh Galapagos environment.

In the afternoon, we will visit La Loberia beach. There we can swim with the resident sea lions that give their name to this rocky beach. In addition to the numerous sea lions, you are likely to see frigate birds, Darwin's finches, mary canaries (the only yellow bird found on these islands!) and iguanas, all of which are common in this area.

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Opuntia or similar

Leon Dormido, known in English as Kicker Rock. The Spanish name comes from the perception that the rock resembles a sleeping sea lion, while the English name has an unclear origin but seems to reference historical maritime landmarks in Hampshire, England, known as Gil-kicker and Kicker-Gill. In any case, it is an impressive rock formation, largely shaped by erosion. The journey takes approximately an hour from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Along the way, we pass through a variety of landscapes and vegetation zones. Keep your eyes open, as you might spot some interesting wildlife or plants while walking. Once we arrive at Leon Dormido, we can swim or snorkel with sea lions, sea turtles, and sharks—whitetip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, and Galapagos sharks. Additionally, many birds frequent the area, such as frigatebirds, blue-footed boobies, and lava gulls.

Meals: Breakfast / Box-lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Opuntia or similar

Isla Lobos gets its name from the numerous sea lions that reside here, often found resting and playing along the rocky shores. It is also home to many birds, such as pelicans, nesting frigatebirds, and blue-footed boobies. Within the small channel, the water is very clear, making it easy to spot sea turtles, sea lions, rays, and perhaps even whitetip reef sharks during snorkeling activities.

Back in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, you can take a pleasant walk along the beautiful beach, rest and enjoy the landscape or read by the sea.

Meals: Breakfast / Box Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Opuntia or similar

In the morning, we will transfer to the dock to take the speedboat to Santa Cruz Island. Once in Santa Cruz, our specialized guide will pick you up at the dock to begin the tour. On your first day, you will visit the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Along the way, you will observe the transition from dry vegetation in the lowlands to a lush tropical forest in the highlands. The characteristic trees in this area are the Scalesia and Palo Santo. Here, you will visit a farm where you will have the opportunity to see the famous giant tortoises in their natural habitat. After the tour, you will enjoy a traditional lunch. You will then continue to an impressive lava tunnel, nearly 300 meters long, formed by lava flows—the outer layer of the lava cooled faster than the inner part, creating this tunnel. In the afternoon, you will arrive at your hotel in Puerto Ayora. Later, you will take a short walk to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where scientists from around the world gather for environmental conservation projects, such as water analysis, animal welfare, and tourism impact studies. Here, you can visit the tortoise breeding center, where the animals are raised before being released back into the wild.

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Fiesta or similar

Today, in the morning we will have a transfer and guided tour to Tortuga Bay beach, considered one of the most attractive in South America.

Tortuga Bay is a white sand beach accessible via a trail surrounded by shrubs. It is famous for its extensive and pristine coastline that gradually slopes into the sea. It is a great place for swimming, kayaking, or simply relaxing and sunbathing alongside marine iguanas.

In the afternoon, we will transfer to the Puerto Ayora dock to board the boat. After approximately 15 to 20 minutes of navigation, your tour of the bay will begin. You will visit La Loberia, where you can enjoy a unique and unforgettable experience swimming and snorkeling with sea lions, marine turtles, and reef fish. You will then visit the Shark Channel, where you can observe the harmless white-tip reef sharks resting along the cliffs. Next, you will head to the Canal del Amor, known for its crystal-clear waters, and Playa de los Perros. During this excursion, you may encounter Galapagos sharks, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, iguanas, and rays along the coast.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel Fiesta or similar

Early in the morning, we will take a speedboat to Isabela. The tour lasts approximately two and a half hours and you can see various species such as manta rays, sea turtles and, with much luck, dolphins. Upon disembarking we will find a landscape with a large amount of volcanic rock, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and playful sea lions. Later we will transfer to the hotel and after a short rest, we will go to the Tintoreras. “Las Tintoreras” owes its name to the fact that in this place there are white-finned sharks known as Tintoreras. In this place we can practice snorkeling to observe them up close and also swim with one along with a great variety of multicolored fish.

Meals: Breakfast.

Accommodation Hotel Cormorant Beach House Standard or similar

In the morning, we will travel 45 minutes by boat to Cabo Rosa. Once there, we will begin a tour that lasts approximately 2 hours, exploring various paths through the tunnels. These geological formations were created after several volcanic eruptions and are considered one of the most stunning lava rock landscapes in the Galapagos Islands. Additionally, here we can observe pelicans, Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, lava lizards, and the occasional sea lion resting on the rocks.

Regarding vegetation, we find native flora of the arid zone, such as matasano and palo santo.

Meals: Breakfast / Box-lunch

Accommodation Hotel Cormorant Beach House Standard or similar

Today, you will visit one of Isabela's top attractions, the Sierra Negra Volcano.

Sierra Negra is one of the most active volcanoes of the archipelago, its recent eruption took place in 2005. The crater of the volcano is considered the second largest in the world, with a diameter of 10 km. Volcan Chico is also an active volcano, in this area you can see sulfur fumaroles.

This is a tour of approximately 5 hours of hiking to appreciate the full splendor of the volcanoes. You will enjoy a refreshment in the area.

After lunch, we will finally return to the port to take the boat back to Santa Cruz.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel Fiesta or similar

Today, you will take part in a yacht excursion to an uninhabited island. It will be Plazas Sur, Seymour Norte, or Bartolome. The destination will depend on availability, the day of the week, and the National Park's permits. This excursion is not private and is conducted in the company of other guests (maximum 20 passengers per boat).

Seymour Norte*

This is a small island in the Galapagos, home to endemic species of both flora and fauna, such as the magnificent frigatebird and the blue-footed booby. If we are lucky, we may witness the fascinating mating rituals of these species. Frigatebirds have unique courtship displays; the male inflates his red throat pouch, while the blue-footed booby performs a distinctive dance. North Seymour Island also hosts a thriving colony of land iguanas and sea lions near the coast. On this island, we will walk along several trails to observe its wildlife for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. We will enjoy our box lunch and have the opportunity to experience an unforgettable snorkeling adventure, where it is common to see hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, and a wide variety of reef fish.

Plazas Sur*

Our navigation will last approximately 2 hours, when we disembark we will be able to observe one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the archipelago and a few meters behind a group of land iguanas can be seen. Along our walk through Plazas, it is common to find land iguanas and birds such as blue-footed boobies, nesting swallow-tailed gulls, frigate birds and pelicans. Depending on the season, the vegetation changes its color from intense green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season.

BARTOLOMÉ*

 Once in Bartolome, we will walk along a volcanic trail with a lunar-like appearance until we reach the highest point of the island, where we can admire the landscape that includes Santiago Island, the vast ocean, and the white sand beach surrounded by green mangroves, contrasting with the lava rocks. During our journey, we may encounter penguins, sea lions, white-tip sharks, a great variety of reef fish, and marine turtles. We will return to our hotel in Santa Cruz.

Meals: Breakfast – Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Fiesta or similar

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to the Baltra airport for your return flight to mainland Ecuador and your international connection.

Meals: Breakfast