Tour Overview
| Duration | 8 Days / 7 Nights |
|---|---|
| Destination | Galapagos Islands — Ecuador (Pacific Ocean, 1,000km offshore) |
| Price From | $4,595 per person (twin cabin) |
| Tour Style | Wildlife Expedition Cruise — The Ultimate Nature Experience |
| Best Season | Year-round (warm-wet Dec-May; cool-dry Jun-Nov) |
| Data Source | G Adventures / Intrepid Travel 2026 verified pricing |
Itinerary Highlights
Day 1: Arrive Quito & Fly to Baltra — Welcome to the Enchanted Isles
Morning flight from Quito (2.5 hours) over the Pacific to Baltra Island in the Galapagos archipelago. The Galapagos, 1,000km off Ecuador’s coast, are 19 volcanic islands that have never been connected to a continent — every species here arrived by swimming, flying, or floating on vegetation rafts, then evolved in isolation. This is where Charles Darwin spent five weeks in 1835, collecting the observations that would eventually become his theory of evolution by natural selection. The wildlife here shows no fear of humans because they evolved without terrestrial predators. Board your expedition yacht (16-20 passengers) at Baltra. Afternoon: first landing at North Seymour Island, where frigatebirds inflate their scarlet throat pouches to attract mates and blue-footed boobies perform their comical courtship dance. The trail passes nesting colonies of swallow-tailed gulls (the world’s only nocturnal gull) and land iguanas basking on lava rocks. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 2: Genovesa Island — Bird Island
Full day at Genovesa (Tower Island), a collapsed caldera now flooded to form Darwin Bay. Genovesa is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Morning: Prince Philip’s Steps, a steep path climbing onto the plateau, passing colonies of Nazca boobies and red-footed boobies (the only place in Galapagos where both species nest in large numbers). Short-eared owls hunt storm-petrels across the lava fields in broad daylight — a unique behavior evolved in the absence of competing predators. Afternoon: kayak along the caldera walls, snorkel with sea lions, hammerhead sharks, and fur seals in the inner bay. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 3: Santa Cruz — Giant Tortoises & Charles Darwin Station
Morning landing at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the archipelago’s main population center. Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, where the Galapagos tortoise breeding program has successfully brought several subspecies back from the brink of extinction. Meet Diego, the legendary Española tortoise who single-handedly (well, half-handedly) saved his subspecies — fathering over 800 offspring in captivity. Afternoon: drive to the Santa Cruz highlands. At a private reserve, walk among wild Galapagos giant tortoises in their natural habitat — these 250kg reptiles roam freely through the Scalesia forest and grasslands. Weighing up to 417kg and living 150+ years, they are the world’s largest tortoises. Also visit a lava tube, a tunnel formed by flowing magma, large enough to walk through. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 4: Floreana Island — Post Office Bay & Devil’s Crown
Morning at Post Office Bay, home to the world’s most famous mailbox — a wooden barrel placed by whalers in 1793 where sailors left letters for home-bound ships to collect. The tradition lives on: visitors leave a postcard and take one to hand-deliver when they return home. Afternoon: snorkeling at Devil’s Crown, a submerged volcanic cone that’s one of the world’s best snorkel sites — the circular coral formation attracts hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and schools of tropical fish that number in the thousands. Continue to Punta Cormorant for a walk to a green-sand beach (olivine crystals from eroded volcanic rock) where sea turtles nest and flamingos feed in a brackish lagoon. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 5: Isabela Island — The Volcano Coast
Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos (4,640 km²) and one of the most volcanically active. Morning landing at Punta Moreno on the lava coast, where stark black lava fields contrast with bright green pioneer vegetation and turquoise tidal pools. The trail crosses pahoehoe (ropey lava) formations, dotted with brackish pools where flamingos, pintail ducks, and common gallinules feed. Afternoon: snorkel in the protected waters of Elizabeth Bay, home to the Galapagos penguin — the only penguin species found north of the equator, adapted to the cool Humboldt Current. Sea turtles, marine iguanas (the world’s only marine lizard), and flightless cormorants round out the extraordinary wildlife. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 6: Fernandina & Isabela West
Fernandina is the youngest and most pristine island in the Galapagos — it has no introduced species, making it the world’s most intact island ecosystem. Land at Punta Espinoza, where hundreds of marine iguanas pile together on the black lava rocks, their dark bodies absorbing heat after cold ocean feeding sessions. The largest marine iguana aggregation in the archipelago, with individuals reaching 1.5m — Darwin famously described them as “imps of darkness.” Flightless cormorants nest nearby, their tiny, useless wings a testament to evolution in an environment without predators. Galapagos hawks patrol overhead. Afternoon: cross the Bolivar Channel, one of the best places to spot whales and dolphins, to Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela for deep-water snorkeling — the volcanic cliff drops directly into blue water teeming with sea turtles, penguins, and the bizarre ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 7: Santiago & Bartolomé — The Iconic Panorama
Morning at Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island — walk across a pristine 1897 lava flow where the texture of pahoehoe lava is so perfectly preserved it looks like it cooled yesterday. The only sign of life is the pioneer Brachycereus cactus, colonizing cracks in the rock. Afternoon: climb the wooden boardwalk to the summit of Bartolomé Island (114m) for THE iconic Galapagos photograph: Pinnacle Rock, a spear-shaped lava formation in a crescent bay of white sand, with Santiago Island as backdrop. This was the view that appeared in the 2003 film “Master and Commander.” The 365-step climb passes splatter cones and tuff formations in brilliant reds and oranges. Evening: farewell dinner on board. Overnight: expedition yacht.
Day 8: Santa Cruz Highlands & Return to Quito
Morning visit to Los Gemelos (The Twins), two enormous sinkholes in the highlands formed by collapsed lava chambers, surrounded by Scalesia forest. Final chance to see giant tortoises in the wild. Fly from Baltra back to Quito.
Inclusions
- 7 nights expedition yacht (twin cabin, private bath)
- All meals on board + purified water
- Naturalist guide (Level III Galapagos National Park certified)
- All snorkeling equipment (mask, fins, wetsuit shorty)
- Kayaking opportunities at multiple sites
- Charles Darwin Research Station visit
- Giant tortoise reserve (Santa Cruz highlands)
- Galapagos National Park fee ($100) + Transit Control Card ($20)
- Round-trip flights Quito-Baltra (approx. $520 value)
- All zodiac landings (wet and dry)
Important
The Galapagos National Park strictly limits visitor numbers and enforces a 2-meter distance from wildlife. This is a wildlife expedition, not a luxury cruise — days are active with multiple landings, snorkels, and hikes.
