| Day | Visitor Site |
|---|---|
| Saturday | AM - Baltra Island Airport: Arrival and Transfer to the boat |
| PM - Whale Bay & Eden Islet (Santa Cruz) | |
| Sunday | AM - Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela) |
| PM - Punta Espinoza (Fernandina) | |
| Monday | AM - Urbina Bay (Isabela) |
| PM - Tagus Cove (Isabela) | |
| Tuesday | AM - Bartolome |
| PM - Sullivan Bay (Santiago) | |
| Wednesday | AM - Las Bachas (Santa Cruz) |
| PM - Dragon Hill (Santa Cruz) | |
| Thursday | AM - Puerto Ayora & Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz) |
| PM - Santa Cruz Highlands (Santa Cruz) | |
| Friday | AM - Punta Suarez (Espanola) |
| PM - Gardner Bay (Espanola) | |
| Saturday | AM - Interpretation Center (San Cristobal) |
| Transfer to the Airport |
DAY 1 – SATURDAY
Quito or Guayaquil / Baltra – Galapagos
Today we fly to Baltra Island in the Galapagos in the morning. Flight time is approximately 1½ hours. Upon arrival we board M/V Evolution where you will have lunch and a quick briefing en route to our first visitor sites: Whaler Bay, a beautiful green sand cove at the base of Dragon Hill and Eden Islet, home to a great variety of seabirds and marine iguanas and also a great snorkeling site.
After these visits we get ready for our welcome cocktail and first briefing before continuing to dinner. (Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 2 – SUNDAY
AM: Isabela Island : Punta Vicente Roca
PM: Fernandina Island : Punta Espinosa
In the morning we visit Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. Snorkeling is incredible here as a result of the nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current that bathe the western side of the archipelago. We will have a chance to see colorful fish, sea lions, penguins and sea turtles in the water. Afternoon visit to Fernandina Island, home to La Cumbre volcano, which erupts frequently (most recently in May 2005). We visit Punta Espinosa, a narrow spit of land, where a number of unique species, such as marine iguanas, sea lions, flightless cormorants, herons, egrets and Galapagos hawks can be seen in close proximity. (B, L, D)
DAY 3 – MONDAY
AM: Isabela Island : Urbina Bay
PM: Isabela Island: Tagus Cove
Urbina Bay is directly west of Isabela’s Volcano Alcedo, where we will make an easy, wet landing (a hop into a few inches of water). We walk on a stretch of three miles (5 km) of the marine reef that has been uplifted by as much as 13 feet (4 meters) out of the water. A highlight of this excursion are the giant land iguanas and giant tortoises, as well as the opportunity to go snorkeling amongst marine creatures, or just relaxing on shore. In the afternoon we visit Tagus Cove on Isabela Island. A wooden stairway rises to the trail entrance and continues around Darwin Lake through a dry vegetation zone, and ends in a promontory formed by spatter cones. The site provides spectacular views of our anchorage in the bay, as well as Darwin and Wolf Volcanoes. (B, L, D)
DAY 4 – TUESDAY
AM: Bartolome Island : Pinnacle Rock
PM: Santiago Island : James Bay
In the morning we visit Bartolome Island, famous for Pinnacle Rock, where we will see Galapagos Penguins and sea lions. We will also hike a trail to Bartolome’s summit where you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Pinnacle Rock and our beach, where the crystal blue waters of the bay cradle your yacht. Afternoon visit to James Bay, where we land on a black beach with intriguing eroded rock formations. A trail leads to a series of crystal-clear grottos formed of broken lava tubes, which are home to sea lions, fur seals, marine iguanas and tropical fish. (B, L, D)
DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY
AM: Santa Cruz Island: Las Bachas – beach
PM: Santa Cruz Island: Dragon Hill
In the morning we visit Las Bachas, a sandy white-coral beach that is a major egg-laying site for sea turtles. The name Bachas refers to the remains of landing craft left here at the end of WWII. Ashore marine iguanas mingle with flamingos and other wading birds in another of the many super saline lagoons found in the Galapagos. Afternoon visit to Dragon Hill, named for the large number of land iguanas that frequent the area, and an important nesting site for iguanas reintroduced by the Charles Darwin Research Center. A short walk from the beach leads to a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon that is frequented by pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks and other species of birds. From here, they will pass through a forest of the endemic Scalesia tree. There are only 400 specimens of the Scalesia tree left in the world. Past the forest, hike up Dragon Hill for impressive views of the bay. (B, L, D)
DAY 6 – THURSDAY
AM: Santa Cruz Island : Charles Darwin Station
PM: Santa Cruz: Highlands, Lava Tubes, Pit Craters
Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos and its capital, Puerto Ayora, is the economic center of the Islands. In the morning we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station to visit the Giant Tortoise and Land Iguana Breeding and Rearing Program. Here we will find Lonesome George, the last of his particular race of tortoise – and who may be 150 years old! In the afternoon we are off to the Highlands, where the dry coastal vegetation transitions to lush wet fields and forests overgrown with moss and lichens. Our destination is the Tortoise Reserve, where we will have chances see these animals in the wild, walk through lava tubes and see the Gemelos, twin collapsed craters. (B, L, D)
DAY 7 – FRIDAY
AM: Española Island (Hood): Punta Suarez
PM: Española Island (Hood): Gardner Bay
Hood is the southernmost island of the archipelago, and is one of the most popular due to the breathtaking variation and number of fauna that inhabit the island. In the morning we visit Punta Suarez where you will witness the largest variety of marine iguanas in the Galapagos, masked boobies and blue footed boobies nesting along the cliff’s edge, as well as the famous waved albatross. In the afternoon we visit Gardner Bay, a magnificent long white sandy beach, where colonies of sea lions laze in the sun, sea turtles swim offshore, and inquisitive mockingbirds boldly investigate new arrivals. (B, L, D)
DAY 8 – SATURDAY
AM: San Cristobal: Interpretation Centre
Late AM: Depart for mainland Ecuador
Today our Galapagos cruise comes to an end, but before we bid farewell to the Evolution and her crew we pay a visit to the Galapagos National Park Visitor Centre on San Cristobal Island. The Centre presents a comprehensive exhibit of the islands’ natural history, human interaction, ecosystems, flora & fauna and your naturalist will use the exhibits to provide an illustrated overview of life on the Islands. A short trail arrives at Frigate Bird Hill, where both “magnificent-frigates” and “great-frigates” can be seen in the same colony. Next we return to the airport where we began our journey in the Galapagos for the flight back to the Ecuadorian mainland. (B)
| Departure | Arrival | |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 18th of May 2024 | Saturday 25th of May 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 1st of June 2024 | Saturday 8th of June 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 15th of June 2024 | Saturday 22nd of June 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 29th of June 2024 | Saturday 6th of July 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 13th of July 2024 | Saturday 20th of July 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 27th of July 2024 | Saturday 3rd of August 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 10th of August 2024 | Saturday 17th of August 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 24th of August 2024 | Saturday 31st of August 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 7th of September 2024 | Saturday 14th of September 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 21st of September 2024 | Saturday 28th of September 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 5th of October 2024 | Saturday 12th of October 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 19th of October 2024 | Saturday 26th of October 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 2nd of November 2024 | Saturday 9th of November 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 16th of November 2024 | Saturday 23rd of November 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 30th of November 2024 | Saturday 7th of December 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 14th of December 2024 | Saturday 21st of December 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 28th of December 2024 | Saturday 4th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 11th of January 2025 | Saturday 18th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 25th of January 2025 | Saturday 1st of February 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 8th of February 2025 | Saturday 15th of February 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 22nd of February 2025 | Saturday 1st of March 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 8th of March 2025 | Saturday 15th of March 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 22nd of March 2025 | Saturday 29th of March 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 5th of April 2025 | Saturday 12th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 19th of April 2025 | Saturday 26th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 3rd of May 2025 | Saturday 10th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 17th of May 2025 | Saturday 24th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 31st of May 2025 | Saturday 7th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 14th of June 2025 | Saturday 21st of June 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 28th of June 2025 | Saturday 5th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 12th of July 2025 | Saturday 19th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 26th of July 2025 | Saturday 2nd of August 2025 | [request availability] |