| Day | Visitor Site |
|---|---|
| Saturday | AM - Flight to San Cristobal |
| PM - Ochoa Beach & Kicker Rock (San Cristobal) | |
| Sunday | AM - Punta Carrion (Santa Cruz) & South Plaza |
| PM - Daphne | |
| Monday | AM - Chinese Hat |
| PM - Sullivan Bay (Santiago) | |
| Tuesday | AM - Prince Philip's Steps (Genovesa) |
| PM - Darwin Bay (Genovesa) | |
| Wednesday | AM - North Seymour |
| PM - Santa Fe | |
| Thursday | AM - Post Office Bay & Baroness Lookout (Floreana) |
| AM - Cormorant Point & Devil's Crown (Floreana) | |
| Friday | AM - Puerto Ayora & Charles Darwin Station (Santa Cruz) |
| PM - Santa Cruz Highlands (Santa Cruz) | |
| Saturday | AM - Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz) |
| Transfer to the Airport |
DAY 1 – SATURDAY
Quito or Guayaquil / San Cristobal – Galapagos
Today we fly to San Cristobal 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: Ochoa Beach, a beautiful white coral sand beach next to a turquise bay, and home to a small colony of sea lions. We end our day at Kicker Rock, a spectacular rock formation that rises 152 meters (500 feet) out of the Pacific. It takes the form of a sleeping lion, but from another angle you can see that the rock is split, forming a colossal tablet and, piercing the sea, a great chisel ready for etching
After these visits we get ready for our welcome cocktail and first briefing before continuing to dinner. (Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 2 – SUNDAY
AM: South Plaza Island and Punta Carrion on Santa Cruz Island
PM: Daphne Island
In the morning we visit South Plaza Island and its land iguanas wandering through bright red carpet weed. We will see swallow tailed gulls nesting around the overhang tops and red-billed tropicbirds, frigatebirds and shearwaters flying with dancing displays. Late morning snorkeling at Punta Carrion. Afternoon visit to Daphne Island. The geology of this island is extremely interesting as it is essentially one large tuff cone – a giant pile of compressed volcanic ash shaped like a cone. (B, L, D)
DAY 3 – MONDAY
AM: Chinese Hat Islet
PM: Santiago Island: James Bay
Morning visit to Chinese Hat Islet, a fairly recent volcanic cone; it has the shape of a down-facing Chinese hat. On the rocky shoreline of nearby Santiago, Galapagos penguins are often seen. There is a small sea lion cove on the north shore, where boats anchor and land at the visitor site. Late morning snorkeling with sea lions and penguins and swimming opportunities in the cove. 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 4 – WEDNESDAY
AM: Genovesa (Tower) Island: Prince Phillip’s Steps
PM: Tower Island: Darwin Bay
Tower Island could serve as a film set for a secret submarine base! The southwestern part of the island is an ocean-filled caldera ringed by the outer edges of a sizeable and mostly submerged volcano. The island sits to the northwest, slightly removed from the Galapagos archipelago. It is also known as “Bird Island,” a name it lives up to in a spectacular way! (B, L, D)
DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY
AM: North Seymour Island
PM: Santa Fe Island
Morning visit to North Seymour Island which is teaming with wildlife! Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline are home to swallow-tailed gulls. A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stands just above the landing, where a trail will take us to see sea lions, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds and land iguanas. Afternoon visit to Santa Fe Island, home to one of the most beautiful and sheltered bays of the archipelago, and to some of the best snorkeling – with its crystal clear waters. Certainly one of the best locations to see sea turtles, swim with sea lions and glimpse of the Galapagos White-tipped Shark. After a wet landing you will walk up to a nearby cliff to see the land iguanas through an area of Opuntia Cactus. (B, L, D)
DAY 6 – THURSDAY
AM: Floreana Island: Post Office Bay / Baronesse Overlook
PM: Floreana Island: Cormorant Point / Devil’s Crown
Floreana has had a colorful history: Pirates, whalers, convicts, and a small band of somewhat peculiar colonists—a Baroness among them—who chose a Robinson Crusoe existence that ended in mystery and death. We visit Post Office Bay, where in 1793 British whalers set up a barrel as the island‘s Post Office, to send letters home on passing ships. The tradition continues to this day, simply by dropping a post card into the barrel without a stamp. Afternoon visit to Punta Cormorant which offers two highly contrasting beaches; a green-olivine beach and an iron-red beach. Between the two beaches is a salt lagoon frequented by flamingoes, pintails, stilts and other wading birds. Late afternoon snorkeling at Devil’s Crown, which is home to a myriad of marine species including a variety of corals, pencil sea urchin, wrasses, angelfish and amberjacks – making for some of the best snorkeling in the Galapagos. (B, L, D)
DAY 7 – FRIDAY
AM: Santa Cruz Island : Charles Darwin Research Station
PM: Santa Cruz: Highland’s Tortoise Reserve, Lava Tubes, 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! Afternoon visit 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. (B, L, D)
DAY 8 – SATURDAY
AM: Santa Cruz Island: Black Turtle Cove
Late AM: Baltra Island: 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 Black Turtle Cove, a beautiful mangrove estuary where we quietly drift in our panga to see spotted eagle rays, diamond shaped mustard rays, white-tipped reef sharks, pacific green sea turtles and a large variety of shore birds. Next we head to Baltra Island airport for the flight back to the Ecuadorian mainland. (B)
| Departure | Arrival | |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 11th of May 2024 | Saturday 18th of May 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 25th of May 2024 | Saturday 1st of June 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 8th of June 2024 | Saturday 15th of June 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 22nd of June 2024 | Saturday 29th of June 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 6th of July 2024 | Saturday 13th of July 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 20th of July 2024 | Saturday 27th of July 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 3rd of August 2024 | Saturday 10th of August 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 17th of August 2024 | Saturday 24th of August 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 31st of August 2024 | Saturday 7th of September 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 14th of September 2024 | Saturday 21st of September 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 28th of September 2024 | Saturday 5th of October 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 12th of October 2024 | Saturday 19th of October 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 26th of October 2024 | Saturday 2nd of November 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 9th of November 2024 | Saturday 16th of November 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 23rd of November 2024 | Saturday 30th of November 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 7th of December 2024 | Saturday 14th of December 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 21st of December 2024 | Saturday 28th of December 2024 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 4th of January 2025 | Saturday 11th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 18th of January 2025 | Saturday 25th of January 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 1st of February 2025 | Saturday 8th of February 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 15th of February 2025 | Saturday 22nd of February 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 1st of March 2025 | Saturday 8th of March 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 15th of March 2025 | Saturday 22nd of March 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 29th of March 2025 | Saturday 5th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 12th of April 2025 | Saturday 19th of April 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 26th of April 2025 | Saturday 3rd of May 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 10th of May 2025 | Saturday 17th of May 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 24th of May 2025 | Saturday 31st of May 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 7th of June 2025 | Saturday 14th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 21st of June 2025 | Saturday 28th of June 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 5th of July 2025 | Saturday 12th of July 2025 | [request availability] |
| Saturday 19th of July 2025 | Saturday 26th of July 2025 | [request availability] |