11 Days / May, From $5,745
Classic Galapagos Photo Adventure
Day 1: Quito, Ecuador
Arrive in Quito and transfer to the Hilton Colon.
Day 2: Quito
Visit famed Otavalo Market or tour the city of Quito. Convene for a welcome dinner this evening.
Day 3: Quito / San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands
Fly to the Galapagos where we meet our Expedition Leader and board our yacht. We quickly discover the magic of the islands, with a chance to snorkel with sea lions at Playa Ochoa. A sunset cruise around Kicker Rock affords great photo opportunities of blue-footed boobies perched on its 500-foot high cliffs and frigate birds soaring overhead.
Day 4: Genovesa
Genovesa Island is a collapsed volcano that attracts vast numbers of seabirds that come here to nest. Inside the flooded crater we are surrounded by a cacophony of red-footed boobies, lava gulls, storm petrels and yellow-crowned night herons. At Darwin Bay, we swim again with sea lions.
Day 5: Bachas Beach/North Seymour
Snorkel and sunbathe at Las Bachas, a fabulous white sand beach on Santa Cruz. The powdered coral is a favorite nesting site for sea turtles. Bright orange Sally Lightfoot crabs pepper the black lava at water’s edge, providing a colorful contrast for some close-up photos. On North Seymour we find a large nesting colony of magnificent frigate birds and land iguanas that display an intense yellow color during mating season.
Day 6: Fernandina / Isabela
Fernandina is the youngest and most active volcano in the Galapagos. We land at Punta Espinoza, where flightless cormorants nest on barren lava while colonies of marine iguanas bask nearby. Cruising across Bolivar Channel, keep your camera ready and watch for whales and dolphins. On the largest island, Isabela, we explore Tagus Cove by panga (motorized rafts), finding penguins, pelicans and graffiti dating to the 1800s when the names of ships were carved into the rock above a historic anchorage for pirates and whalers.
Day 7: Isabela
Elizabeth Bay on Isabela’s west coast is a marine sanctuary – no landings are permitted. We explore the small islets in the bay by panga, where we’re likely to see penguins and blue-footed boobies perched on the rocks and diving for pompano and dorado. As we cruise through a giant red mangrove cove, look for brown pelicans, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, golden rays and sea lions. At Urbina Bay, we step ashore on a white sand beach to witness one of the best examples of geological uplift in the Galapagos, a phenomenon that occurs when molten rock beneath the surface suddenly shifts. In 1954 the shoreline was uplifted nearly 15 feet (4 meters). The coastline was driven 3/4 of a mile further out to sea, exposing giant coral heads and stranding marine organisms on what was now on shore. Urbina is also home to a colony of some of the largest land iguanas in the islands.
Day 8: Santiago / Santa Cruz
At Puerto Egas on Santiago we search the tidepools for octopus, starfish and marine iguanas feeding on algae. This afternoon we continue to Santa Cruz, the highest island in the chain. Those who wish to participate in our unique camping opportunity will disembark and transfer to the remote highlands of Santa Cruz for the night. Our private camp, with views of the ocean, is tucked among lush vegetation that attracts giant tortoises. A bus returns us in the morning to rejoin our boat for the day's activities.
Day 9: Santa Cruz / Darwin Station / Santa Fe
In the misty craters of the Santa Cruz highlands, we search for and photograph giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Lava tubes lace the ground beneath the scalesia forest, and we may venture into one of the caverns. We also visit Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz, and tour the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. At the tortoise-rearing facility, we’ll see tiny babies bred to help increase the depleted population as part of the station’s conservation mission. This afternoon we cruise to Santa Fe, where we find one of the most scenic turquoise lagoons in the Galapagos as well as a host of endemic species including the Galapagos hawk and mockingbird, a variety of Darwin’s finches, and land iguanas that feast on the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. We’ll have a chance to snorkel from the beach, perhaps enticing some of the resident sea lion colony to swim with us.
Day 10: San Cristobal / Quito
At Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, capital of the Galapagos, we visit the National Park Interpretation Center. Late this morning we fly back to Quito and transfer to our hotel before gathering for a farewell dinner.
Day 11: Depart Quito
Transfer to the airport for flights home or for extensions to the Amazon rainforest, Machu Picchu or Easter Island.
Arrive in Quito and transfer to the Hilton Colon.
Day 2: Quito
Visit famed Otavalo Market or tour the city of Quito. Convene for a welcome dinner this evening.
Day 3: Quito / San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands
Fly to the Galapagos where we meet our Expedition Leader and board our yacht. We quickly discover the magic of the islands, with a chance to snorkel with sea lions at Playa Ochoa. A sunset cruise around Kicker Rock affords great photo opportunities of blue-footed boobies perched on its 500-foot high cliffs and frigate birds soaring overhead.
Day 4: Genovesa
Genovesa Island is a collapsed volcano that attracts vast numbers of seabirds that come here to nest. Inside the flooded crater we are surrounded by a cacophony of red-footed boobies, lava gulls, storm petrels and yellow-crowned night herons. At Darwin Bay, we swim again with sea lions.
Day 5: Bachas Beach/North Seymour
Snorkel and sunbathe at Las Bachas, a fabulous white sand beach on Santa Cruz. The powdered coral is a favorite nesting site for sea turtles. Bright orange Sally Lightfoot crabs pepper the black lava at water’s edge, providing a colorful contrast for some close-up photos. On North Seymour we find a large nesting colony of magnificent frigate birds and land iguanas that display an intense yellow color during mating season.
Day 6: Fernandina / Isabela
Fernandina is the youngest and most active volcano in the Galapagos. We land at Punta Espinoza, where flightless cormorants nest on barren lava while colonies of marine iguanas bask nearby. Cruising across Bolivar Channel, keep your camera ready and watch for whales and dolphins. On the largest island, Isabela, we explore Tagus Cove by panga (motorized rafts), finding penguins, pelicans and graffiti dating to the 1800s when the names of ships were carved into the rock above a historic anchorage for pirates and whalers.
Day 7: Isabela
Elizabeth Bay on Isabela’s west coast is a marine sanctuary – no landings are permitted. We explore the small islets in the bay by panga, where we’re likely to see penguins and blue-footed boobies perched on the rocks and diving for pompano and dorado. As we cruise through a giant red mangrove cove, look for brown pelicans, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, golden rays and sea lions. At Urbina Bay, we step ashore on a white sand beach to witness one of the best examples of geological uplift in the Galapagos, a phenomenon that occurs when molten rock beneath the surface suddenly shifts. In 1954 the shoreline was uplifted nearly 15 feet (4 meters). The coastline was driven 3/4 of a mile further out to sea, exposing giant coral heads and stranding marine organisms on what was now on shore. Urbina is also home to a colony of some of the largest land iguanas in the islands.
Day 8: Santiago / Santa Cruz
At Puerto Egas on Santiago we search the tidepools for octopus, starfish and marine iguanas feeding on algae. This afternoon we continue to Santa Cruz, the highest island in the chain. Those who wish to participate in our unique camping opportunity will disembark and transfer to the remote highlands of Santa Cruz for the night. Our private camp, with views of the ocean, is tucked among lush vegetation that attracts giant tortoises. A bus returns us in the morning to rejoin our boat for the day's activities.
Day 9: Santa Cruz / Darwin Station / Santa Fe
In the misty craters of the Santa Cruz highlands, we search for and photograph giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Lava tubes lace the ground beneath the scalesia forest, and we may venture into one of the caverns. We also visit Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz, and tour the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. At the tortoise-rearing facility, we’ll see tiny babies bred to help increase the depleted population as part of the station’s conservation mission. This afternoon we cruise to Santa Fe, where we find one of the most scenic turquoise lagoons in the Galapagos as well as a host of endemic species including the Galapagos hawk and mockingbird, a variety of Darwin’s finches, and land iguanas that feast on the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. We’ll have a chance to snorkel from the beach, perhaps enticing some of the resident sea lion colony to swim with us.
Day 10: San Cristobal / Quito
At Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, capital of the Galapagos, we visit the National Park Interpretation Center. Late this morning we fly back to Quito and transfer to our hotel before gathering for a farewell dinner.
Day 11: Depart Quito
Transfer to the airport for flights home or for extensions to the Amazon rainforest, Machu Picchu or Easter Island.
