Day 1: Quito
On arrival, check into your hotel and feel free to explore the culturally and historically vibrant capital city of Ecuador. Quito is lined with a variety of shops, churches occupied by fine art, overflowing market stands, hat makers, diverse food and nightlife displays. This city is well known for its ‘Old Town’, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising stunning colonial monuments, sculptures and architecture.
Day 2: Fly to Baltra and check in to your hotel on Santa Cruz island
Board a morning flight from Quito to the Galapagos Islands then check into your hotel on Santa Cruz island.
Enjoy a short walk to the beautiful white beach of Tortuga Bay. Relax on the beach, walk along the mangroves looking for marine iguanas and birdlife, or rent a kayak and explore this marine wonderland. Look for Tintoreras sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays in the water's shallow areas.
Tonight you will stay in a hotel on Santa Cruz.
Day 3: Charles Darwin Station - El Chato Reserve
Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organisation initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galápagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. The research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.
Board the Yolita to begin your sail towards El Chato Reserve, a perfect place to see giant tortoises in their natural environment. Explore the reserve’s lagoon and lava tunnels, keeping an eye out for owls that often roost in the tunnels’ entrances.
Day 4: Devil's Crown - Post Office Bay, Floreana Island
In the morning dive into an incredible snorkelling experience at Corona del Diablo known as 'Devil's Crown' to gaze upon tropical fish, rays, reef sharks and sea turtles. Finally you will visit Punta Cormorant and discover two contrasting beaches. The first beach has green sand consisting of olivine crystals and the other consists of purely white sand suitably named Flour Beach. Continue the trip by observing flamingos and other shore birds feeding in a lagoon and locate penguins and marine iguanas at the water's edge.
Enjoy the afternoon at Mirador de la Baronesa on Floreana Island to visit Post office Bay which is historically known as the place where English whaling vessels placed a barrel to be used as a post office. It is maintained today by tourists who send a postcard from the famous destination and help deliver any letters that are close to an address back home.
Day 5: Chinese Hat & Cerro Dragon
Spend the morning at a small island named Chinese Hat named by its hat-shaped land mass. Here you will visit the white coral sand beach, then indulge in a snorkelling session with playful sea lions and penguins. There are swimming opportunities in the cove for the more adventurous.
After a delicious lunch, visit Cerro Dragon for some prime bird watching opportunities. Take a short walk from the beach to a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon filled with pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks, and other species of birds. Later trek through a Scalesia tree forest which is endemic to the area, with only 400 specimens left in the world.
Day 6: Black turtle cove - Fly to Quito for your overnight stay
In the morning you will explore the mangrove lagoon at Black Turtle Cove. Explore the mangroves by a thrilling panga (dinghy) ride to find rich marine wildlife between the fresh and salt waters. Keep any eye out for manta rays and sea turtles in this tranquil ecosystem. Mighty whitetip reef sharks can also be seen gliding by.
In the afternoon, transfer for a flight back to Quito for one last night on the town. In the afternoon fly back to Quito and enjoy the evening.
Day 7: Depart Quito
Feel free to explore enchanting Quito for the last time before you depart back home.
