The Full Galapagos

The Trip

Day 1: Quito – Arrive and transfer to the hotel / Patio Andaluz
Day 2: Quito – Private city tour of Quito / Patio Andaluz
Day 3: Galapagos – Fly to the islands, board the yacht and visit Las Bachas / Samba
Day 4: Galapagos – Visit Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps / Samba
Day 5: Galapagos – Visit Punta Mejia and Black Beach / Samba
Day 6: Galapagos – Visit Punta Albermarle and Punta Vicente Roca / Samba
Day 7: Galapagos – Visit Punta Espinoza and Urbina Bay / Samba
Day 8: Galapagos – Visit Elizabeth Bay and Punta Moreno / Samba
Day 9: Galapagos – Visit Asilo de La Paz and La Loberia / Samba
Day 10: Galapagos – Visit the Highlands and Charles Darwin Station / Samba
Day 11: Galapagos – Visit Punta Cormorant and Post Office Bay / Samba
Day 12: Galapagos – Visit Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay / Samba
Day 13: Galapagos – Visit Isla Lobos, Kicker Rock and Punta Pitt / Samba
Day 14: Galapagos – Visit Barrington Bay and South Plaza / Samba
Day 15: Galapagos – Visit Sullivan Bay and Bartolome / Samba
Day 16: Galapagos – Visit James Bay and Rabida Island / Samba
Day 17: Quito – Visit North Seymour and fly back to Quito

city in the clouds

Arrive in Quito, nestling in the Andes, to stay at the friendly Patio Andaluz, conveniently located near plenty of lively restaurants and bars. Our local guide will show you around the Spanish colonial centre, which is a cultural World Heritage site; you will see gold-laden churches, vibrant streets and people watch in a quiet plaza.

boobies and frigates

On a 15-day yacht cruise to the fabled islands you will see just about everything. From the first pristine beach, where turtles nest and flamingos roam to the last island full of nesting red-pouched frigates. Each day you visit at least two islands or visitor sites and also snorkel with sea lions, turtles and even penguins. We recommend a waterproof camera for extra fun. No two islands are the same: small rocky ones like Plazas or Seymour or huge volcanoes like Fernandina or Isabela; from barren lava flows to dense cloud-forest.

On our comfortable motor yacht Samba, you will be sailing to small islets home to noddy-terns and dancing blue-footed boobies. The yacht goes to really remote places like Marchena where you will be the only people snorkelling in underwater grottos with marine iguanas. One of the highlights will be Genovesa Island where thousands of red-footed boobies breed and one of the few places you can see owls in daylight.

pirates and whalers

As well as the wildlife you will visit places rich in human history, such as Post Office Bay where whalers left letters homeward bound, or Floreana’s highlands where pirates slept in caves and castaways eked a living growing vegetables. More recently Punta Albemarle, the north point of Isabela island, was one important US radar station to prevent any Japanese attempt of destroying the Panama Canal during the second World war; now home to the unique flightless cormorant. It is truly a trip of a lifetime.