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Itinerary summary
4D/3N - 5D/4N — 8D/7N
Sunday
Santa Cruz Island
Upon arrival to the airport at Baltra Island, you will be taken across the Itabaca Channel,to Santa Cruz Island. Where a bus will take you to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island for a visit the Giant Tortoises Reserve in their natural habitat, a once in a lifetime experience!.. A stop is then made at the Twin Pit Craters, great depressions of volcanic material, formed by a long process of slow sinking of the ground, where exceptional Scalesia trees, ferns, mosses and orchids can be seen in the surroundings.
Box lunch is provided and then on to the Finch Bay Eco Hotel to enjoy its multiple attractions: pool, the white coral beach in front of the hotel and rest on your hammock. In the evening, dinner includes the delicacies of local and international gastronomy, one of the main reasons people choose the Finch Bay Hotel.
Yacht Excursions to nearby islands:
Monday
North Seymour island (yacht excursion)
A stroll on flat terrain allows the observation of Palo Santo trees and colonies of blue-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls and magnificent frigate birds. Towards the other side of the island, the ocean crashes against the rocks and sea lions surf in the waves.
This Island was lifted from the ocean floor by a seismic event, and its origins as a seabed give the island its low, flat profile. Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline, where swallow-tailed gulls sit perched in ledges. A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves, waiting for the rain to bring them into bloom. This island is teeming with life! You might have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana; blue-footed booby nests sit beside the trail where mating pairs perform their courtship dance. Further along, the rocky shore displays white sand, and large flocks of pelicans mass for a dive-bomb feeding frenzy, rendering a tableau for us from ages long past. The trail turns inland to reveal the largest nesting site in the Galápagos of the “magnificent frigate bird.” These huge, dark acrobats have two-meter wingspans, and males, with puffed up scarlet throat sacks, sit precariously perched in low bushes to watch over their equally large chicks.
PM: Las Bachas, After WWII, US military barges were beached and abandoned here. Locals referred to the beach as the barges beach, a name that morphed to “bachas”. Today it is an important nesting area for the east Pacific green sea turtle. Located on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island, it is a glorious white beach, with several brackish lagoons only a few steps away from the sea. These lagoons are the feeding grounds of various wading birds, from stilts to flamingos. Fantastic snorkeling, swimming, or simply enjoying the white soft beach.
Time table for reference only, please reconfirm information at front desk or with your local guide.
Tuesday
Plaza island (yacht excursion)
This small island is full of fascinating wildlife, at sea side and along the cliffs: sea lions, land iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls, Opuntia cacti and vegetation that changes colors according to the season.
This is the southern partner of two small crescent-shaped islands that lie just a few hundred meters off the east coast of Santa Cruz. The northern island is used for scientific purposes only. South Plaza is one of the smallest yet richest islands in the archipelago. Only 130 meters wide (426 feet), it was formed from uplifted seabed, giving it a tilted tabletop quality. Our landing is in the channel between North and South Plaza, where the island slopes down toward the water. The approach makes for a lavishly colorful sight! The turquoise waters of the channel contrast brilliantly with the white sand and black lava of the shoreline. The rocks have grown thick with green seaweed in places, speckled with bright orange “Sally light foot” crabs. Further up the shore a carpet of scarlet sesuvium succulents serves as groundcover for a grove of luminescent green prickly-pear cactus. Yellow-gray land iguanas sit beneath, waiting patiently for pears to drop. The trail gradually follows the tilt of the island to the cliffs that overlook the ocean to the south, where swallow-tailed gulls nest. Red-billed tropic birds, masked and blue-footed boobies ride the windy currents. The overlook is a great place for spotting large marine life, including manta rays. Surf pounds an inlet at the western corner of the island, where a colony of sea lion bachelors make their home, accounting for the surface of the rocks, polished by the oils of their fur. Your guide will find the right spot to snorkel, whether on Plazas Island or Punta Carrion: The shoreline of Las Plazas makes for excellent snorkeling in a sea lion colony of nearly a thousand.
Punta Carrion is a small bay where you can snorkel from the boat to see a variety of fish, rays and possibly white tip reef sharks.
Time table for reference only, please reconfirm information at front desk or with your local guide.
Wednesday
*Optional Activities
Stay at Santa Cruz Island and enjoy the activities of your choice:
-Excursions on Mountain Bike
-Introduction to diving (Discover Scuba Diving)
-Snorkeling
-Hikes to Tortuga Bay or Las Grietas
-Sea Kayaking
-Stargazing and much more…
ThursdaySanta Fe island (Barrington, yacht excursion)
A short trek leads through woods of Opuntia cacti and Palo Santo trees. Land iguanas (endemic toSanta Fe), lava lizards and colonies of sea lions can be observed. There is opportunity to swim and snorkel.
Santa Fé offers one of the more beautiful and sheltered coves in the islands. Its turquoise lagoon is protected by a peninsula of tiny islets forming an ideal anchorage. The island lies to the southeast of Santa Cruz within sight of Puerto Ayora. Like North Seymour, Santa Fe has been uplifted seismically, and you can see underwater lava formations. A wet landing in a sandy white beach brings us into contact with one of the many sea lion harems. Bulls view for the right to be Beach Master, while smaller males masquerade as females, intent on making stealthy mating moves. Galápagos hawks are often easily approached, perched atop salt bushes. The giant prickly pear cactus found here live up to their name, with tree-sized trunks! Our goal is to spot one of the large species of land iguana native to Santa Fe. Beige to chocolate brown in color with dragon-like spines, these huge iguanas truly resemble dinosaurs. An indigenous species of rice rat also inhabits the thickest, and lucky hikers can spot harmless Galápagos snakes. After the hike, there is nothing more inviting than a swim in the calm waters of the bay.
Time table for reference only, please reconfirm information at front desk or with your local guide.
Hike to Tortuga Bay in the morning.
It is considered the nicest spot of the archipelago, a peaceful corner for the nature lover.TortugaBay’s name comes from the sea turtles that go there to lay their eggs. Excellent bird watching can be found along the way and at the Bay.
Back to the Finch Bay Eco Hotel for lunch. Free time in the afternoon to relax by the pool or on the beach, enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the hotel, or visit Puerto Ayora and mingle with the locals.
Saturday Bartolome island (yacht excursion)
The trail is a fairly steep climb on wooden steps to the summit, worth the effort, as there is a spectacular view of the Galapagos scenery from above. Interesting lava formations and tuff cones can be observed. Sea lions and penguins swim in the vicinity of Pinnacle Rock. Enjoy snorkeling or swimming from the beach.
Bartolome is famous for Pinnacle Rock, a towering spearheaded obelisk that rises from the ocean’s edge and is the best known landmark in the islands. Galápagos penguins—the only species of penguin found north of the equator—walk precariously along narrow volcanic ledges at its base. Sea lions snooze on rocky platforms, ready to slide into the water to play with passing snorkelers. Just below the surface, shoals of tropical fish dodge in and out of the rocks past urchins, sea stars and anemones. A perfectly crescent, pink-and-white sandy beach lies just to the east of the pinnacle. Sea turtles use the beach as a nesting site and can sometimes be found wading in the shallow water near the shore, or resting in the sand to recover from the arduous task of digging nests, laying eggs and covering them over. Penguins dot the nearby rocks of the next landing site, less than a kilometer along the eastern shore. Here the submerged walls of a tiny volcanic crater give the impression of a fountain pool. The first dry landing is the entrance to a 600-meter (2000-foot) pathway complete with stairs and boardwalks leading to Bartolome’s summit. The route is not difficult and presents a museum of vulcanology; a site left untouched after its last eruption, where cones stand in various stages of erosion and lava tubes form bobsled-like runs from the summit. At the top you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Santiago Island and James Bay to the west, and far below, Pinnacle Rock and our beach, where the crystal blue waters of the bay cradle your yacht.
Time table for reference only, please reconfirm information at front desk or with your local guide.
Sunday
Leave the hotel early in the morning for a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station, home to famous “Lonesome George” and many other giant tortoises.
The Charles Darwin Research Station is the headquarters for scientific research in the Galápagos Archipelago, and the site of some critical conservation projects including the rearing program for endangered giant tortoises and land iguanas. You will see the young hatchlings, learn about the special care they are given until they reach the ideal size or age to be repatriated to the islands they belong to. You will also meet tortoise celebrities, from Diego to Lonesome George, and learn why they are so famous. The grounds of the Research Station are also a great site for birding since they are home to several species of land birds in the midst of a fantastic deciduous forest and giant prickly pear cactae.
After visiting the Charles Darwin Research Station, you will proceed directly to the airport, overland transfer to the airport in Baltra island, to take the flight back to the continent. Please check carefully that all your belongings have been packed and don’t leave anything in the hotel, Have a nice trip!.
