Galapagos Islands: Wildlife Cruise by Private Yacht

Arrive in Guayaquil
Welcome to Ecuador! Get ready for an unforgettable adventure as you settle in and prepare to actively explore the many precious ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands, one of the most important locations on earth to the history of biology.

During your adventure, you’ll get to know your expert Galápagos naturalist-guide who will offer onshore and onboard talks about the islands, surrounding sea, and their resident wildlife. You are also accompanied by an AdventureWomen Ambassador, committed to helping make your experience a fun and personally rewarding adventure, and cheering you on as you reach beyond your comfort zone to take on new challenges in your own unique way!

Arrive in Guyaquil today and take the hotel shuttle to the Wyndham Guayaquil. Look for your name on a sign. You can check in under AdventureWomen at the hotel. There is a lovely restaurant in the hotel where you can have dinner this evening if you’d like.
Meals on Your Own

Accommodations: Wyndham Guayaquil

Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands
Meet your group at 6:30am (be packed and ready to go!) and head to the airport for your flight to the Galapagos Islands. You’ll be met by your guide at the airport and transferred to the dock where you will board your yacht.

You’ll be given some information about the yacht, your home for the next week. The crew will show you to your cabin before lunch.

Visit the Charles Darwin Station and Fausto Llerena Breeding Center on Santa Cruz Island, home to the Galapagos giant tortoise breeding program. This is part of the effort to preserve the fragile Galapagos environment and where the famous Lonesome George (the last surviving specimen of his species) lived for decades. Admire a prickly-pear cactus forest, a variety of Darwin’s finches, and other land birds. The Darwin Station also works to provide environmental education to communities and schools within the islands and to tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands.

Enjoy some free time to visit the town. There are good shopping opportunities at the local boutiques which sell uniquely designed handcrafts, jewelry, ceramics, T-shirts, and souvenirs. You can also try some food, beer, or ice cream with locals.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
On this two-hour hike of Dragon Hill, you can find various species of flora and fauna. Enjoy the pond behind the beach that is often home to flamingos. Along the trail, observe a variety of reptiles, especially land iguanas, which look like dragons because of their claws and spiky crests. Young iguanas are easily preyed upon by predatory birds and snakes; otherwise, they can live up to 60 years of age. Pass extensive vegetation, including a forest of holy stick trees (burseras), whose appearance changes depending on the season. The forest is home to a variety of birds, including mockingbirds, Darwin finches, yellow warblers, and Galapagos doves.

This afternoon you’ll have two landing possibilities: a dock and a beach. The dock, made of lava and concrete, soon turns into a wooden staircase built to avoid erosion and consists of 372 steps. It takes you to the island’s summit, where you’ll find Pinnacle Rock. Due to its altitude, the lack of vegetation is immediately noticeable. Pioneer plants are present and are named because they are the first to establish roots on new ground. The coralline beach next to Pinnacle Rock is a wet landing site from which you are able to snorkel amongs tropical fish and perhaps sea lions and penguins; they rest on the lava of the intertidal zone and sometimes decide to take a dip.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
Rábida Island has an abundance of landscapes and marine life. The trail takes about 90 minutes to walk, and you can also go around the shoreline in a dinghy to spot fur seals, pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies. This is an excellent place for swimming and snorkeling; you could see white-tipped sharks, rays, sea lions, among many others.

Behind the beach at Buccaneers Cove lie two small flamingo ponds where iguanas sunbathe. The native red and black mangrove can be also seen here. This beach is one of the main sea turtle nesting sites in the Galapagos. A turtle can lay eggs three to four times per season. You will also find the remains of barges that were sunk during World War II, when the United States Navy operated a base on Baltra Island.

Relax on board your beautiful yacht as you are mesmerized by the crystal clear water surrounding you.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
This morning, board a dinghy to view the turtles in Black Turtle Cove, a designated Turtle Sanctuary. Enjoy lunch on the yacht.

Land on Santa Cruz Island and drive about 45 minutes into the highlands. When you arrive, take a 90-minute walk and admire different kinds of birds, such as tree and ground finches, vermillion flycatchers, paint-billed crakes, yellow warblers, and cattle egrets (usually standing on the shells of tortoises). The journey to the reserve gives you an opportunity to see the contrasts between the ecosystems in the Galapagos. The road goes from the coast through the agricultural zone and straight up to the dense humid forests. Often, Galapagos Giant Tortoises are also seen on the way, wandering through pastures. This spot is a birdwatchers’ haven since almost every land bird present on the island lives or migrates here.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
Take a dinghy ride along the coast at Vicente Roca Point to observe a great diversity of sea and coastal birds. Cold water currents make themselves known here! Enjoy an hour of snorkeling this morning!

Walk for about three hours on Fernandina Island. This is one of the most pristine islands in the world, with no introduced species. Espinosa Point is located on the northwestern part of the island, and its flat jet-black lava is a defining feature of the stark and barren landscape. It is also home to the largest colony of endemic marine iguanas. Enjoy an hour of snorkeling in this area as well.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
Urbina Bay is located at the west of Isabela Island and it has a spectacular view of Alcedo volcano. Along the trail, which will take about an hour and a half, you will see land iguanas, mockingbirds, finches, Galapagos hawks, Galapagos martins, and occasionally, giant tortoises. At the beach, you will be able to see the largest marine iguanas on the Galapagos, and those who wish to swim or snorkel can approach flightless cormorants, penguins, sea turtles, and assorted colored fish.

Tagus Cove is on the Northwestern coast of Isabela Island. It is a historical site visited by Charles Darwin in 1835, where graffiti has been carved into the rock walls by visitors over the past centuries; this happened just before the Galapagos National Park was established in 1959-1960. You’ll walk for about two hours. Observe countless species: blue-footed booby, brown noddy, terns, flightless cormorant, Galapagos penguins, and marine iguanas depending on the season. Take a 40-minute dinghy ride, and snorkel for an hour. The deep water snorkeling this afternoon is highly recommended!
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

The Galapagos Islands
The Egas Port area is a prime place for spotting and observing hunting herons – Great Blue Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, and Lava Herons – as well as oystercatchers. You will enjoy the sight of marine iguanas grazing upon algae beds at low tide, sharing space with crabs and other wading birds. Go for an hour and a half walk, and then you will get to snorkel for an hour as well!

The southeastern portion of Santiago Island features extensive lava flows at Sullivan Bay which are believed to have been formed during the last quarter of the 19th century. The area is covered by Pahoehoe lava flows (Pahoehoe in Polynesian language means “easy to walk”); this type of lava is rare in the rest of the world but is common to the volcanoes of the Galapagos Islands and Hawaii. This is the perfect place to see and feel the volcanic origin of the Galapagos. After exploring the lava flow on an hour and a half walk, you can swim and snorkel with playful sea lions off two small coralline beaches.

Have a farewell dinner with your group to toast the end of an exceptional adventure.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: M/Y Coral II

Depart the Galapagos Islands
Visit Bachas Beach and enjoy one last hour of beach time in the Galapagos Islands.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Guayaquil. You’ll have a day room available until 6:00pm. Rest, repack, shower, or grab a bite to eat before taking the hotel shuttle to the airport for your flights home.
Breakfast

Please note: AdventureWomen will attempt to adhere to the itinerary as much as possible. However, certain conditions (political, climatic, environmental, and cultural) may necessitate changes in the itinerary. AdventureWomen reserves the right to alter any itinerary at any time, if necessary. We will attempt to notify participants of changes as far in advance as possible. Costs incurred by such changes will be the responsibility of the participants.