SOUTH & NORTH EXPEDITION (D+A)

Day 1 - Wednesday

MORNING:

✈ Baltra Airport. Departure from either Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra Island is a 2 ½ hour flight. Upon arrival in the Galapagos, passengers are greeted at the airport by our knowledgeable guides who will accompany them on a short ten-minute bus ride to the pier where they will board the Coral I or Coral II.

AFTERNOON:

Interpretation Center & Frigatebird Hill (San Cristobal Island). The interpretation center is full of interesting information and offers the perfect overview of the formation of the Galapagos. Following a hike to Frigatebird Hill (Cerro Tijeretas) we will have a great look at both species of frigatebirds, with the bonus of a beautiful view of the bay below.

• Difficulty level: Low / High
• Type of terrain: Flat path / Rocky 
• Duration: 1 hour hike, 1 hour walk

Day 2 - Thursday

MORNING:

Kicker Rock (San Cristobal Island). This ancient and eroded volcanic tuff lava named Leon Dormido or Kicker Rock, is formed from two rocks approximately 148 m, named for its resemblance to a sleeping lion.

Cerro Brujo (San Cristobal Island). From our dinghy ride, as we head to shore, we are first humbled by the immensity of the stunning cliffs of the Sorcerer's Hill. You can enjoy simply sharing the beach with sea lions, snorkelling from shore, or taking a walk to a hidden lagoon where you might spot black-necked stilts, ruddy turnstones, whimbrels, and white-cheeked pintails.

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: Sandy
• Duration: 1 hour hike, 30 min kayaking, 30 min Glass-bottom boat, 1 hour 45 min beach or deep snorkeling

AFTERNOON:

Punta Pitt (San Cristobal Island). This is the only place on the islands where we will enjoy the chance to see all three of the booby species in the same place. The red-foots will be perched on the Cordia lutea and small trees, the Nazca´s on the ground near the cliff edge while the bluefoots will be a little further inland. Frigatebirds will be all around and the views are breathtaking.

• Difficulty level: High
• Type of terrain: Rocky
• Duration: 1 hour 15 min hike, 1 hour beach snorkeling

Day 3 - Friday

MORNING:

Punta Suarez (Española Island). Punta Suarez is a naturalist´s paradise. The oldes extant island in the archipelago is our only opportunity to commune with the endemic wave albatross during their breeding season between April and December. With luck, we can watch their complex courtship display.

• Difficulty level: High
• Type of terrain: Rocky 
• Duration: 2 hours 15min hike

AFTERNOON:

Gardner Bay (Española Island). One of the most stunning beaches in all of the Galapagos. The long, white, sandy beach, lapped by turquoise waters, home to a colony of Galapagos sea lions. Hood mockingbirds, endemic to this particular island. We can also snorkel here from the beach, in the shallows of the bay.

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: Sandy & flat
• Duration: 1 hour 45 min hike,  45 min glass-bottom or 45 min deep or beach snorkeling

Day 4 - Saturday

MORNING:

Punta Cormoran & Devil´s Crown (Floreana Island). Our walk takes us to a large, shallow lagoon, often inhabited by a variable number of shockingly pink greater flamingos. We arrive at a powdery white beach, a nesting area for green turtles. Devil’s Crown is one of the favorite snorkeling sites on the islands..

• Difficulty level: Medium
• Type of terrain: Rocky
• Duration: 45 min walk, 1 hour 15 min snorkeling

AFTERNOON:

Post Office (Floreana Island). The famous Post Office Barrel. Claimed to have been first set up in 1793 by Captain James Colnett. The system involved whalers and fur sealers would leave addressed letters in the barrel to be picked up by homeward-bound colleagues. Actually visitors often take letters and handdeliver them to their home countries.

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: Sandy
• Duration: 30 min walk, 30 min kayaking, 1 hour snorkeling

Day 5 - Sunday

MORNING:

Highlands Tortoise (Santa Cruz Island). Dry landing. In the Galapagos mountains, admire diverse bird species like finches, flycatchers, crakes, warblers, and egrets (often perched on tortoises' shells). The journey to the reserve showcases the island's contrasting ecosystems, from coastal areas to dense humid forests. Look out for Galapagos Giant tortoises wandering through pastures. This spot is a haven for birdwatchers, as it hosts a wide range of land birds that reside or migrate

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: flat & muddy depending on the season
• Duration: 1 ½ hour walk, 45 minute drive

AFTERNOON:

Punta Carrion (Santa Cruz Island). Dinghy ride at the entry of the Itabaca Channel in a lagoon with turquoise water, where we can observe sharks, blue-footed boobies, and different kinds of fish. .

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: None
• Duration: 1 hour dingy ride

Day 6 - Monday

MORNING:

El Barranco Prince Philip´s Steps (Genovesa Island). Be marveled at the variety of sea life that uses the crevices of the lava cliffs for shelter. Red-billed Tropicbirds fly overhead, and a small colony of fur seals may be found near the landing site. You will be dropped off at a steep stairway that begins on rocks at the foot of a path that leads through a seabird colony full of Nazca and Redfooted Boobies.

• Difficulty level: Medium
• Type of terrain: Rocky - lava
• Duration: 30 min kayaking, 1 hour 45 min hike, 1 hour deep snorkeling, 30 min glass bottom boat.

AFTERNOON:

Darwin Bay (Genovesa Island). From within the flooded caldera of Tower Island, we set foot onto a sandy beach to be greeted by swallow-tailed gulls often said to be the most beautiful gull in the world. In the trail we can see at nesting red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds.

• Difficulty level: Medium
• Type of terrain: Sandy
• Duration: 45 min kayaking, 1 hour 15 min hike, 45 min glass bottom boat, 1 hour deep or beach snorkeling.

Day 7 - Tuesday

MORNING:

Rabida Island. Lying at the archipelago's heart, this dramatic island with a distinctive red-sand beach is home to sea lions, mockingbirds, finches, endemic Galapagos doves, and vermilion flycatchers. A walk takes us through a forest of palo santo and cacti to a beautiful overview of the bay.

• Difficulty level: Medium
• Type of terrain: Flat / Semi-rocky
• Duration: 1 ½-hour walk, 1-hour snorkeling, 1-hour dinghy ride

AFTERNOON:

Bartolome Island. Considered the most iconic landscape of the entire archipelago the view from the top of Bartolome Island, overlooking the famous Pinnacle Rock and the austere Santiago Island, Our subsequent snorkel here might put us face to face with Galapagos penguins, whitetipped reef sharks, and playful sea lions.

• Difficulty level: Medium
• Type of terrain: Trail made of 372 steps.
• Duration: 1 hour snorkeling, 1 hour 45 min hike, 30 min Panga ride

Day 8 - Wednesday

MORNING:

Pit Craters (Santa Cruz Island). The Pit Craters, geologically speaking, were not directly formed by volcanic action. They were created as a result of the collapse or sinking of surface materials into cracks or manholes. It’s a great place to spot vermilion fly catchers as we walk inside an endemic Scalesia forest. Great opportunity to observe giant tortoises.

• Difficulty level: Low
• Type of terrain: Flat & Muddy
• Duration: 1 hour walk, 45 minute drive

AFTERNOON:

Baltra Island Airport. After the visit, passengers will be transferred to the airport for their return flight to Guayaquil or Quito.