Galapagos Islands: Small Yacht Cruise

The itinerary below may vary depending on factors such as ocean and weather conditions. Internal flights are also subject to change.

DAY 1: Quito, Ecuador Arrive in Quito, Ecuador where a representative will meet and bring you to Swissotel. For more information on our hotel accommodations, please see their website at http://www.swissotel.com/hotels/quito/

A bit about Quito The capital of Ecuador was founded in the 16th-century on the ruins of an Inca city and stands at an altitude of 2,850 m. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, and the Church and Jesuit College of La Compaa, with their rich interiors, are pure examples of the 'Baroque school of Quito', which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art.

DAY 2: Quito Guided informational hike of Quito. Quito's old-town is like walking through time and back again amidst splendid 16th century architecture, churches bathed in gold, convents tucked away behind hand-carved, baroque doors and block upon block of Spanish-style.

DAY 3: Baltra Airport Departure from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra (2 hours flight). Passengers are picked up at the airport by our naturalist guides and taken on a ten-minute bus drive to the pier to board the M/Y Corals

PM - Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz)
No landing. A dinghy ride through an extensive tidal lagoon system that stretches almost a mile inland, lined with four species of mangrove. As we wind through the labyrinth we will look for sea turtles, several species of herons, sharks and rays. The experience is otherworldly and seems to transport us back to the beginning of time.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: none
Duration: 1-hour dinghy ride

DAY 4: Isabela & Fernandina

AM - Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela)
No landing. A spectacular site surrounded by the immense cliffs of an eroded volcano, studded with resting seabirds like brown noddies and Nazca boobies. Superb snorkeling with unique fish species, where we can swim with penguins and green sea turtles.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: none
Duration: 1 hour snorkeling / 30-minute dinghy ride

PM - Punta Espinosa (Fernandina)
Dry landing. Pristine Fernandina is the marine iguana capital, and its desolate volcanic backdrop hosts a massive concentration of these enigmatic reptiles. Surprisingly, Galapagos penguins share the same shoreline. Snorkeling offers an exciting opportunity to watch marine iguanas feeding underwater, alongside penguins, sea turtles and the unique flightless cormorant.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky volcanic
Duration: 1h30 hike / 1 hour snorkeling or dinghy ride

DAY 5: Isabela

AM - Urbina Bay (Isabela)
Wet landing. At the far end of a long, level hike we reach a strange phenomenon: large blocks of coral lying completely exposed after a dramatic geological uplift in 1954. Located at the western base of Alcedo Volcano, this is a good place to run into impressive land iguanas and, during the wet season, Galapagos giant tortoises.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: sandy / rocky
Duration: 1h30 hike / 1 hour snorkeling

PM - Tagus Cove (Isabela)
Dry landing. A historic pirate hideout and anchorage, visited by Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle in 1835. We hike past Darwin Lake through stunning volcanic landscape with views of Isabela's dramatic northern volcanoes. Afterwards, snorkel along a submerged wall with sea turtles, fish, penguins and flightless cormorants, or enjoy a dinghy ride or kayak along the cliffs.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky volcanic
Duration: 2-hour hike / 30 minutes kayaking / 1 hour snorkeling or 30-minute dinghy ride

DAY 6: Santiago

AM - Egas Port (Santiago)
Wet landing on a beach of black volcanic sand. This dramatic shoreline is home to a host of species that live between land and sea, including the endemic Galapagos fur seals, which keep a small colony at the end of our walk.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: sandy / rocky
Duration: 1h30 hike / 1 hour snorkeling

PM - Sullivan Bay (Santiago)
Dry landing. Here we walk across young pahoehoe lava flows formed in the late 19th century, with older reddish-yellow tuff cones rising from the middle of the flow and Mollugo plants growing out of the fissures. Walking on solidified lava gives the impression of being on another planet!

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: volcanic lava
Duration: 1h30 hike or 1 hour snorkeling

DAY 7: Santa Cruz & North Seymour

AM - Bachas Beach & Highlands Tortoise Reserve (Santa Cruz)
Wet landing at Bachas Beach, named for wrecked World War II barges whose ribs are still visible in the sand. The beach offers great swimming, a lovely walk along the shore, and a lagoon behind the high tide line with wading birds, marine iguanas and sometimes flamingos. We then head into the Santa Cruz highlands for our best opportunity to see totally wild Galapagos giant tortoises at close quarters, along with several species of Darwin's finches.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: sandy / flat & muddy
Duration: 1h30 hike / 45-minute round-trip bus ride / 1 hour snorkeling or beach time

PM - North Seymour
Dry landing. This flat, uplifted island is an important spot to see magnificent and great frigatebird males courting females, and we will likely see courting blue-footed boobies too. Sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, crashing surf and distant views of the Daphne Islands top off a great visit.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky
Duration: 1h45 hike / 1 hour deep-water snorkeling

DAY 8: Santa Cruz & Mosquera

AM - Charles Darwin Research Station (Santa Cruz)
Dry landing. Tour the station with your naturalist guide. Once home to the famous Lonesome George, the last tortoise of the Pinta race, the center is set within the Galapagos National Park Service grounds, with interpretive buildings to visit. Large stands of native vegetation make it one of the better places to spot some of the seldom-seen Darwin's finches.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: flat & muddy
Duration: 1h30 visit / 45-minute round-trip bus ride

PM - Mosquera Islet
Wet landing. This tiny, low-lying islet of coral sand sits between North and South Seymour. Sea lions laze on the soft white sand, and it is an excellent spot to observe shorebirds, herons, lava gulls and boobies. Snorkeling here, we can often see sharks, rays and barracudas.

Difficulty level: easy
Type of terrain: sandy
Duration: 1h30 walk / 1 hour snorkeling or beach time

DAY 9: South Plaza & Santa Fe

AM - South Plaza
Dry landing. Sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls and land iguanas greet us at the landing site. This small island is covered with a carpet of red succulent studded with Opuntia cacti. At the cliff edge we watch frigatebirds, flocks of Galapagos shearwaters and, of particular note, displaying red-billed tropicbirds.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky volcanic
Duration: 2-hour hike

PM - Santa Fe
Wet landing. After a fabulous snorkel in the turquoise waters of the protected bay with sea lions, sea turtles, reef sharks and spotted eagle rays, we land on a sandy beach full of sea lions. Then we walk past a forest of island-endemic giant Opuntia cacti in search of the Santa Fe land iguana.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky / sandy
Duration: 1h45 hike / 30 minutes kayaking / 1 hour deep-water snorkeling or 45-minute dinghy ride

DAY 10: San Cristobal

AM - Lobos Island (San Cristobal)
Dry landing. Isla Lobos is about 20 minutes by boat from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. An 850-meter trail mixes rocky sections with an easy sand path, passing a small population of nesting blue-footed boobies and great frigatebirds.

Difficulty level: moderate
Type of terrain: rocky / sandy
Duration: 1h30 hike

San Cristobal airport
After our morning visit we transfer to the airport for the return flight to Quito, where we check back into our hotel, the Swissotel, for our last night in Quito.

DAY 11: Quito Transfer to airport for your flight back home, or begin your trip extension. Call for details.