Galapagos Archipel
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Monday to Monday
Day 1
San Cristobal arrival / Leon Dormido
Flight to the Galapagos Island San Cristobal from which you will start your cruise after a short transfer to the harbor. Afterwards you will visit the scattered tuff-rock called Leon Dormido (Kicker Rock), which stands out of the deep-blue ocean like Gibraltar.
Day 2
Gardner Bay / Punta Suarez (Española Island)
Gardner Bay is on the eastern shore and has a magnificent beach. This beach is frequented by a transient colony of sea lions, and is a major nesting site for marine turtles. Around the small islets nearby, snorkelers will find a great variety of fish; sometimes turtles and sharks. On a trail leading to the western tip of the island you'll pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos of the waved albatross, huge birds with a 6-foot wingspan. These huge birds nest here from April to December representing the majority of the world's population of this species.
Punta Suarez is one of the most outstanding wildlife areas of the archipelago, with a long list of species found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches. In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there are the curious and bold Hood Island mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and Galapagos hawks. Several types of reptiles, including the brilliantly coloured marine iguana and the oversized lava lizard, are unique to this island. When heavy swells are running, Punta Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with a thundering ocean spray shooting 30 yards into the air.
Day 3
Post Office Bay / Punta Cormorant (Floreana Island)
Floreana Island is perceived as one of the most exotic Islands of the archipelago. At Punta Cormorant you land on a green olivine sand beach. Following a 100 m long path you will soon reach a lagoon with flamingos, white-checked pintail ducks and many more shorebirds.
The trail goes on to a white beach of ground coral. This is the green sea turtle's nesting place. North of Punta Cormorant and eroded volcano, Devil’s Crown, is a snorkellers delight. To the west, Post Office Bay keeps the legendary post barrel that whalers used to send post their mail in.
Day 4
Charles Darwin Research Station / Highlands (Santa Cruz Island)
The small town of Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz Island) is the economic centre of the archipelago, with the largest population of the 4 inhabited islands. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park offices are based here. You will have an opportunity to visit some of the best scientists of their kind. Scientists, park rangers and park managers among others, who make huge efforts to preserve this Unesco World Heritage Site, conduct the conservation of the islands. The station is also a tortoise breeding and rearing centre, where tortoises of different subspecies are prepared for reintroduction to their natural habitats.
The most popular inhabitant of this island is probably Lonesome George. He is the only survivor of this specific turtle species.
The lush landscape of the Santa Cruz highlands is a welcome contrast to the arid scenery of the smaller, lower islands. Points of interest are the famed lava tunnels, a fun and geologically informative visit. The trip to the Santa Cruz highlands ends with a rapid visit to the Twin Craters.