Galapagos Beluga
ITINERARY DAY BY DAY
8 days / 7 nights
Friday to Friday
Day 1
Arrival at Baltra airport / North Seymour
Arrival at Baltra. Guides will meet you, collect your luggage and escort you on the short bus ride to the harbor. Motorized rafts, called ‘Pangas’ will transport you to the Beluga and our crew will welcome you onboard. After departure and lunch, the first island visit is made.
Disembark at North Seymour a major nesting site for birding and wildlife encounters. Evening welcome dinner and briefing on next days cruise activities.
Day 2
Punta Suarez / Gardner Bay (Espanola Island)
One of the oldest of the islands, Hood is small and flat with no visible volcanic crater or vent. 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 colored 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 thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air.
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 lots of fish and 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 and represent the majority of the world’s population of this species.
Day 3
Floreana Island
Floreana, one of the greenest islands in the archipelago. Ask your guide to tell you about its mysterious history laden with rumors of witches, murderous baronesses, blackmail and dubious disappearances. You first stop is Punta Cormorant, you will see flaming-pink flamingos, a sea turtle nesting area and a superb spot for watching sea birds and sea rays. At La Corona del Diablo (the Devil's Crown), a sub-marine crater that offers some of the most spectacular snorkeling in the Galapagos.
After lunch, sail on to Post Office Bay, where the island's original post office was established in 1793. Visitors drop off unstamped letters and postcards and pick-up whatever mail they can hand deliver themselves when they return home!
Day 4
Puerto Ayora / Highlands (Santa Cruz Island)
Santa Cruz is the only inhabited island to be visited during this Galapagos cruise. Puerto Ayora, with a population of about 10,000 people is the location of the Charles Darwin Research Station, world famous for its tortoise breeding programs.
After touring the Station, journey by bus into the highlands to Los Gemelos the two deep pit craters situated in the Scalesia forest with lots of interesting bird life.
Go for a walk through the giant lava tubes, visit the Tortoise Reserve to search for giant tortoises in their natural surroundings. There will be some free time to explore the town of Puerto Ayora.