Highlands of Santa Cruz: Galapagos giant tortoises can be seen in the wild in the highlands of Santa Cruz.
Charles Darwin Station: Visit the Charles Darwin Station is a research facility and National Park Information center. The Charles Darwin Station has a giant tortoise and land iguana breeding program and interpretation center.

Day 2 (Thursday): South Plaza Island / Santa Fe Island

South Plaza Island: Plazas consists of two very small islands that were uplifted from the sea, separated by a channel. Only South Plazas has a visitor site. The highlights include tall Opuntia cactus, land and marine iguanas, rocky cliff that looks out towards open ocean which is also a nesting site for red-billed tropic birds and gulls, and a seal lion bachelor colony.

Santa Fe Island: Santa Fe is a smaller island of 24 km2. The visitor site Santa Fe is located on the northeast end of the island. Highlights include Santa Fe land iguanas, pelican nesting site, sea lion colony, mockingbird, and Palo Santo trees.

Day 3 (Friday): San Cristóbal Island

San Cristóbal Island (Chatham): San Cristóbal is the easternmost island of Galapagos and also one of the oldest.

Witch Hill: Witch Hill (Cerro Brujo) is a volcanic cone that looks over a beautiful white sandy beach which has plenty of sea lions, pelicans, blue-footed boobies, waders and marine iguanas.
Galapaguera and El Junco: The lagoon is the only fresh water reservoir in Galapagos and has great views from its altitude of 700m in the highlands of San Cristóbal. Rainwater has collected in the caldera for hundreds of years and formed this lagoon. Galapaguera is a good area to see tortoises in their natural environment.

Day 4 (Saturday): Española (Hood) Island

Hood Island (Española): Hood is the oldest of the Southern Islands and is the southernmost in the archipelago. Because of its remote location a unique range of endemic species evolved here

Gardner Bay: Located on the northeast of the island, the site has a long and beautiful white sand beach inhabited by sea lion colonies.
Islote Gardner and Islote Osborn: These islets are snorkeling sites where visitors will see an abundance of tropical fish, reef sharks, and turtles.
Punta Suarez: The wildlife at Punta Suarez is plentiful and varied. Along the cliff visitors can enjoy the blowhole where seawater is forced about 20m into the air. The highlights are the Waved albatross (April-Dec) that are only found on Hood, Galapagos Hawks, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and Española lava lizards.

Day 5 (Sunday): Floreana Island

Floreana Island: Floreana is best known for its colorful history of buccaneers, whalers, convicts, and early colonists.

Punta Cormorant: Punta Cormorant has two contrasting beaches and a large inland lagoon where pink flamingos can be seen.
Devil’s Crown: This is a snorkeling site located just off Punta Cormorant. The site is a completely submerged volcano that has eroded to create the appearance of a jagged crown.
Post Office Bay: This is one of the few sites visited for its human history. Visit the wooden mail barrel where letters are dropped off and picked up and remains of the Norwegian fishing village.

Day 6 (Monday): Santa Cruz Island / James Island

Santa Cruz Island

Dragon Hill: Cerro Dragon has hyper-salinic small lagoon behind the beach, often frequented by flamingos

James Island (Santiago)

James Island is located between Isabela and Santa Cruz Islands. This Island offers a wide variety of seabirds, marine iguanas and fur seals.

Sullivan Bay: This site is of great geological interest. Highlights: 100 hundred year old lava flow field, pahoehoe formations, and lava bubbles.

Day 7 (Tuesday): Tower (Genovesa) Island

Tower Island (Genovesa): Tower is an eroded flat volcanic island, with a natural harbor, which is actually the submerged caldera of this volcanic island.

Darwin Bay: The steep cliffs of this area dominate the island. This area is home to thousands of frigate birds, red-footed boobies, Noddy terns, lava gulls, tropicbirds, doves, storm petrels and Darwin’s finches.
El Barranco: There is a good possibility of seeing the unique “Short eared owl” at this site. During the dinghy rides along the cliffs fur seals and several species of seabirds can be spotted.

Day 8 (Wednesday): Santa Cruz Island / Baltra for return flight to Quito

Santa Cruz Island

Caleta Tortuga (Turtle Cove): Turtle Cove is a red mangrove lagoon on Santa Cruz and a perfect example of how mangroves alter the marine environment to create a rich and unique habitat.

Baltra

Return flight to Quito

Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
Start / End: Baltra / Baltra
Activities: Walking, hiking, snorkeling, swimming, wildlife watching, bird watching
Highlights: Land iguanas, marine iguanas, fur seals, lava lizard, Galapagos snake, magnificent frigate bird, blue-footed boobies, red-footed boobies, short-eared owls, lava herons, cactus finch, sea lions, giant tortoise reserve, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, Galapagos hawk, hood mockingbirds, flamingos, Galapagos penguins
Season: All year
Included: All meals and accommodation in double cabins while on board, welcome cocktail, all excursions and activities while on board, snorkeling gear, use of kayaks, bilingual naturalist guide
Not Included: Flights to and from Galapagos, Galapagos National Park entrance fee, Migratory card fee, any extra beverages on board (anything in a bottle), wetsuit rental, tips, personal expenses

Outstanding time visiting the Galapagos, Quito, and the Amazon. 100% would recommend Rodrigo and his team!

By Heather H for Galapagos for families – Land based tour - BALANCE on Apr 16, 2024

had a wonderful time! felt well taken care of great hotel accommodations, central, convenient, everything walkable, friendly staff, GOOD AC! day excursions were so fun, variety of different activities excellent and fast communication from all staff would totally recommend this package loved my time there!!

By adrienne l for Galapagos Island Hopping 7 days, land base (Include single supplement) on Apr 02, 2024

Galapagos and Quito trips were awesome. Yumiko and Rodrigo (Galapagos Natural Life) and Betty (Galapagos Discovery) did a fantastic job creating the right customized schedule for me that included airport pickup and drop offs, Quito day tour, North Seymour/ Mosquera island day tour, and Bartalome island day tours. They booked my hotels and took care of all my itinerary needs. Always responsive over WhatsApp. When LATAM had a flight cancellation, Betty rebooked an additional night and transport with just a phone call. Highly recommend them for their professionalism, thoroughness and exceeding expectations!

By Debi M for Quito + Galapagos, 8 days 24 sep - 01 oct 2023 on Oct 04, 2023

We had an unforgettable time because the natural pristine environment unspoiled by humans really sells itself. The most beautiful areas of the world are that way because they have been protected from development. Luckily the Government of Galapagos is generally doing a good job protecting the special areas. Although I wonder what damage is being done to some of the islands with the constant stream of tourists setting foot on the islands? We were met by a charming polite young driver with a sign, he was as helpful as he could be but unfortunately we cannot speak Spanish, and he could not speak English. He was really nice, kind and helpful. We took a bus with many others from the first Carbon Neutral Airport in the world because that is the only way to get from the airport to a ferry costing a dollar each that took us across the water to a taxi, we stopped at the twin craters, but there was no sign telling us what it was, there was no sign explaining it at the entrance, which would be helpful. I looked at it quickly because I wasn't aware it was part of the tour, I didn't see the other crater. This is where it would be helpful to have a written page briefly explaining what was happening for the day, the driver could hand this to us, since there was a language communication issue that prevented us knowing what was happening. We went to El Chato Giant Turtle sanctuary and Lava Caves which was interesting, the giant turtles have to be seen to be believed. Lunch was good but could have been better, (a salad as part of lunch would have been nice it was quite minimal) got the feeling the staff were a bit jaded. Fantastic environment very special. Second day was incredible snorkeling seeing giant turtle, shark, octopus, many exotic fish. I wish more time could have been spent explaining and ensure face mask fit properly to everyone before we got in the water, it was a bit rushed and assumptions were made that everyone knew what they were doing with the snorkeling equipment. My husband cut his underarms from the life jacket riding up quite badly, he kept it on while swimming to protect from sun, which turned out to be a big mistake. Spend plenty of time getting fitted up properly so you can really enjoy snorkeling. Anti fogging for masks would have been useful, I had to keep taking off my goggles to clear them so I could see stuff which was frustrating. lunch cooked by boat staff on both days was incredible, the staff on both snorkeling trips were gracious, kind, informative, and their efforts and attitudes make the trip 5 star. I highly recommend Galapagos Natural Life, all the staff were amazing. Make sure you read up on details on what you are doing each day. Sometimes you have to wait longer than you want but sometimes this is for safety. We stayed in a 'tourist class' hotel which was a hostel. It was sufficient, clean, mostly helpful staff. In hindsight I might have chosen a more expensive hotel with more facilities. Breakfast was not so great and the coffee was not good at all that's being polite which surprised me. It would have been nice to have access to great coffee at the hotel when we needed it, this was not possible, maybe because it was 'just' a hostel?. The a/c was very good and the beds were great. We didn't want to spend $ on accommodation but that was our choice. The hotel was quite noisy at night because our room faced a busy road, with motorbikes and people partying. Make sure if you are a light sleeper you have accommodation that is quiet, Puerto Ayora is a bit of a party town. The people there are so happy, seems like everyone is laughing all the time. Ecuadorians seem to be the kindest happiest people on earth. Puerto Ayora is safe, fascinating, interesting. Don't miss the Darwin Research Center, we came upon it because the guide mentioned it in passing since I mentioned my husband was a scientist, otherwise we would not have known about it. Don't go near wild animals and respect the laws regarding their protection. We were told not to take anything on the first day snorkeling and that everything is provided, so we didn't take any cash, so we couldn't tip the boat staff :( It was an honor and privilege to visit, and we have unforgettable memories, but afterwards I did wonder at what harm is being done with the constant stream of tourists treading over the islands, we went to Baltra Beach in North Seymour, the sand was like white pepper, all the islands we visited had a 'lost world Robinson Crusoe' feel to them if that makes sense. Some children in our group were picking up coconuts and dolphin skulls, and I thought to myself probably shouldn't be touching anything. We passed another group on that hour we were there, so who knows how many thousands are treading over these precious islands and what damage is being done in the name of tourist dollars? Somewhat hypocritical of me, I know. The staff were really amazing and helpful; we had a challenge on our last day when the engine on the boat had to be repaired; we waited from about 10am to about 1pm for it to be repaired, we nearly gave up, but communication was limited from the harbor site due to lack of cell phone reception etc, in the end they did a good job and we were able to go out on the boat, we were so happy and relieved, we didn't care about the inconvenience.

By Joanne F for GALAPAGOS ISLAND HOPPING 4 DAYS BALANCE on Aug 08, 2023

Galápagos Natural Life were excellent. They organised everything for me so that a car would pick me up every morning and take me to wherever I needed to go, and I had no problems. They also chose a really enjoyable and interesting itinerary for me. Highly recommended!

By Duncan M for Upgrade Hotel 15 - 19 mar 2023 on Mar 22, 2023

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I recently booked a Galapagos cruise for my wife and myself with Galapagos Natural Life (GNL) and I'm very satisfied with the services rendered and my overall experience. Rodrigo, the Tour Manager, was with me every step of the way, answering all of my questions and concerns about getting to the airport, the check in procedures and document requirements. He was always available to answer a question no matter the time of day or day of the week. Even though we arrived two days before the start of our cruise, Rodrigo gladly arranged for transportation from the airport to my temporary residence and back again to the airport for the Galapagos flight which he also arranged and booked for us. Full disclosure, I had attempted to book the same cruise to the Galapagos Islands with another well known travel organization in Quito but dropped them due to hundreds of dollars of unexplained fees in their pricing. GNL's pricing was upfront with no hidden or unexplained charges and I found their pricing to be a much better value as it included my flights to the islands. The cruise ship, the Galapagos Legend, was amazing and I highly recommend taking a cruise to see the islands. When we decided to spend an extra night on Santa Cruz island after disembarking, Rodrigo cheerfully provided hotel recommendations and arranged for our luggage to be separated from the cruise ship and delivered to our final stop where he had arranged for a taxi to pick us, and our luggage up, and bring us to our hotel. All of this extra service was above and beyond the scope of the original tour but he did it for us anyway. We were so impressed with our experience with GNL, we decided to visit their office in Quito to express our gratitude. We were warmly received by Rodrigo and his staff who treated us more like good friends than customers inviting us to share breakfast and coffee with him. I would highly recommend anyone looking to book a cruise or tour to the Galapagos Islands and/or Ecuador to consider GNL if professional and personalized service as well as a seamless travel experience is important to them.

By John B on 12 Aug, 2023

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Beluga Yacht 01-08 dec 2021

Beluga Yacht 01-08 dec 2021

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