Itinerary Tour 1 + 2 :: CNH Tours

Active Galapagos Itinerary on the Samba

Sunday, Day 1: Arrival in Quito

Arrive in Quito, transfer to your hotel, conveniently located near Quito's dynamic tourist and arts sector. If your flight doesn't arrive too late (i.e. European arrivals), you'll have the chance to explore the town a little in the evening. Overnight in Quito.

Monday, Day 2: Quito City Tour - Visit to the Equatorial Monument. B, L

Recover from your long journey today before we continue on to Galapagos. A relaxing visit of what some call the prettiest capital city in South America - so pretty that UNESCO has inscribed it on its famous list of World Heritage sites. Surrounded by the eastern and western ranges of the Andes, with magnificent views of 3 snowcapped volcanoes (on a clear day!), Quito rests at 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) above sea level. The Inca empire was defeated close by, nearly 500 years ago, but the indigenous presence is still very strong. Quito lies just a few km south of the Equator, the country's namesake, and we'll take you to the site that celebrates it. It may sound a bit tacky, but there's a great photo opportunity where you can actually straddle the equatorial line, with one foot in both hemispheres. Free evening.

Tuesday, Day 3: Flight to Galapagos, boarding our vessel, South Plaza Island

Early breakfast and accompanied transfer to the airport, arriving in Galapagos by 9AM (Galapagos time). We'll be greeted by our naturalist guide at the Baltra island airport and proceed directly to our ship. We will cruise round Baltra island, have lunch and stop at South Plaza island. South Plaza is a favourite among naturalist guides for its diversity of sea birds, its active sea lion colony, the dramatic cliff-top vistas and its very colourlful land iguanas. It is also the only place to catch a glimpse of the elusive marine/land iguana hybrids.

Wednesday, Day 4: Santa Cruz Island - Darwin Station, Giant Tortoises and Highland Ecosystems under Threat

AM: Visit the famous Charles Darwin Research Station. It's famous for the great scientific work that has taken place here, including discovering how to raise giant tortoises in captivity (thus saving some species from extinction), how to get rid of goats on huge islands, and more. Heather Blenkiron and her husband worked here for 4 years. The iguana pen is the work of a US National Parks Service Landscape Architect that Heather brought down for the job.

PM: Ride up to the highlands, a moist and cool ecosystem, where remnant Scalesia forests hang on in the face of agrressive blackberry and fern plants, introduced to the islands decades ago - you may spot National Park employees busy controlling the advance of these plants. Home to a variety of bird species, see if you can find the showy vermilion flycatcher or the short eared owl. You'll also get to see the "gemelos", or twins, a pair of huge pit craters created by underground lava activity thousands of years ago. Stop at a local farmstead, where the owners have dropped farming in favour of hosting visitors who come to see the giant tortoises ambling along on their pasture.

Thursday, Day 5: Espanola Island - Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez

AM:Gardner Bay. Wet Landing. Snorkel, panga-ride and kayaking opportunities. Another pristine beach - a wonderful spot for a refreshing swim. Discover yet another species of Galapagos mockingbird (you might actually spot this cocky bird pecking at your shoelaces!). Later in the afternoon, you'll have a chance to snorkel around Turtle Island - another wonderful snorkeling experience.

PM: Punta Suarez. Wet Landing. The scene here is dramatic. We'll start with a short hike through coastal vegetation (red/green marine iguanas aplenty, and sea lions too) and pass through blue-footed booby nesting colonies before we arrive at the top of a high ridge of cliffs. Other sea birds abound here, red-billed tropicbirds among them, and the sea below is dramatic as Pacific swells born of distant storms pound the volcanic shoreline. A popular blowhole sends jets of spray high into the air. Snorkeling opportunity.

Friday, Day 6: Floreana - Punta Cormorant / Post Office Bay / Devil's Crown

AM: Punta Cormorant, Floreana. Wet Landing: Named not after the bird but a US ship, there is a wet landing onto a, literally, green beach - so coloured because it is made from olivine crystals (volcanic silicates of magnesium and iron). Pencil sea urchins may be found on the beach. A short walk inland and the trail comes to a brackish lagoon. This is home to one of the biggest populations of flamingos in the archipelago. Also present are pintail ducks and stilts. The trail crosses a narrow neck of land and comes to a white beach on the eastern side of the island. Ghost crabs inhabit the beach, and rays and turtles can be seen in the sea.

A short walk inland and the trail comes to a brackish lagoon. This is home to one of the biggest populations of flamingos in the archipelago (but they do move about - so you may actually not see them!). Also present are pintail ducks and stilts. The trail crosses a narrow neck of land and comes to a white beach on the eastern side of the island. Ghost crabs inhabit the beach, and rays and turtles can be seen in the sea.

PM: Post Office Bay, Floreana. Wet Landing. Snorkel, panga-ride and kayaking: A wet landing at an historic location. In the late 18th Century, whaling ships started to leave letters for home in a barrel. The idea was that ships on their outward voyage would leave letters for ships on the homeward voyage to collect. The tradition has continued and it is possible to leave postcards which will be collected by other tourists from the same part of the world and posted by them. In the same way, one is expected to collect any cards that it is possible to post. The post office barrel is above the beach in an area with palo santo trees and mimosa. Walking through this vegetation one comes to an abandoned site where there was a short-lived Norwegian fish drying and canning operation. This lasted for about two years from 1928.

After visiting Post Office Bay, the group has a wonderful snorkelling opportunity at Devil's Crown, Snorkel, a small islet of jumbled rocks. It is an old spatter cone that has been eroded by the sea. It is one of the best places in Galapagos to snorkel.

Saturday, Day 7: Isabela Island - Punta Moreno / Elizabeth Bay

AM: Punta Moreno, Isabela. Dry Landing. Snorkel and panga-ride. The day begins with a panga ride along a beautiful rocky shore where shore birds are frequently seen. A dry landing is followed by a hike across a jagged lava field. We will visit crystal tide pools that are a magnet for Pink Flamingos, Blue Herons, and Bahama Pintails. Brown Pelican can also be seen nesting in the mangroves surrounding the pools. Looking down on these pools we may see the occasional green sea turtle, white-tipped shark and puffer fish.

PM: Elizabeth Bay, Isabela. Panga-ride. This mangrove complex, full of quiet bays and passages, may be the best place in Galapagos for kayaking. We'll take a panga (small outboard skiff) ride around the nearby Marielas islands to see penguins warming themselves in the sun. We'll then proceed to explore Elizabeth Bay in kayaks. This can be a good workout - we'll also visit the bay by panga for those not up to kayaking. Here, you should see the odd spectacle of penguins (a cold sea animal) swimming among the mangroves (a tropical tree), along with turtles and perhaps a few sharks.

Sunday, Day 8: Northern Isabela Island, Fernandina Island - Elizabeth Bay and Punta Espinosa

AM: Urbina Bay, Isabela. Wet landing. Snorkel and panga ride. A wet-landing awaits you as you traverse one of the best and the most recent example of Geological Uplift in the Galapagos. In the 1950, several acres/hectares of shallow sea floor suddenly were uplifted and became dry land overnight. You'll find the original beach several minutes' walk from the current coastline!

PM: Punta Espinosa, Fernandina Island. This is the newest (e.g. just a few hundred thousand years!) and most pristine island in Galapagos. The waters here are the richest in the archipelago and chances are good that we'll spot dolphins, feeding tuna and even whales if we keep our eyes open during the crossing from Urbina Bay. At Punta Espinosa we should see penguins and flightless cormorants on a dramatic backdrop of pounding Pacific surf - utterly untouched wilderness on the edge of the vast Pacific. We'll take a hike among mangroves and shoreline lava fields where marine iguanas and sea lions thrive.

Monday, Day 9: Santiago Island - Puerto Egas / Bartolome

AM: Puerto Egas, Santiago. Wet landing. Snorkel and panga ride. You'll take a wonderful coastal walk and spot the rare, once nearly extinct fur-seals, sea lions, perhaps a Galapagos hawk and the usual cast of colourful and diverse coastal inhabitants. You will also spot old salt-mining installations here that were abandoned in the 1960's. Charles Darwin and the Beagle anchored near here in October 1835 and he spent several days hikng the hills here, collecting specimens and making observations.

PM: Bartolome. Wet landing. Snorkel and panga ride. You'll take 3 hours to motor to Bartolome Island, at the other end of Santiago. In the meantime, you'll have lunch and then an opportunity to relax, enjoy the vistas of the Santiago coastline, spot dolphins or leaping manta rays. Bartolome is one of the most photographed scenes of Galapagos, Pinnacle Rock lies on this small island. You'll take an extensive snorkel here, where colourful fish abound, with a few friendly sharks and sea turtles. You may end up swimming along with a pair of busy penguins, rapidly darting about the rocks in search for food. Later in the afternoon, when the day's heat has subsided, you'll hike to the top of the island and have a look at its field of spatter cones.

Tuesday, Day 10: Caleta Tortuga Negra (Black Turtle Cove) B, L

AM: Caleta Tortuga Negra, Santa Cruz. Panga ride. Before we leave our ship, we'll stop at Caleta Tortuga Negra in the morning. Here, we should spot abundant spotted eagle rays and diamond shaped mustard rays, which swim in a diamond formation. White-tipped reef sharks slip beneath the boat and Pacific green sea turtles come to the surface for air and to mate. Waterfowl, including pelicans, herons and egret, all feed in the cove.

Noon dropoff at Baltra Island, and transfer to Puerto Ayora hotel in the company of your new land based guide. She is your resource person, and please feel free to ask for help, restaurant recommendations or anything else. Free afternoon and evening .

Wednesday, Day 11: Free day. B, D

You have several options today - spend it all, or part of it at Tortuga Bay, drop in on the Charles Darwin Research Station, or simply enjoy the town's funky spirit. Internet cafes now dot the main street here. Your guide will head to the beach and invite those who are interested to join her. We'll have a great Galapagos goodbye supper at the nicest restaurant in the archipelago, right on the shores of Academy Bay.

Thursday, Day 12: Flight to Quito, free afternoon B, L

Transfer to Baltra Island airport - and on to Quito for a 2 PM - 3 PM arrival time. Free afternoon/evening to recoup from your exhausting ACTIVE Galapagos trip. If you have the time, and a few dollars to drop at a very nice high end crafts and textiles store, you might want to check out the Galeria Latina shop, a 5 minute walk from the hotel. I can't resist this place!

Day 13 - Goodbye Breakfast at Casa Sol Hotel - Tour ends!

Tour ends. Breakfast is provided at the hotel, but that marks the last part of the tour. We hope you had an unforgettable time! Taxi service to the airport can be easily arranged the night before with the hotel reception.