Galápagos Land & Sea — Central & South Islands (Yolita)

Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer included. There are no planned activities, so check into the hotel and enjoy the city. A representative will greet you at the hotel and brief the group on the various aspects of the tour.

Fly to Baltra. Meet the CEO and transfer to Puerto Ayora. Check into the hotel followed by lunch. Enjoy an afternoon hike to Tortuga Bay along with a kayak ride.

Tortuga Bay Hike

Santa Cruz Island 8km

Enjoy a walk along a lava stone pathway to the beautiful white beach of Tortuga Bay. Relax on the beach, walk along the mangroves looking for marine iguanas and birdlife, or rent a kayak and explore this marine wonderland. Look for Tintoreras sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays in the water's shallow areas.

Tortuga Bay Kayaking

Santa Cruz Island 2h-3h

Grab a life jacket and go for a kayak adventure in the mangroves of Tortuga Bay. Keep an eye out for a wide variety of marine life, including colorful reef fish, rays, and sea turtles, as you paddle the blue waters. Relax after on a beautiful fine white sand beach, and soak up some sun – you may spot some iguanas also trying to catch some rays on the shore.

Villa Laguna (or similar)

Hotel

Villa Laguna a perfect example of comfort. Located at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the hotel is three stories set in front of a fresh-water pool. The rooms are clean and minimalist, with spaces to help you clear your mind and take in the surroundings. Poolside there are plenty of loungers to relax.

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in the morning before boarding the Yolita. Get to know the crew and settle in. This afternoon, visit a tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands.

Highlands Giant Tortoises Visit

Santa Cruz Island Afternoon

Head to Santa Cruz’s verdant highlands. This is a perfect place to hike through the grounds and see giant tortoises in their natural environment, before savouring an included lunch.

Yolita

Puerto Ayora – Santa Cruz Island

Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.

Fausto Llerena Breeding Center & Charles Darwin Research Station Visit

Puerto Ayora 45m

Visit Fausto Llerena Breeding Center a great place to observe many species of tortoises. Brought back from the brink of extinction, see the famous Galapagos tortoise up close – a corral houses adult tortoises, and a nursery cares for the young until around age three when their shells have hardened.

This area also houses the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organization initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galapagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. While the offices themselves are not open to visitors, the research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.

This morning, snorkel at Devil's Crown, a coral reef surrounded by an eroded volcanic crater, the perfect home for marine life. Look out for small sharks, rays and schools of tropical fish. In the afternoon, make sure you have a postcard to leave behind on a visit to Post Office Bay.

Snorkelling (Corona del Diablo)

Punta Cormorant 45m-1h

Enjoy an amazing snorkelling experience at the ‘Devil's Crown’, an old underwater volcanic cone just north of the Punta Cormorant. Spot large schools of tropical fish, rays, reef sharks, and sea turtles that make their home among the coral reef. Be sure you're a strong swimmer; the currents can be intense.

Post Office Bay Visit

Floreana Island Afternoon

Visit Post Office Bay and learn about its unique history. In the late 18th century, English whaling vessels placed a barrel here to be used as a post office. Today, the box is used mainly by tourists, who may drop off and pick up unstamped letters to be carried to far destinations. Continue the tradition – leave a letter and take one to deliver (be sure it makes it to the correct location)!

Yolita

Punta Cormorant – Floreana Island

Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.

Visit the white sand beach at Chinese Hat in the morning, before an afternoon at Cerro Dragon for an opportunity to break out the binoculars and do some excellent birdwatching.

Chinese Hat Visit

Chinese Hat 1h-2h Morning 1-2km

Explore Chinese Hat’s beautiful landscape and view many geological formations such as lava tubes and lava flows. Don't forget to bring your snorkel gear!

Cerro Dragón Visit

Cerro Dragon 1h-3h Afternoon 1-2km

Visit Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) for some prime birdwatching. Take a short walk from the beach to a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon frequented by pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks, and other species of birds. Pass through a Palo Santo tree forest; endemic to the area, there are only 400 specimens of Scalesia trees left in the world.

Yolita

Chinese Hat – Cerro Dragon

Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.

Explore the mangrove lagoon at Black Turtle Cove. In the afternoon, transfer for a flight back to Quito for one last night on the town.

Black Turtle Cove Excursion

Black Turtle Cove Morning

Explore the mangroves by panga to find rich marine wildlife between the fresh and salt waters. Keep any eye out for sting rays and sea turtles in this tranquil ecosystem. Whitetip reef sharks can also be seen gliding by.

Accommodation

Hotel Hilton Colon (or similar)

Hotel

Hilton Colon Quito is a comfortable property in an excellent location which offers easy access to the Historic Centre, where you can admire the old town and enjoy fine dining. The well appointed rooms and modern hotel provide guests with a comfortable stay when they are in the city of Quito.

Depart at any time.

While it is our intention to adhere to the route described, there is a certain amount of flexibility built into the itinerary and on occasion it may be necessary, or desirable to make alterations.