8 days cruise trimaran Horizon – A

Morning – Arrival at San Cristóbal Airport: Your TCC (Transit Control Card), also known as the Ingala card (US$20 per person), will be issued digitally after you complete an online form. At the airport, this digital card will be checked, and your luggage will be inspected to ensure that no non-native plant or animal species are introduced. In addition, the Galápagos National Park entrance fee (US$200) must be paid upon arrival if it has not already been paid. Your guide will welcome you at the airport, assist you with your luggage, and accompany you to the ship.

After being welcomed by the crew and captain, you will be assigned your cabins, followed by the first group lunch on board.

Afternoon – David Rodriguez Breeding Center: You will visit the tortoise protection and breeding center in Cerro Colorado. This center was built to help improve the tortoise population on the island. The center includes a large enclosure, a visitor center, and a hatchery. Along the walking trail, it is possible to see various native and endemic plants as well as birds such as the San Cristóbal mockingbird, yellow warblers, many species of finches, and the Galápagos flycatcher.

Morning – Pitt Point: Two wind-shaped tuff cones at Pitt Point form the eastern end of San Cristóbal.

At the small green-sand beach, you will be welcomed by barking Galápagos sea lions. A trail through thorny bushes behind the beach leads to an area of tropical dry forest vegetation: leaf-shedding Palo Santo trees, Cordia lutea bushes, opuntias, and succulent plants that turn red during the dry season. After a steep climb through a ravine to the summit, you can walk around the only colony of all three booby species found in the Galápagos Islands: red-footed, blue-footed, and Nazca boobies.

Afternoon – Witch Hill, Kicker Rock: Witch Hill (Cerro Brujo in Spanish) is the remnant of a tuff cone, and its main attraction is a coral sand beach leading into a calm bay. While snorkeling, you will discover a rich habitat for marine iguanas, stingrays, white-tip sharks, eagle rays, turtles, moray eels, garden eels, and many species of reef fish. Behind the beach dunes lies a dry, dark lava flow with salty pools used by iguanas for cooling off, but also an excellent place for observing coastal and migratory birds such as pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls. It is one of the first places Charles Darwin visited.

Kicker Rock is a gigantic rock formation with a dagger-like tower beside it. It rises 150 m high and resembles a shoe from the side (hence the name Kicker Rock). From another angle, it looks more like a sleeping lion (therefore its Spanish name León Dormido).

Morning – Suarez Point: This rocky area is home to the most impressive and diverse seabirds in the archipelago. The endangered Galápagos albatross returns annually (March – December) to Española Island. Visitors can observe their courtship dance characterized by whistles and bows (especially in October). Blue-footed and Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, and red-billed tropicbirds are also native to this island. Along the southern coast, high cliffs provide spectacular views of soaring birds and seawater shooting high into the air through blowholes.

Afternoon – Gardner Bay, Gardner Islet, Osborn Islet: On the northeastern coast of Española Island, Gardner Bay offers a wonderful place to refresh yourself in the turquoise sea and admire the many colorful reef fish. Snorkel side by side with green sea turtles or enjoy the company of playful Galápagos sea lions. The white sand beach is also an important nesting site for green sea turtles. In the crystal-clear ocean, whales may occasionally be spotted.

Gardner Islet features enchanting scenery both above and below the water’s surface. While snorkeling, you can observe many small fish as well as sea urchins and starfish.

Afterwards, you continue to Osborn Islet, where you will have excellent opportunities for snorkeling and swimming.

Morning – Bachas Beach: The two small beaches of Bachas are located west of Turtle Bay. The sand consists of decomposed coral, making it very white and soft and therefore a favorite nesting site for sea turtles. Behind one of the beaches lies a small saltwater lagoon. Occasionally, flamingos or other coastal birds can be seen here, as well as American stilts and whimbrels. The other beach is longer and features two old barges from World War II, when the United States used Baltra Island as a strategic point to protect the Panama Canal. Over time, however, these shipwrecks have mostly been covered by sand and are now barely visible.

Afternoon – Bartholomew Island: Bartolomé Island rises 114 m above Sullivan Bay. Climb the steps of the Bartholomew summit trail and be rewarded with panoramic views of volcanic peaks, moon-like craters, and lava fields.

The island has two breathtaking beaches inhabited by sea turtles and a very small colony of Galápagos penguins at the base of Pinnacle Rock.

Morning –Egas Port: Puerto Egas, on the western side of Santiago Island, is famous for its fur seal grottos, where you will enjoy a special guided coastal walk. The artistically sculpted coastline of black basalt and multicolored ash layers forms a photogenic backdrop with collapsed lava tunnels, natural arches, caves, and holes such as “Darwin’s Toilet.” In a grotto beneath a spectacular stone arch at the end of the beach, a colony of sea lions gathers in the shade. Hundreds of red Sally Lightfoot crabs glow bright orange on the pitch-black rocks.

Afternoon – Rábida Island: After a wet landing on Rábida’s remarkable red beach, there are two short guided walks. Oxidized iron particles give the rocks and sand their rusty color. Near the beach lies a shallow green-fringed lagoon; this oasis is the most fertile area on the otherwise dry island covered with leaf-shedding Palo Santo trees. The salty lagoon attracts all kinds of water birds, such as pintails and sometimes American flamingos. Among the evergreen mangrove bushes, many songbirds hide and nest. One of the island’s outstanding attractions is the large breeding colony of brown pelicans, the only pelicans in the world that plunge-dive.

Morning – Darwin Bay: Darwin Bay lies within the submerged caldera of Genovesa. This bay with its beautiful sandy beach offers many surprises as you walk over barren lava formations, past tidal pools and shrubs, and eventually climb the cliffs. Every species you observe along the way occupies its own ecological niche. Whimbrels and wandering tattlers actively search for food in the surf alongside resting Galápagos sea lions. Impressive frigatebirds and red-footed boobies nest in the mangroves, where songbirds such as yellow warblers, Darwin’s finches, and Galápagos mockingbirds can also be seen. Particularly remarkable are the two subpopulations of cactus finches, which differ only in their song. The sandy beach also offers excellent snorkeling opportunities.

Afternoon – Prince Philip’s Steps (also called El Barranco): In the afternoon, you will sail to Prince Philip’s Steps, one of the two visitor sites on Genovesa Island. Galápagos fur seals sometimes rest on the rocky ledges. After climbing the steep stone staircase, you will take a guided walk during which you may see many different birds such as red-footed and blue-footed boobies. Red-footed boobies are found almost exclusively on Genovesa and nest in the Palo Santo trees. The bushes along the sea-facing edge become more sparse, allowing you to enjoy incredible views and the ocean breeze. Continuing onward, you will pass a colony of Nazca boobies and eventually reach storm petrel nesting sites, where, with some luck, you may also observe short-eared owls hunting.

Morning – Mosquera Island: Mosquera Island lies between Baltra and North Seymour. It is a small island formed by geological uplift, featuring rocks, coral, and a large white sand beach populated by many sea lions. Various species of shorebirds can also be observed. Along the rocks, you can spot red lava crabs or Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Afternoon – Highlands, Tortoise Breeding Center: You will visit the island’s highlands (so please have your walking shoes and rain jacket ready). Observe giant tortoises in their natural habitat as well as a variety of native and migratory birds, including tree finches, ground finches, Galápagos flycatchers, and cattle egrets (often standing on the backs of tortoises).

At the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center, you will have the opportunity to take amazing photographs of the tortoises. The tour begins at the GNP information booth. The trail continues to the Van Straelen Interpretation Center and the breeding center, followed by a path where you can see tortoises from Española Island, ending at the tortoise exhibition enclosure. The tortoises in this enclosure are accustomed to humans, making it an excellent place for photos with them.

Morning – North Seymour: The flat little island of North Seymour is an uplifted section of the ocean floor. Among the dry bushes, you may spot Galápagos land iguanas. You will also see many seabirds such as brown pelicans, red-billed tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls, and, depending on the season, Nazca boobies. The main attraction, however, is the Galápagos’ largest breeding colony of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds. At the beginning of the breeding season, adult male frigatebirds inflate their bright red throat pouches into football-sized balloons.

After this tour, you and your luggage will be transferred to Baltra, where you will take the airport shuttle.