7 days cruise ship Santa Cruz II – Eastern Route

Morning – Arrival at Baltra 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 meet you at the airport, help you with your luggage, and will accompany you on the short bus ride to the port. Here you will board the yacht. After greeting the crew and captain, you will be assigned your cabins and then have your first lunch together.

Afternoon – Mosquera. Mosquera is located in the middle of the Itabaca Channel, between Baltra and North Seymour. Mosquera offers beautiful white coral sand and simplifies the landing, unlike their neighbors Seymour and Baltra with their rocky coastline. The Galapagos sea lions are real beach lovers. These flink fishermen come through the Itabaca Channel, which is a natural trap for marine life due to the submerged elevation between Baltra and Santa Cruz. Here you will have time to snorkel or take a walk on the beach. Among the rocks, red cliff crabs are waiting to play hide and seek while you try to snap the perfect photo. If you’re lucky, you might even see crab egrets or even a red-footed booby.

Meals: Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Pitt Point. Two wind-sculpted tuff cones at Pitt Point represent the eastern end of San Cristóbal. On the small beach of green sand, you will be welcomed by barking Galápagos sea lions. From spiny bushes behind the beach, a trail leads to an area of tropical, dry forest vegetation: year-round leafless Palo Santo trees, Cordia Lutea bushes, opuntias and midday flowering plants that turn red during the dry season. After a steep climb through a ravine to the top, you can walk around the only colony of all three species of boobies found on the Galápagos Islands – red-footed, blue-footed and Nazca boobies. Afternoon – Cerro Colorado. In the afternoon, you will visit the Turtle Conservation and Breeding Center in Cerro Colorado, about 40 minutes by bus from the southeast of the island. This center was built to help increase the population of turtles on the island. The center has a large enclosure, a visitor center, a hatchery and a walkway along which it is possible to see different species of native and endemic plants, as well as birds such as the San Cristóbal mockingbird, the golden warbler and many species of finches and the Galápagos flycatchers. 

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Santa Fe. After lunch, you will be met directly by a Galápagos sea lion colony on the beach, where you will have time for either a refreshing swim or exceptional snorkeling surrounded by tropical reef fish in the crystal clear waters of Barrington Bay. In addition, you will see vast opuntia cactus forests. The largest cacti on the island have extremely thick trunks and can grow over 10 meters tall. After a wet landing on Santa Fe beach, take a guided nature walk. This extraordinary island is a remnant of what is probably the oldest volcano in Galápagos. Your guide will decide if an easy, short walk or a strenuous, longer hike inland will follow (moderate difficulty, approximately 3 km).

Afternoon – South Plaza. You will take an unforgettable guided walk on South Plaza, the best place to encounter the native Galápagos land iguanas. Also, note the unique mix between a male marine lizard and a female land iguana. Once on the top ledge, you’ll get an impressive view of booming waves crashing against the cliffs some 20 meters below. Clouds of petrels, storm petrels, shearwaters and noddi terns delight you with their spectacular flights. Take your binoculars and watch the red-billed tropic birds with their graceful tails and their spectacular mating fights. These cliffs are also the nesting sites of the native fork-tailed gulls. Before lunch, you will sail to Santa Fe, possibly accompanied by bottlenose dolphins.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Charles Darwin Station. After breakfast, rubber boats will take you to the tourist pier of Puerto Ayora, from where you will continue to the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here biological research and indispensable conservation of the unique archipelago are carried out. The complex houses the Interpretation and Information Center of the National Park and the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The most unforgettable part of your visit will most likely be the successful hatchery and encounter with the Galápagos giant tortoises. Before lunch, you will have some time to explore the area.

Afternoon – Highlands (Santa Cruz). In the highlands of Santa Cruz you can admire different species of birds, such as the small and large tree finches, ground finches, Galápagos flycatchers and cattle egrets (often standing on the backs of turtles). As you drive into the island’s protected area, you can see the contrasts of this diverse ecosystem. The path leads from the coast through the agricultural land and directly to the dense wet forests. Often you can see the Galápagos giant tortoises in the middle of the trail or walking across the pastures and through the grass. This place is a paradise for ornithologists, because almost all birds either live on the island or pass through here.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Suarez Point. This rocky area is home to the most impressive and diverse seabirds of the archipelago. The endangered Galápagos Albatross returns to Española Island annually (March – December). This allows visitors to marvel at the whistling and bowing courtship dance (especially in October). Blue-footed and Nazca boobies, fork-tailed gulls and red-billed tropic birds are also native to this island. Along the southern coast, high cliffs offer spectacular views of soaring birds and seawater shooting up through air holes like fountains.
Afternoon – Gardner Bay. On the north-eastern coast of Española Island, Gardner Bay is a wonderful place to refresh in the turquoise sea and admire the large number of colourful reef fish. Snorkel side by side with green sea turtles, or enjoy the proximity of playful Galápagos sea lions. The white sandy beach is also an important breeding ground for green sea turtles. You may also spot whales in the crystal clear ocean.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Morning – Eden Islet. Eden is a paradisiacal tufa cone island just in front of the west coast of Santa Cruz.

Afternoon – North Seymour. The shallow little island of North Seymour is an elevated part of the seabed. You can spot Galápagos iguanas among the scraggy bushes. You will also see many seabirds such as the brown pelican, red-billed tropic birds, fork-tailed gulls and, depending on the season, Nazca boobies. The main attraction, however, is Galápagos’ largest breeding colony of blue-footed boobies – be careful not to step on their nests! – and frigate birds. At the beginning of the breeding season, the adult male frigate birds inflate their bright red throat pouches to almost the size of a football.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Today you will be transferred to the airport on Baltra Island and start your return journey via Guayaquil or extend your trip in Ecuador.

Meals: Breakfast