8 days cruise yacht Petrel – A8

You will be transferred to the airport in the morning and fly to the Galapagos Islands.

Morning – Arrival at Baltra Airport: At the mainland airport, you have purchased your TCC or Ingala card and a luggage inspection has already been conducted to ensure that no foreign plant or animal species are introduced. Upon your arrival at Seymour Ecological airport, your TCC (Transit Control Card) will be stamped. This must be kept in a safe place during your trip, as it must be presented again on your return flight. In addition, the Galapagos National Park entrance fee is due upon entry (US$200), if not already 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 – North Seymour: This small island is one of the most visited places and is teeming with birds. An easy circular walk takes you through the most extensive colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds in the archipelago. At the beginning of the breeding season, the adult frigatebirds inflate their bright red pouches into impressive football-sized balloons. This is one of the few places where you can compare the magnificent and the large frigatebirds breeding side by side.

Meals: Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Vicente Roca Point (Isabela): You will drive to Vicente Roca Point, located at the entrance of the seahorse-like shape Isabela Island. Entering a dark cave under a spectacular arch, the echoes of the waves will accompany you. Just around the corner, the collapsed amphitheater of Ecuador Volcano offers you another impressive view. The calm waters of the bay are well protected from the ocean waves. The water is quite cold, however, an excellent place to snorkel among different species of sharks, penguins, pufferfish and seahorses.

Afternoon – Espinoza Point (Fernandina): Espinoza Point is the only visitor site on land of Fernandina Island and one of the few places where you can find some bizarre outgrowths of natural selection. The flagship species is the flightless cormorant, which lives exclusively on the remote western side of the Galapagos and represents a kind of holy grail of evolution. You will also love the almost alien view of the cone of La Cumbre volcano with its spectacular scenery. The narrow headland you walk along is the end of the lava tongue that reached the coast and solidified due to the contact with the cold sea water.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Tagus Cove: You will navigate around Tagus Cove along the cliffs. From the rubber boat you have a good chance to see the Galápagos penguins, the flightless cormorants and other seabirds. From the dock it is about a 30-minute walk to the cliff top where you can see Lake Darwin. The lake contains more salt than the sea itself. You can also see some volcanoes from here. Look out for the graffiti on the surrounding cliffs of the bay! They were written by pirates and whalers in the last centuries.

Afternoon – Urbina Bay: Urbina Bay is located on the west coast of Isabela, between Elizabeth Bay and Tagus Cove. It is located near the base of the Alcedo volcano. The coastline underwent a major uplift in 1954, extending the shoreline for a kilometer. Here you can find corals, shells and many other calcareous organisms above water. Urbina Bay is home to the large and colorful land iguanas and giant tortoises of the Vulcan Alcedo population. There are also many Darwin’s finches to be seen.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Elizabeth Bay: Elizabeth Bay can only be visited from the water. Passing the Marielas Islands, home to the largest penguin colony in the Galapagos, you will enter the bay. Here you can admire the red mangroves, their red roots and green leaves. Sea turtles, cormorants, spotted eagle rays, golden rays, brown pelicans and sea lions can be seen here!

Afternoon – Moreno Point: Punta Moreno is located on the north coast of Isabela Island between the Sierra Negra volcano and the Cerro Azul volcano. The trail leads along the former undulating lava flow Pahoehoe to a complex of coastal lagoons whose main attractions are different species of birds.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Morning – Volcano Chico, Sierra Negra: Volcano Chico is a collection of small craters which erupted during the 1970´s where you can see fumaroles and an impressive volcanic landscape. This area also provides a spectacular view of Elizabeth Bay on the other side of Isabela. You can rest in the shade of a large tree known as Jaboncillo. The Sierra Negra volcano is known for its basaltic collapse crater and is with a diameter of 9×10 km the largest of all Galapagos. This place offers an impressive view and also the opportunity to observe seven different species of finches in this vegetation richness. Traces of the last eruption in 2005 can still be seen on the north side of the crater.

Afternoon – Wetlands, Turtle breeding center: The wetlands of Isabela Island can be found directly in front of Puerto Villamil. They consist of lagoons, marshes and mangrove forests and are home to a wide variety of unique bird species, such as the common stilt, the whimbrel, the Bahama duck and the moorhen. The wetland can be easily explored on foot along a path that winds through the marsh. Back in Puerto Villamil, you visit the Arnaldo Tupiza Turtle Breeding Center. Hundreds of Galapagos giant tortoises can be seen here. The number of giant tortoises on Isabela has declined sharply since the 16th century. The center was established to preserve or save the species.

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 Galapagos Marine Reserve. The most unforgettable part of your visit will most likely be the successful hatchery and encounter with the Galapagos 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, Galapagos 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 – South Plaza: After breakfast, you will take an unforgettable guided walk on South Plaza, the best place to encounter the native Galapagos 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 tropicbirds 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.

Afternoon – Santa Fe: After lunch, you will be met directly by a Galapagos sea lion colony on the beach, where you will have time for either a refreshing swim or exceptional snorkeling surrounded by tropical reef fishes 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 Galapagos. Your guide will decide whether to follow an easy, short walk or a strenuous, longer hike inland (moderately difficult, about 3 km).

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Lobos Island (San Cristóbal): The beach on Lobos Island welcomes you right away with a lively sea lion colony. As in other colonies in the archipelago, you can get within a few meters of the nursing females. During the mating season, you will also observe males visiting the colony and mating with the females. But the island offers much more: blue-footed boobies and frigate birds, which try to impress the females (and the tourists) with their clumsy dances – using their remarkably blue feet or blowing up their balloon-like red pouches. During mating season, the fluffed-up, hungry chicks call out for food, and when their wings are strong enough, they learn to fly.

Transfer to San Cristóbal Airport (SCY): Accompanied by your guide and several crew members, rubber boats will bring you and your luggage safely ashore, where you will take a shuttle to the airport for your flight home.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch