San Cristobal and Santa Cruz Islands

San Cristobal and Santa Cruz Islands

Island hopping Galapagos on San Cristobal and Santa Cruz

Highlights of the tour

Overview

Visit the impressive Galapagos Islands during your Ecuador journey and explore the flora and fauna’s variety. During your 5-days Island Hopping Tour you will get to know the Archipelago’s nature during tours starting from Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal. The highland of the Archipelago’s center Santa Cruz is very fertile, thus ideal for agriculture. The neighboring Baltra Island with its airport ensures a connection to Ecuador’s mainland. San Cristóbal is the Archipelago’s fifth largest island and was mainly an agricultural place. Nevertheless nature and wildlife lovers get their money’s worth due to the endemic elephant turtle (Gian Galapagos Turtle) and several white sandy beaches. With Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal as a basis for your Galápagos tour, the following days you explore other islands and admire the biodiversity, nature and wildlife, for example by snorkeling or on nature walks.

It is always a good idea to have an eye on our Galapagos Last-Minute offers!

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Galapagos, Transfer to the hotel on San Cristobal, free time

sea lion laying on a benchYour guide will pick you up at the airport on San Cristobal Island. The capital of the Galapagos Islands, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, is located here. About 5,500 permanent inhabitants live here, who mainly work for the government or earn their money with fishing. The city lies very close to the ocean. So feel welcome to enjoy the extremely white beach and the beautiful sunsets in the evening while watching the sea lions.

Day 2: Excursion to Kicker Rock

Kicker rock formation front viewGet ready for 1 1/2-hour navigation towards your Kicker Rock Galapagos snorkeling adventure. The day-tour will have two visiting sites. The first one will be underwater at the Kicker Rock lava formations, which is one of the most outstanding snorkeling sites in the Galapagos. On the surface, you may catch sight of some of the many birds inhabiting the towers emerging from the ocean floor. You can spot Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and tropic birds. It is the underwater world, which will really amaze you. Get ready to swim alongside the most iconic Galapagos wildlife: hammerhead sharks, sea turtles and Galapagos sharks inhabit the area.  The view is also one to remember. The walls are connected below the surface through a 60ft deep channel running between them. On a good day, you can see the sandy-looking bottom of the channel formed by the two towering Kicker Rock walls. This day trip also has an add-on activity. Depending on the day, the tour will be complemented either with a visit to Cerro Tijeretas Bay for some snorkeling or a visit to a deserted beach (Manglecito, Puerto Grande or similar) to observe wildlife and relax in the pristine sand. A box lunch will be served on the boat. Return time to San Cristobal is scheduled around 4pm.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunchbox

Day 3: Transfer to Santa Cruz - Visit to the highlands

twin ctarters in the highlands of Santa CruzEarly in the morning, you take the public boat to Santa Cruz and the guide will be waiting for you.  You will visit the highlands of this island (please have your shoes and rain jacket ready). En route, you will stop at the Twin Crater. These two large pit craters along the road from Puerto Ayora to Baltra were caused by the collapse of empty magma chambers. A circular trail to the larger crater passes through the beautiful Scalesia forest, which is an excellent place to observe terrestrial birds, including Vermilion Flycatchers, Short-eared Owls, the Galapagos Dove, and several finch species. Afterwards you will visit one of the reserves, which are known as roaming grounds for the Galapagos Giant tortoises. They cross the reserve on their permanent migrations from the coast to the highlands, making it one of the very few places where is possible to see these enigmatic animals in their natural habitat. You will also have a chance to walk through lava tunnels before having lunch at the restaurant. In the afternoon, you head back to Puerto Ayora for your check-in at the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Day 4: Boat Excursion to Bartholome, Seymour, Plazas or Santa Fe Island

ferries at Santa Cruz islandToday, you take a boat to one of the following islands: Bartholomew, South Plaza, North Seymour or Santa Fe Island*. The uninhabited islands are what makes Galapagos so special: animals that can only be found on these specific islands, endemic plant species, birds that get so close you can almost touch them (please do not though…), and sea lions sleeping in the sun. You will see vast selection of wildlife including blue footed boobies, marine turtles and marine iguanas as well as white-tip reef sharks or Galapagos sharks.

*Please note that the actual island visited depends on the schedule authorized by the national park authorities and availability.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Day 5: Transfer to the airport – Flight to continent

After breakfast and depending on your flight time, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to the continent.

Meals: Breakfast

  • Transfers from/to airport in Galapagos – hotel
  • Accommodation in double room with private bathroom, breakfast included
  • Two (2) land based excursions with certified, English-speaking naturalist guide
  • Two (2) boat tours to uninhabited islands in international, small groups with certified, English-speaking naturalist guide, lunch on board, snorkel equipment included
  • Meals as described
  • Ticket for public boat San Cristobal – Santa Cruz
  • Galapagos National Park entrance fee: US$200 per person (children under the age of 12 US$100)
  • Migratory Control Card: US$20 per person
  • Water cab US$1 per person each way (from the port to the speedboat)
  • Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
  • Airline tickets
  • Tips, personal expenses, optional excursions/entrance fees

Traveling alone? No problem – we will be happy to provide you with a personalized quote upon request.

Hints

Slots subject to availability at the moment of booking.
The travel times described are indicative and may vary depending on traffic conditions, weather, natural events or other cases of force majeure.
All prices are quoted in US dollars.
All bookings are subject to our terms and conditions.
Traveling alone? No problem – we will be happy to provide you with a personalized quote upon request.

Travel Insurance:
To protect your travel investment, we highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance. Travel insurance is intended to cover medical expenses, trip interruption and cancellation, theft and other losses incurred while traveling domestically or internationally.

Visa and Entry Requirements:
Ecuador requires a valid passport (with a minimum 6 months validity). Contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date visa requirements.

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Get in touch:

Dayana Arias Leon
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