Galapagos Islands: Wildlife and Ecosystems

Upon arrival in Quito you will be met and escorted to your hotel. Check in starts at 3 pm.

Discover the beauty of the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest considered one of the most bio diverse ecosystems on the planet. Visit a private 650-hectare reserve, home to a multitude of epiphytes (air plants), including bromeliads, orchids, moss and ferns. Spend some time at the hummingbird feeders and watch different species of this beautiful bird. Continue to a butterfly farm with an exhibition of 25 varieties of butterflies flying freely in a greenhouse that is approximately 644 square meters. Enjoy lunch in the area and then on the way back to Quito stop at the equator where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere. If time allows enjoy a short visit in downtown Quito, the largest city in Ecuador and also the capital. Before dinner, attend a lecture, "Introduction to Geology of the Galápagos Islands."

Fly from mainland Ecuador to Baltra Island. Upon arrival meet your Galapagos guide and take a short transfer by bus to the Itabaca Channel and board a ferry. Transfer to the dock to board the M/Y Tip Top IV, attend your first orientation and have a light snack. In the afternoon, take a panga ride around Black Turtle Cove, a series of mangrove surrounded coves and islets. Here you can observe white tip reef sharks, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and yellow cow nosed rays. Each day there will be a briefing about the next day's activities, and daily opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, and/or kayaking. *Cruise itineraries are subject to change without prior notice for various factors including, but not limited to: safety, weather, mechanical breakdown, unforeseen emergencies, and the discretion of the Captain, Guide, and the Galapagos National Park.

After breakfast, make a wet landing on Darwin Bay to walk and observe frigatebirds, herons, mockingbirds, boobies, shorebirds, turtles, marine iguanas, etc. There will be time for those who would like to swim, snorkel or kayak. before returning to the boat for a delicious lunch. Later in the afternoon, we make a dry landing on Prince Phillips's Steps (Barranco), we walk and observe the interesting lives of the birds here. Dinner on the Yacht, and then an orientation about conservation efforts made to protect the Islands.

After breakfast, visit the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center inside the Charles Darwin Research Station. Learn about the station's important conservation and education work, and see some of the giant tortoises that are being raised for reintroduction into the wild. Next, head to the highlands for lunch at Rancho Primicias Tortoise Reserve with time to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Return to the yacht for dinner and our night orientation.

After breakfast, take a panga ride to Punta Vicente Roca to observe sea lions, marine iguanas, blue footed and masked boobies, and flightless cormorants. There will be time for those who would like to swim and/or snorkel. This large bay is habitat for spectacular sea life, great for snorkeling to see seahorses, sea turtles, and maybe the strange yet fascinating mola-mola (sunfish). In the afternoon, make a dry landing on Punta Espinoza to observe a large colony of sea lions, marine iguanas and the flightless cormorants and clumps of lava cactus. Return to the Yacht for dinner and nightly orientation.

After breakfast, visit Tagus Cove, a protected cove between the shoulders of two volcanic craters which protect it from the open sea; we observe penguins, marine iguanas, sea lions and a variety of birds including flightless cormorant and blue footed boobies. In the afternoon, take a panga boat ride around the islets of Elizabeth Bay to look for marine iguanas, marine turtles, seabirds, shorebirds, herons, Galápagos Penguins, and Blue footed Boobies.

After breakfast disembark on Isabela Island at Urbina Bay, a coral area at the base of Alcedo Volcano with land iguanas, Flightless Cormorants, and giant tortoises. After a hike, return to the yacht for lunch. This afternoon sail to Punta Moreno, for a wet landing. We make a Walk along shore lagoons located among petrified lava flows where different type of birds can be seen. During the walk there will be panoramic views of the famous volcanoes Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul, as well as the highest part of Fernandina Island. Return to the yacht for dinner and our night orientation.

This morning land on the green beach at Floreana's Cormorant Point, then walk inland to a brackish lagoon to see American Flamingos and shorebirds. Continue walking to La Picona, a beautiful white sand beach that is an important nesting site for Galápagos green turtles. At the start of the year, pregnant turtles come ashore at night to dig nests and lay their eggs; by April and May the hatchlings begin to emerge from the sand and make their perilous journey to sea. Head back to the green beach to enjoy swimming and snorkeling among reef fish and sea lions. This afternoon disembark on the beach at Post Office Bay and follow a short trail to its historic mail barrel site. In the 18th century, British whalers placed a wooden barrel here to use as an informal post office, and today, visitors continue the tradition by leaving their own postcards in the barrel. Continue to Baroness Viewpoint, named after the Baroness Eloise von Wagner, who once lived here. Enjoy the beautiful landscape and observe the ruins of her house.

After breakfast, make an early wet landing on Mosquera Islet. Formed as a result of a volcanic uprising, this small islet consists of a white sand beach, tide pools, and a reef of rocks and coral. Observe colonies of sea lions, Brown Pelicans, Blue footed Boobies, and Sally Lightfoot crabs; the contrast between the crabs' bright red and blue coloration against the black lava is stunning. Afterwards continue to the Baltra airport. Lunch is on your own at the airport. Enjoy the afternoon in Quito at leisure before gathering for a farewell dinner at the hotel this evening. For those departing this evening, you will be taken to the Quito International Airport for your flight(s) home.

Today you will transfer to the airport for your flight home. Check out is at 12 pm.