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You are here: Home1 / NATURE & CULTURE2 / NATURE & CULTURE of ECUADOR3 / Galapagos: Santa Cruz

GALAPAGOS: SANTA CRUZ

ECU-51 / 5-day Galapagos trip

The Heart of Galapagos
OVERVIEW

Galapagos Island Hopping: Land-based Galapagos tour, which means that you sleep in a hotel on Santa Cruz, the main Island of the Galapagos, and from there do day tours to visit the attractions. A lot of the visits on a land-based program are the same as during the cruise, except for the visits to the more remote islands.
For travellers wanting more flexibility, this is a perfect way of exploring Galapagos and the tour includes as much and even more than the cruises.

Highlights:

Giant tortoises at Santa Cruz
Day tour to Bartolome Island (uninhabited island)
Day tour to Seymore Island (uninhabited island)
Charles Darwin Research Station


Day 1Arrival to Galapagos & Tour to the Highlands
Day 2Excursion in Yacht to the Seymore Island
Day 3Excursion in Yacht to the Bartolome Island
Day 4Charles Darwin Research Station & Tortuga Bay
Day 5Departure
ITINERARY
Day 1

Arrival to Galapagos & Tour to the Highlands
The tour begins with a morning flight to the Galapagos Islands (Baltra Island). Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your guide in the arrival lounge.

The first visit is to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we will witness the strange and impressive phenomenon known as the “Twins” (Spanish: Gemelos), two deep depressions in the forested highlands. Afterwards, we will visit a nearby farm, “Rancho Primicias,” which attracts wild giant tortoises with its lush grass. This is one of the best places to observe these incredible creatures, which have given the Galapagos its famous name. Lunch will be served at the farm. Afterward, we will transfer to your hotel in Puerto Ayora.
Included meals: Lunch

Day 2

Excursion to North Seymour Island and Bachas (uninhabited island)
Enjoy a tour to North Seymour, a 1.9 km² island located northbound from Baltra. The main fauna species of this island are Land Iguanas, the Magnificent Frigate bird with their incredible scarlet regular pouch, blue-footed boobies and their particular courtship dance and sea lions surfing across the waves. Lunch on board. After lunch we will do snorkeling in Bachas where you will be able to discover tones of different fish species and also swim with sea lions. Return to Santa Cruz.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3

Excursion to the Bartolomé Island
Full day excursion to Bartolome Island (uninhabited island).
Early in the morning, transfer to Baltra to start our first navigable tour to Bartolomé. Bartolomé is a small island located next to Santiago Island. One of the Islands´ principal attractions is the “pinnacle rock” In order to see it properly will make a medium level hike for around and hour. In this excursion you will learn from the volcanic landscape of the island and see different species such as: lava lizard or cacti, once we reach the top will have a magnificent view of the Pinnacle rock in contrast with the volcanic landscape blended with the turquoise waters of the surrounding beaches. After the excursion we will proceed to do snorkeling in one of the coral beaches of the areas where if we are lucky we will see: Marine turtles, sea lions, multicolor fish and penguins. Lunch will be on board. In the afternoon  return to Santa Cruz.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 4

Free day at Galapagos
Day free for own exploration (no guide service included).
We recommend:

Self-guided visit to Charles Darwin Centre:
The Charles Darwin Station is a reservoir of information on habitats and local conservation as well as other fascinating relevant statistics. The most striking attraction of this station is certainly the Tortoise Breeding Center, where it is possible to view tortoises of varied sizes and shapes. Here, we can freely walk and get their photos. Among other inhabitants at the centre, you can see the land and marine iguanas and different species of birds. Nowadays, it is possible to appreciate the embalmed body of the most famous tortoise: Lonesome George.

Self-guided tour to Tortuga Bay:
The trail to Tortuga Bay starts from the main street in Puerto Ayora and takes about an hour walking. The trail goes through the arid zone and many land birds can be seen along the way. Arriving at Tortuga Bay beach you will find the first beach “Playa Brava” This beach is with open waters and strong undercurrents not recommendable for swimming, if you continue walking to the right side (15 minutes) you will arrive at “Playa Mansa” ideal for sunbathing, swimming and photo shooting, you will also find marine iguanas along the shore.
Included meals: Breakfast

Day 5

Departure
End of Galapagos tour. Morning transfer to Baltra airport. Flight to Guayaquil and international connection in the afternoon. 
Included meals: Breakfast


Important: In order to guarantee the day tour in Yacht, we may have to change the order of days 2, 3 & 4.

PRICING
ECU-51 – To request prices, please click on the BOOK TRIP bottom on the right sidebar and fill the information.


INCLUDED

  • All transfers
  • Guided visit to Rancho Primicias & Twin Craters
  • Excursion on yacht  to Bartolome island (max 16 pax per guide)
  • Entrance fees during tours
  • Meals as described in the itinerary
  • Hotels according to “hotel list”  (the availability will be confirmed at the moment of the booking)

NOT INCLUDED

  • International flights
  • Domestic flights QUITO-GALAPAGOS-QUITO
  • Meals not mentioned in the program
  • Tips
  • Personal expenses
  • Galapagos National Park entrance fee (USD 200 pp, subject to change)
  • Transit Control Card (USD 20 pp, subject to change)
  • Travel insurance
HOTEL LIST

SANTA CRUZ: Hotel Dejavu or similar

MAPS

Overview:


Galapagos Islands:

GALLERY
The Twin craters "Los Gemelos" (photo: Sine Madsen)
Land Tortoise at Primicias ranch on Santa Cruz island (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Sea lion resting in the shore (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Bartolome's Galapagos Pinguin (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Bartolome's volcanic landscape (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Lava heron fishing (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Land iguana (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Bachas beach (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Frigate bird (photo: Juan Carlos Gonzalez)
Tags: Ecuador, Santa Cruz, galapagos island tours, Daytour to Bartolome island, Giant tortoises, Giant turtles, Rancho Primicias

BOOK TRIP

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ADD-ONS (+) RAINFOREST

  • Amazon River Cruises (+)
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    Luxury & Tourist Class Riverboats

  • Cuyabeno Reserve (+)
    Cuyabeno Reserve (+)February 9, 2015 - 2:20 pm

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    BOOK THIS TRIP


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