8 Days Galapagos Island Hopping Tour (San Cristobal - Santa Cruz - Isabela)

After a delicious breakfast, your guide will be waiting for you to take you to the Santa Cruz highlands.

You will be amazed to see giant tortoises in the wild (in their natural habitat) with our first stop at a local farm in the highlands where there are dozens of giant tortoises, and you can wander around at will and enjoy a delicious lunch, to then continue to the port in Puerto Ayora to check into the hotel.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Charles Darwin Station, where scientists from all over the world meet and work together on environmental projects such as water analysis, animal protection, effects of tourism on nature, etc., and the most famous place to see Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos where the animals are raised before being released into nature. The actual name of the tortoise area here is the “Fausto Llerena” Breeding Center, named after the Galapagos National Park ranger who cared for Lonesome George. This is the best place in the Galapagos to view numerous different species and see how their tortoiseshell shapes have evolved differently to match the terrain and vegetation of the islands they are native to.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Group type: Private group

We have reserved kayaks for you at Tortuga Bay. A 30-minute boat ride will lead you to Tortuga Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Galapagos. When you are done kayaking, you may stay for sunbathing or snorkeling. In the afternoon you will be taken on a bay tour. In a small boat, you will visit the most beautiful bays and beaches of Santa Cruz Island. Swim with playful sea lion cubs, explore the diversity of fish snorkeling, or just sunbathe on the beach. Enjoy! Late afternoon you will return to Puerto Ayora and be taken to your hotel, where you will spend the night.

Meals included: Breakfast

Group type: small group

You will enjoy the island's beauty at your own pace.

You will have a bike reserved and waiting for you at your hotel so you can explore the island on two wheels.

Just leave the bike at your hotel at the end of the day after enjoying it to the max! Today is for enjoying the beauty of the Galapagos, taking lots of photos, and slowing down the pace to truly appreciate island life.

Meals included: Breakfast

Group type: Private group

Start your morning with a public speed boat trip to Isabela Island, a 2-hour trip.

After arriving, make your way to the Flamingo Lagoon or the Giant Tortoise Breeding Station to learn about the local wildlife.

After lunch, join a group tour for a visit to the Tintoreras Islet for a short hike and some snorkeling. See Humboldt penguins, marine iguanas, sea lions, and sharks, which rest in the natural channels formed by lava flows.

Afterward, snorkel in the turquoise water and spot different fish, sea turtles, rays, and penguins. The evening is free, with an overnight stay on Isabela Island.

Meals included: Breakfast

Group type: Small group

The majestic Sierra Negra Volcano will occupy today's agenda.

Our adventure starts with a journey from Puerto Villamil to the beginning of the trail. Once there, we will prepare our backpacks and start our walk through the relatively young woods, which suffer from constant geological changes.

You'll do a six-hour roundtrip hike to its summit, from where you'll get to see the second-largest volcanic crater in the world. Walk around spectacular lava landscapes, taking in the northern volcanoes in Isabela and Fernandina Islands.

During your climb, make sure to be on the lookout for the unique vegetation that inhabits the area.

Your finishing point is the edge of the Sierra Negra Volcano’s crater, this volcano is still active. Once at the edge of the crater, you will have spectacular views of the crater and the volcanoes that surround it. The circumference of the crater is huge, with a diameter of almost 10 km along with its widest point.

You'll have some free time after you get back to Isabela Island. If you still have energy, you can head to a beach or snorkel at Concha Perla.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Group type: Small group

After checking in to your hotel in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, you will head to the northern limit of the town, towards the local Interpretation Center, which was built in 1998 by the Galapagos National Park Management and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. Here you will have the chance to learn about wildlife through the exhibition and conference rooms, a natural history room that explains the origin of the islands, a human history room that describes the presence of man since the discovery of the Galapagos, and of course about the conservation and how to protect and preserve the fragile environment.

Afterwards, we will visit Las Tijeretas Hill, located within walking distance of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It takes its name from the large number of frigates or "tijeretas" that inhabit and nest in this area. You will be able to have viewpoints along the route from where you can observe the passage of whales, mainly between the months of June and October.

If time allows, you will also visit La Loberia, which is a great site to view colonies of wolves and marine iguanas. Here you can see the coastal vegetation and dry where is common mangrove, salt marsh, muyuyo and palo verde.

In the evening, return to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno for your next day of adventure.

Meals included: Breakfast

Group type: Private group

Today you will visit the most popular visitor sites - the famous Kicker Rock.

It is one of the most popular diving spots in the Galapagos with depths of 30 to 130 feet. The natural erosion of this ancient cone has formed a channel between the rocks that produce the perfect habitat for Galapagos Sharks, Whitetip Sharks, Large Rays, Pelagic and Reef Fish, Sea Turtles, and Sea Lions. You can only wonder what a great snorkeling and diving site such an ecosystem makes!

Currents in Kicker Rock are strong and usually cold, but the marine wonders are totally worth it. The excursion starts from the port in the morning and entails two immersions in different areas of Kicker Rock. Late afternoon, you will return to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno where you will spend the night.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Group type: Small group

In the morning after breakfast, you will be taken to the airport of San Cristobal where you will take your return flight to mainland Ecuador.

Farewell!

Meals included: Breakfast