Galapagos Community Experience

$2379 per person

7 days / 6 nights

12+ Age

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Tour basis: Private or Shared
Departure day: Every day
Expedition length: 7 days / 6 nights
Location: San Cristobal Island, Isabela Island, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Altitude: 0-1124m / 0 – 3,688 ft
Included: Guide, driver, accommodation, meals (6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners), transportation during the program.

Ideal for travellers who look for special experiences, families, couples, small groups, students

Hike and snorkel through the various Galapagos ecosystems.
Enjoy fresh coffee and homemade snacks at Hacienda Tranquila.
Visit Galapagos residents and learn about their daily lives as native islanders.
Engage in the local economy by supporting the growing local island enterprises.
Meet local Galapagos islanders, including a fisherman who will show you the art of responsible fishing.
Delight in local cuisine and home-cooked fresh fish.
24-hour assistance

Experience the Galapagos Islands supporting the locals and learning their culture

The Galapagos Islands is known for its unique ecosystem, wildlife species and wonderful island formations, however, there are also populated islands that have a story on how they settled down on the islands and how they live here, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and inhabited islands. This program gives you this special experience of learning about the local people, their way of living and how they have learned to live with this beautiful natural environment.

GALAPAGOS COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE - BRIEF ITINERARY

Please check complete itinerary on top

galapagos-community-experience-bananas-ecuador

DAY 1: Arrival to San Cristobal Island, visit Frigate Hill, Interpretation centre and snorkelling opportunity.
DAY 2: Visit Esperanza Hill and Hacienda Tranquila, San Cristobal Island
DAY 3: Snorkelling day on San Cristobal Island
DAY 4: Arrival to Isabela Island: Visit Tintoreras (reef sharks)
DAY 5: Fishing activity with locals
DAY 6: Arrival to Santa Cruz Island: Visit Highlands and Charles Darwin Research Station
DAY 7: Transfer to the airport for your flight back to Quito or Guayaquil

GALAPAGOS COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE - RATES

Rates are per person

2 guests:   $3,475
3 guests:   $2,645
4 guests:   $2,379
5+ guests: $2,218
Single supplement: $550
Holiday season (Dec 19-Jan 03): $320 per person

Included:

Accommodation in comfort class hotels,

Meals (6 breakfast, 6 lunches, 6 dinners)
Bilingual Galapagos naturalist guide
All sea and land transportation during the journey
24-hour assistance

Additional:

Galapagos flight ticket
Galapagos entrance fee ($100 per person, subject to change)
Galapagos migration card ($20 per person, subject to change)
Additional tours and transfers
Meals that are not mentioned
Personal expenses
Travel insurance (strongly suggested)
All that is not mentioned
Tips and gratuities

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Departure/Return Location

Quito or Guayaquil | San Cristobal Island / Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Dress Code

Comfortable: Good walking shoes, cotton pants, shorts, t-shirts, windbraker for the nights, cotton pullover, bathing suit, sandals, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat with a birm, camera with a lot of memory, personal kit, personal medicine, water bottle, small back pack

From our gallery

Detailed Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVAL DAY - SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND

Arrive at San Cristobal Island and transfer to your Opuntia Hotel. During lunch, you receive a short

brief about the cultural/living commitment to support local entrepreneurs, build local relationships and integrate local community to ecotourism. An information about next day activities and a talk about Hacienda Tranquila ́s involvement with the local community. That afternoon you have a visit to Frigate Hill, the Interpretation Centre and snorkel opportunity at Punta Carola

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DAY 2: ACTIVITIES IN SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND

After breakfast, your driver takes you on a 45-minute ride to San Joaquin, in the highlands of San Cristobal. Your guide is waiting at the start of “La Esperanza” trail and you do a 45-minute hike to La Esperanza Hill. Along the way, you pass through a forest of Pomarosa and bromeliads, and home to various bird species. Once there you enjoy some of the best views on the island, including a panoramic view of Kicker Rock, Isla Lobos, and Cerro

Brujo. A locally grown snack such as bananas, pineapples, or papaya, is available upon your return.

The walk continues to Hacienda La Tranquila where you learn about a Community Based Program involving the local community and the tourism industry. This activity has become an alternative way to help strengthen and develop the local economy. Here you learn about the work Hacienda Tranquila does to preserve this ecosystem in its most natural state. They also get supported by promoting ecotourism and reintroducing species of trees as Scalesia Pedunculata, Palo Santo, Manzanillo, Pasto, Mata Zarno.

After a healthy lunch prepared with local products and cooked by people from the village, you visit some

farms to learn about coffee cultivation and the production of ground coffee. At the end of this visit, you return to the hotel for a good resting time before dinner.

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DAY 3: SNORKELLING DAY - SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND

Enjoy a full day tour on the Northern Coast. Depending on schedule availability and which sites the

Galapagos National Park allows to visit, you stop by either Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), Cerro Brujo,

or Punta Pitt.

Each one of these sites has its own wonders:

Kicker Rock is a popular snorkelling spot, where there’s a chance to see hammerhead sharks among other fascinating marine life.

Cerro Brujo is right next to Kicker Rock and another hotspot for snorkelling, including unique rock formations and submarine tunnels.

Punta Pitt is home to a great diversity of land and marine life, featuring sea lions, sea turtles, blue-footed boobies, and myriad colourful fish.

These are not only world-class snorkelling destinations but some of the best kayaking routes in the world.

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DAY 4: ISABELA ISLAND

This morning you take a small plane for a fast inter-island flight from San Cristobal to Isabela Island. Once on Isabela Island, you start the expedition by exploring the wetlands, which feature a coastal ecosystem of lagoons, mangroves and swamps, all home to unique species of coastal birds like the famous blue-footed boobies, whimbrels, egrets, white-cheeked pintails, gallinules and stilts.

After lunch, you have a tour around the bay and during this activity, there is a chance to spot penguins, pelicans,

sea lions, and rays, ultimately arriving at the small island known as Tintoreras. Here, you have the chance

to walk around and learn about the different types of lava flows and formations of the islands. Colonies of

marine iguanas and sea lions can be seen along the way, and if you are lucky, you can even see the Tintoreras

shark patrolling one of the lava-formed channels. At the end of this visit, you have the opportunity to snorkel

in the bay, enjoying the unique marine life.

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DAY 5: FISHING DAY

In honour of the age-old fishing culture, which has developed for nearly a century now, you spend the day

learning and trying out one of the most traditional activities in the Islands: the art of fishing.

Depending on your interests, there are three fishing options for you to choose from.

After a very successful fishing day, the locals prepare a delicious “Ceviche,” a typical Ecuadorian dish that looks like a cold soup with great flavour. After lunch, you return to Puerto Villamil and head back to the hotel.

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DAY 6: SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

Today is time to leave the island of Isabela and head to Santa Cruz Island, early in the morning.

Once on Santa Cruz Island, you are taken to the hotel to check-in and have a little time to freshen up. The visit of today is to the highlands. Your guide and driver drive you to “Los Gemelos,” two collapsed craters that offer wonderful views and is home of many bird species. Here you do a short hike through Scalesia forest.

After this wonderful hike, you visit a local pineapple plantation and the lava tunnels, where there is the chance to go in and see how these tunnels look like from the inside but also learn about the volcanic formation of the island and how this lava flows literally gave birth to Santa Cruz Island.

After lunch, you return to Puerto Ayora town, but on the way, there is a short stop at the recycling centre to find out how waste is processed and managed. The final visit of today is to the Charles Darwin Research Station where you learn about the different programs to protect the ecosystem. One of the most significant programs is the giant tortoise breeding program.

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DAY 7: DEPARTURE DAY

Depending on the time of your flight, your guide takes you to explore Puerto Ayora’s shops for fine handcrafts, jewellery and souvenirs! There is also the chance to visit a chocolate workshop to learn how the sweets are made on Galapagos.

The transfer to the Baltra airport takes about 45 minutes through the highlands to the Itabaca Channel, and then another 30 minutes to the airport.

NOTE: Itinerary is subject to change without previous notice, due to weather conditions, National Park Regulations or any other matter that would risk the safety of our guests.

Meal details: B=Breakfast | L=Lunch| D=Dinner

We are located in Ecuador