Welcome to the Galapagos! An English-speaking naturalist guide meets you at the VIP lounge at Baltra Airport to escort you on your excursion of the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Enjoy a delicious, locally-sourced lunch at a farm in the western hills. Take in the area’s natural beauty, pit craters, lava tunnels, and learn more about the Scalesia and Guayabillo forests. At the Tortoise Reserve, share some time in the giant tortoises’ natural habitat, surrounded by the abundant bird life of the area. End this day at Galapagos Safari Camp with a sunset cocktail followed by dinner.

---

L,D

Explore neighbouring islands Early morning finds you on a motor vessel to one of the neighbouring islands: North Seymour, Bartolomé, Plazas and Santa Fé. Each island is an endemic treasure to explore and enjoy. The Galapagos Marine Reserve is the second largest marine reserve in the world, and snorkelling off the boat is highly recommended. Destinations will be given when we have your dates.

Bartolome Island: Our day starts with a hike up a 600-meter wooden boardwalk and stairway across ancient red, black and orange lava fields to the highest point on the island.  The panoramic view from the lookout surveys the iconic Pinnacle Rock in the foreground, Sullivan Bay in the distance, and Daphne Major and Minor on the horizon. Following the hike, we enjoy a dinghy ride around the coastline, looking for Galápagos penguins and hawks resting on the cliffs. In the afternoon, we explore the shore, where sea lions, Sally Light-Foot crabs, and marine iguanas greet us on the beach. This is a great place to snorkel, discovering the colourful underwater world of the islands amongst playful Galápagos sea lions, penguins, reef sharks and rays.

Santa Fe Island: This island is among the oldest in the archipelago, with underwater lava formations dating back 3.9 million years. Its visitor trails are bursting with animal activity. Santa Fe is home to a healthy population of terrestrial iguanas including the Santa Fe yellow iguana, as well as the inky-black marine iguanas. Other residents include Galápagos hawks and blue-footed boobies. Friendly sea lions line the shores and swim beside you when snorkelling, while marine iguanas bask in the sunshine on shoreline rocks, or dart quickly past under the waves. We can also hope to observe sharks, rays, and colourful schools of fish.

North Seymour Island: This island, brimming with life across its rocky surface, hosts blue-footed booby and frigate mating colonies. Land iguanas also frequent the area, seen along the 2-mile trail that loops around the southern section of the island. As we begin our walk, we come across nests of comic-looking blue-footed boobies.  Galápagos mockingbirds and yellow warblers are often spotted. As we draw near to the frigate colony, the remarkable birds seem to be nesting in every surrounding tree. Males inflate their red, basketball-sized pouches to attract mates. Back in our dinghy, we head to Mosquera islet, in the channel between Baltra and North Seymour. Here we can find a large sea lion colony, full of pups, bulls and females of different ages.

South Plaza Island: While en-route to Plaza, we stop at Punta Carrión. The shallow waters of the sheltered cove make a fun place to snorkel with schools of fish, rays and if we are lucky, reef sharks. The dock at South Plaza is usually overrun with sea lions, but we can manoeuvre around them to start walking along the trail that winds its way past yellow land iguanas resting in the shade of groves of prickly pear cactus trees. The landscape is vibrant, the black lava outcrops and ground carpeted with the reds and yellows of sesuvium cactus. At the island’s southern cliff edge, we can observe all sorts of birds swirling in the currents, including dazzling red-billed tropic birds. Following the trail round to the west, we come to a busy sea lion colony.  South Plaza’s other residents include land and marine iguanas, Nazca and blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls and other species of birds.

---

B,L,D

A morning drive takes you to the eastern part of the island. At 490m above sea level, Cerro Mesa Reserve offers spectacular views of the largest crater on Santa Cruz Island, exotic plants, and seven unique subspecies of finch and the elusive vermilion flycatcher. After lunch, you explore Garrapatero Beach, with stunning contrasts of mangroves, black lava, white sand, and turquoise water — including a flamingo lagoon. Kayaking and mountain biking are optional.

---

B,L,D

Enjoy the serenity that Galapagos Safari Camp has to offer. Relax, walk, or enjoy the sunrise from our observatory before departure to your next destination. (Here’s where you’ll wish you had extended your journey!).

---

B