WorldWild Tours: Galápagos Islands

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Itinerary

Friday, May 14 – U.S. / Guayaquil
We depart on an evening flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. On arrival we transfer to the Oro Verde Hotel.

Saturday, May 15 – Guayaquil / San Cristóbal / Cerro Brujo
After breakfast, we transfer to the airport and fly to the Galápagos Islands. Our crew meets us and escorts us to the harbor to board our 32-guest expedition ship, the M/V Evolution. This afternoon we sail past Kicker Rock, which rises 500 feet straight up, and has the shape of a sleeping lion. We visit the powder-white sands of Cerro Brujo, where we’ll likely see blue-footed boobies and yellow warblers on our sunset stroll.

Sunday, May 16 – Española (Hood) Island
In the morning we visit Punta Suarez, located on Hood Island. The curious Hood mockingbird, found only here, may alight on your head if you permit it. We’ll also see Galápagos doves, Galápagos hawks, and the red-colored race of marine iguana that is found only here. We watch waved albatrosses, which nest here. We walk to Española’s famous blowhole, where incoming waves spout 90 feet into the air. In the afternoon we visit Gardner Bay, where we can swim and snorkel among sea lions.

Monday, May 17 – Santa Cruz Island
Today we visit Santa Cruz Island. We begin at the Charles Darwin Research Station, world famous for its research and tortoise breeding programs, where we learn about the vital work being done to study and preserve Galápagos wildlife. This afternoon we drive to the highlands and see a very different side of the Galápagos: the forested highlands. We look for giant tortoises in the wild, walk through the forest surrounding a pair of pit craters, and, time permitting, explore a lava tube. Before returning to the Evolution, we have free time to explore the village of Puerto Ayora, the largest human settlement in the Galápagos.

Tuesday, May 18 – Santiago (James) Island / Bartolomé Island
A walk on Santiago Island is a great opportunity to spot land birds such as finches, doves, and hawks, which live in a grotto here. A walk down the rugged shoreline will turn up marine species, including iguanas and sea lions. In the afternoon we visit Bartolomé Island, where we can climb its volcanic cone for a splendid panorama of lava flows, beaches, sea, neighboring islands, and the jagged Pinnacle Rock.

Wednesday, May 19 – Genovesa (Tower) Island / Darwin Bay
Genovesa Island contains one of the largest and most diverse bird populations in the Galápagos. We climb Prince Philip’s Steps this morning to an area with colonies of Nazca boobies and great frigatebirds, which have a large wingspan and a slender, dramatic silhouette in flight. There are also red-footed boobies and good chances of seeing short-eared owls. In the afternoon we visit Darwin Bay, home to the nocturnal swallow-tailed gull and the rare lava gull. A walk along the cliffs gives us fine views of the Pacific Ocean.

Thursday, May 20 – Fernandina Island: Punta Espinosa / Isabela Island
This morning finds us at Fernandina, the youngest and most volcanically active island in the Galápagos. We land at Punta Espinosa, where Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttle along the rocks and marine iguanas dot the sand. In the afternoon we sail to Isabela Island and explore Tagus Cove. On our panga ride we look for penguins, flightless cormorants, pelicans, and iguanas. We then walk uphill to the rim of a dormant volcano, for a great view of the cove below.

Friday, May 21 – North Seymour Island / Black Turtle Cove
In the morning we visit North Seymour Island, where there are good nesting sites for a large population of frigatebirds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open areas, and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Caleta Tortuga Negra (“Black Turtle Cove”) is a beautiful and peaceful area of mangroves, where on our panga ride we look for schools of golden rays, endangered green sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks, and lava herons. This evening we enjoy a farewell dinner aboard ship.

Saturday, May 22 – San Cristóbal / Guayaquil
The morning finds us back at San Cristóbal, where we visit the Interpretation Center. We then fly to Guayaquil, where we overnight at the Oro Verde Hotel.

Sunday, May 23 – Guayaquil / U.S.
We take a morning flight to the U.S. and connect with flights home.

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