Itinerary Details
MT Sobek: Ecuador Galapagos Adventure Cruising on Galaxy Eastern Loop
Day 1 Arrive in Quito
1-hour private van transfer
Welcome to the historic city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Meet your MT Sobek representative outside customs at the airport and transfer together to your hotel. After settling in at the hotel, the rest of your day is free to unwind, take advantage of the hotel's pool and spa services or begin your exploration of this dynamic city. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Accommodation: Swissôtel Quito
Day 2 Tour Quito’s Old Town
1-2 hours/1 mile of walking in Quito’s Historic Center
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before setting out on a half-day guided tour of colonial Quito. The city's UNESCO-listed old town contains the best examples of Colonial Baroque architecture in South America! After lunch, you are free to explore more of the old town, return to the hotel, or shop for handicrafts made by local artisans. Gather in the hotel at 6:30 pm for a briefing with your fellow travelers and MT Sobek representative, who will discuss tomorrow's flight to the Galapagos Islands and the adventure ahead. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Accommodation: Swissôtel Quito
(B, L)
Day 3 Fly to the Galapagos Islands & Spot Frigatebirds at North Seymour
2-hour flight transfer & 1-hour private vehicle transfer
2 hours/1 mile of easy walking plus snorkeling
Rise for breakfast and an early flight from Quito to Baltra Island in the Galapagos. After meeting your naturalist guide, board your private yacht in time for lunch. Call this afternoon at North Seymour, home to an incredible diversity of species, including dense breeding colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds. Walk North Seymour's loop trail and keep an eye out for Swallow tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies, and colonies of both Magnificent and Great frigatebirds. The island is rich in sea birds, but look also for marine iguanas, huge land iguanas, sea lions, and other smaller birds such as Darwin finches and mockingbirds. After the walk, get ready to snorkel in one of the sites with the highest diversity of fish you'll find on your trip. Enjoy a welcome dinner onboard.
Accommodation: Galaxy Stella
(B, L, D)
Day 4 Visit Santa Fe & South Plaza Islands
AM 1 hour easy walk (0.5 miles) & option for snorkeling or kayaking; PM 2 hours easy walk (1 mile)
Awake to explore Santa Fe Island's beautiful bay and turquoise waters. After a wet landing on a white beach often covered with sea lions, walk into a towering Opuntia cactus grove in search of endemic land iguanas and possibly Galapagos hawks. Later, snorkel and/or kayak in the clear bay, home to sea lions, turtles, rays, urchins, eels, and colorful fish, including large schools of surgeonfish and parrotfish. Continue to South Plaza Island for an afternoon walk. North and South Plazas were created by geological uplift, leaving dramatic cliffs along the southern coast. On these small islands, hybrid land-marine iguanas with distinctive zebra-like stripes are sometimes seen. The southern cliffs host tropicbirds, pelicans, boobies, shearwaters, and swallow-tailed gulls. In late afternoon, bachelor sea lions climb these steep walls to spend the night away from dominant bulls. Conclude the day watching for land iguanas resting beneath the prickly-pear cactus.
Accommodation: Galaxy Stella
(B, L, D)
Day 5 Discover the Rich Birdlife of Genovesa Island
AM 3 hours/2 miles of moderate hiking plus snorkeling; PM 2 hours/1 mile of easy hiking plus snorkeling & kayaking
Anchor off Genovesa, also known as "Bird Island." Begin exploring the island's sheer cliffs by panga, then climb the rocks called Prince Phillip's Steps to the island's plateau. Enjoy an easy walk past massive colonies of red-footed and Nazca boobies before continuing to a lava ridge where thousands of storm petrels dart about while short-eared owls stalk them for prey. This trail is renowned for the most abundant birdlife in the Galapagos. Snorkel from the cliffs, where colorful fish gather and chances are good to see sharks, rays, and curious sea lions. After lunch, make a wet landing at Darwin Bay, created by the rim of a sunken crater. Walk among red mangroves that shelter yellow warblers, yellow-crowned night herons, and pintail ducks, with highlights including great frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, and red-footed boobies rarely seen elsewhere. Snorkel or kayak the bay for close encounters with marine and terrestrial wildlife.
(B, L, D)
Day 6 See Giant Tortoises on Santa Cruz & Explore Bachas Beach
AM 1.5 hours easy walk (1 mile); PM 1.5 hours easy walk (1 mile)
Call at Santa Cruz Island this morning and transfer by private vehicle to the lush highlands for a special opportunity to see giant tortoises in their wild and natural habitat. The Galapagos Islands are named after these magnificent, ancient creatures and the experience with them is magical. After lunch on board, arrive for a wet landing at Bachas Beach on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. Encounter sea lions on the beautiful, white-sand beach, look for flamingos and great blue herons in the lagoon, and spot hatchlings' footprints leading from the nest to the water's edge (sea turtles nest here from November to May).
(B, L, D)
Day 7 Circumnavigate San Cristobal's Kicker Rock & Discover Isla Lobos
AM cruising; PM 1.5 hours/.5 miles of moderate hiking plus snorkeling
This morning, circumnavigate the imposing Kicker Rock, a volcanic formation which rises up over 450 feet from the sea off the coast of San Cristobal. Its vertical cliffs are a breeding ground for boobies and tropicbirds, and the northern slopes host breeding colonies of frigatebirds. After lunch, stop at Isla Lobos, separated from San Cristobal by a narrow channel, for opportunities to snorkel with sea lions, sea turtles, and tropical fish. There is also a short rocky trail great for viewing blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, marine iguanas, lava lizards, and the endemic Galapagos snake.
(B, L, D)
Day 8 Birdwatch & Snorkel on Española Island
AM 2-3 hours/1 mile of moderate walking; PM 1 hour/0.5 miles of easy walking plus snorkeling
Experience the incredible birdlife at Punta Suarez, where you'll get spectacular cliff views of pounding surf and seemingly unlimited populations of seabirds. Brightly-colored marine iguanas and the largest lava lizards in the Galapagos rest on the trail. From the cliff top, watch a blowhole spray water up to 100 feet in the air. Española is the only island where you can see waved albatrosses and possibly observe their fascinating mating dance (seasonally from April to December), and is also a good place to spot the Galapagos hawk and stroll amid large colonies of Nazca and blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. After lunch, walk along a magnificent coral sand beach at Gardner Bay. Here, sea lions bask, marine turtles nest, and the curious Española mockingbirds follow your every footstep. Take a brief swim on the beach or snorkel in the company of schools of angelfish, parrotfish, damselfish, and surgeonfish, turtles, sea lions, and possibly small sharks along the underwater cliffs of Gardner, a small satellite islet.
(B, L, D)
Day 9 Walk, Snorkel & Visit Post Office Bay on Floreana Island
AM 1 hour/1 mile of easy walking plus snorkeling; PM 2 hours/1 mile of easy walking plus snorkeling
Venture ashore at Floreana Island's Punta Cormorant. After a wet landing at a green-tinged beach, set out on foot to observe the flamingos and other water birds that frequent the lagoon and see the white-sand Flour Beach where sea turtles come out at night to nest. At nearby Champion Islet, snorkel amid spectacular marine life and look out for the very rare Floreana Mockingbird on shore. This afternoon, make a wet landing at historic Post Office Bay, where a wooden barrel has served as an informal post office in the archipelago since the 18th century. If you wish, send postcards to your friends and relatives or pick up mail to deliver in your home town! Enjoy time to relax on the beach, or snorkel to look for fish and rays, and watch sea turtles feeding on algae. Back on the boat tonight, enjoy a festive farewell cocktail hour and a group dinner with the captain.
(B, L, D)
Day 10 Depart from the Galapagos in Baltra & Return to Quito
2-hour flight transfer and 5-minute transfer
AM 1.5 hours/1 mile of easy walking
Wake up early to disembark in the port of Puerto Ayora. Here a private vehicle awaits to take you to the lush highlands of Santa Cruz for a special opportunity to see giant tortoises in their wild and natural habitat. The Galapagos Islands are named after these magnificent, ancient creatures and the experience with them is magical. After this memorable experience with the islands' endearing namesake, transfer to Baltra for your flight back to Quito. An MT Sobek representative will greet you at Quito airport and provide assistance to your nearby hotel.
Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport
(B)
Day 11 Depart Quito
Use the complimentary airport shuttle to transfer to the airport in time for your outbound flight or opt to stay on in Quito to join us for one of our extensions in Ecuador or Peru!
Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport
(B)
