Your Travel Experience with chilepro
Day 1
Transfer from airport Baltra to the boat
Arrival to Baltra airport and transfer to the boat. You will have a short indroduction for the catamaran.
Highlands, Insel Santa Cruz
Afternoon: As you venture into Santa Cruz's higher altitude areas, you will notice the changes in the vegetation as the climate becomes wetter and warmer. The earth in the upper altitudes is rich in minerals. Coffee plantations and fruit orchards line the streets. Here you can observe the famous Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild, using the new knowledge you gained at Charles Darwin Station in the morning.
The Scalesia forests in this area offer the opportunity to discover endemic species of the Galapagos Islands, as well as giant cacti and a variety of deciduous trees and edible fruits.
Here you can also visit the twin 'craters' Los Gemelos. While they are not craters in the technical sense, these 70-meter vertical gullies with a carpet of lush vegetation are an impressive sight to behold.
Day 2
Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island
Morning: Punta Cormorant is located on the north coast of Floreana. It is the best place to visit, offers excellent sand beaches of different colors and one of the largest gaps of flamingos in the Galapagos Islands. Punta Cormorant has a volcanic origin has craters that house reefs provide one of the best places for swimming and snorkelling.
Baroness Lookout, Floreana
Afternoon: The Mirador de la Baronesa is located north of Floreana Island, Galapagos. Site of a beautiful landscape and historical sight, a walk in panga allows to observe several marine species such as golden eagle rays, sea turtles, sea lions and eventually Galápagos penguins.
Day 3
Gardner Bay, Española
Morning: The Española island (or Hood, in honor to the British admiral Samuel Hood) is, with 60 km ², one of the smaller that form the Ecuadorian archipelago of the Galapagos islands. It is the oldest of all, with about 300 million years of existence. Uninhabited, there live several animal species of interest, such as the endemic mockingbird of Hispaniola, the Galapagos dove, the Galapagos Gull, the marine iguana, albatross and pinnipeds. Two places are especially popular with visitors: Gardner Bay, which has a beach renowned for its beauty, and Punta Suarez, of interest for its variety of birds.
Punta Suárez, Española
Afternoon: Punta Suárez is located on the west coast of Española Island, the oldest island in the archipelago, approximately five million years old. It is one of the most attractive and popular places in Galapagos. In Punta Suárez you can see a subspecies of iguanas with green and red colors endemic to Española. In addition, this is the only place in the world where the albatross nests
Day 4
Punta Pitt, San Cristóbal
Morning: Punta Pitt is located on the east end of San Cristóbal Island. It is a group of volcanic cones eroded and scarcely populated by endemic and indigenous vegetation of the Islands. Punta Pitt is an ideal place where a variety of marine birds, such as, blue-footed boobies, masked, red-footed boobies, frigates among others nest.
Cerro Brujo and Kicker Rock, San Cristóbal
Afternoon: Cerro Brujo is a beautiful white coral beach, beach where you can swim and observe birds and sea lions, in addition you can practice surface diving. Located on the north coast of San Cristobal Island. In the environs of the beach you can see seabirds like blue-footed boobies, boobies of nazca, herons, frigates and coastal birds.
Then you will continue to the famous Leon Dormido. An impressive rock formation towering 150 meters above the Pacific Ocean, León Dormido hosts a tropical underwater playground in the narrow channel between the two rocks. From a distance, locals thought they saw a sleeping lion in the rock formation, while, from the other direction, the British saw a boot.
Whether a lion or a boot, the tropical birds at home on León Dormido don't seem to mind. Blue-footed boobies, red-billed tropicbirds, and frigatebirds regularly enchant visitors with their daring flight maneuvers, as they hunt and socialise around this ancient volcanic cone.
In the 19 meters between the surface and the seabed, León Dormido offers snorkelers and divers a dazzling array of sealife. White tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and even hammerhead sharks are often spotted darting between eagle rays and sea turtles.
Day 5
Interpretation Center, San Cristóbal Island
Morning: The National Park Interpretation Center, located on San Cristóbal, was built in collaboration with the Spanish Science Center. The tour offered by the Center for Interpretation's staff gives guests a good overview of the Galapagos Islands. The tour takes us through the history of the islands in the context of nature, humankind, and conservation. It also tells the story of the first settlers on the islands.
Conclude in San Cristóbal
The cruise will conclude in the harbor of San Cristóbal. From there, transfer to the airport in time for your return flight to the mainland, or continue with your planned route through the Galapagos.