Galápagos Islands Highlights - 8 Days

Highlights

• Laze on the white-sand beaches of Isla San Cristóbal
• Snorkel famous dive sites amid tropical fish and rays at Kicker Rock
• Spend time with slow-moving giant tortoises and frolicking (or napping) sea lions
• Boat to an uninhabited island for a day of hiking

Brief Itinerary

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive on Isla San Cristóbal, Optional Activities

Welcome to Ecuador! For this adventure, you'll be forgoing the mainland in favor of the famous Galápagos Islands, 603 miles (972 km) off the coast. To arrive, you'll fly from the capital of Quito for three hours to Isla San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago. Upon arrival at the airport, you'll head to your hotel.

After getting settled, feel free to head out and explore. For an overview of the Galápagos, visit the Interpretation Center, a science hub that offers insight into these volcanic islands' unique ecosystems and natural history. For something more active, hike a couple of hours up to Tijeretas Hill, which is a nesting site for the Galápagos' famous frigatebirds. You'll also be treated to stunning views out over the coast to Kicker Rock and Wreck Bay, the main port in town. Fun fact: it was at Wreck Bay in 1835 that a young English naturalist named Charles Darwin first landed in the Galápagos.

Day 2: Free Day on Isla San Cristóbal

Today is yours to enjoy Isla San Cristóbal however you like. For relaxation, spend time accompanied by sea lions as you swim and sunbathe on the beaches at Playa Carola or Playa Mann. For something more active, take a boat to Punta Pitt and hike along the rugged volcanic landscapes. Perhaps finish the day at La Lobería. This beach, located a couple of miles south of the island's town, gets its name from the large colony of sea lions that call the area home. You can also spot marine iguanas here.

Day 3: Snorkeling at Kicker Rock

After breakfast, you'll hop on a speedboat for the 1.5-hour ride up the coast to Kicker Rock. This 500-foot (152 m) pair of volcanic islands may not look like a legendary dive site, but underneath the water's surface is a diverse ecosystem filled with exotic marine life. Once here, you'll strap on your snorkel, dive in, and swim alongside sea life like eagle rays, tropical fish, sea turtles, marine iguanas, and even hammerhead sharks. After a break for lunch on the boat, you'll spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at nearby white-sand beaches like Puerto Grande, Cerro Brujo, and Manglecito. 

Day 4: Speedboat to Isla Santa Cruz, Optional Activities

Head to the marina this morning and board a speedboat for the 2.5-hour ride west from San Cristóbal to Puerto Ayora, the main town on Isla Santa Cruz. Meet your guide at the dock and hop in a car for the ride up to the interior of the island. This highland region is a special place, as it's a natural habitat for the famous Galápagos giant tortoises, which can live up to 150 years. You'll see plenty of these magnificent animals up close, then head to a local farm for lunch. After doing more wildlife spotting, you'll return to Puerto Ayora later in the afternoon and check in to your hotel. 

Day 5: Isla Santa Cruz Dive Tour

Leave early on a full-day tour of some of the best dive sites around Santa Cruz. There are many options, whether it's Carrion Point or the islets of Daphne, Gordon Rocks, and North Mosquera. Which ones you visit will depend on the day of the week and permission from the national park office. No matter where you arrive, you'll get to swim with a wide array of exotic marine life. These include sea lions, tropical fish, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, barracudas, and various species of sharks like whitetip and blacktip reef sharks as well as hammerheads. At the end of the afternoon, you'll return to Puerto Ayora. 

Day 6: Day Trip to an Uninhabited Island

After breakfast, you'll take a full-day boat tour to an uninhabited isle around Santa Cruz. Depending on the permits granted by the park authorities, you'll travel to either Santa Fé, Plaza Sur, Plaza Norte, Seymour Norte, or Bartolomé. To experience one of these isles in their unspoiled state, home only to endemic wildlife, allows you to see the Galápagos the same way Darwin did on his arrival in 1835. After exploring wildlife habitats, you'll enjoy lunch on the boat deck and then cruise back to Puerto Ayora.   

Day 7: Afternoon Bay Tour on Isla Santa Cruz

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then spend the morning relaxing. After lunch, you'll hop on a boat for a six-hour tour outside Puerto Ayora. During this cruise along the coast, you'll stop at La Lobería, a small islet named for its great colony of sea lions. Here, you can dive in and snorkel around these friendly animals as well as schools of tropical fish. Then it's on to Shark Channel, where you'll see blue-footed boobies and can swim with harmless reef sharks.

Next, return to land and the Canal del Amor. The "love channel" is a romantic grotto of turquoise waters lined with volcanic rocks and home to turtles and tropical fish. After snorkeling here, you'll take a brisk 10-minute hike to see marine iguanas in their natural habitat. Lastly, you'll head back toward Puerto Ayora and Las Grietas, a swimming hole comprised of three pools of crystalline water flanked by large cliffs. After doing some swimming, you'll return to your hotel.

Day 8: Transfer to Isla Baltra & Depart

Unfortunately, your grand island-hopping tour around the Galápagos has come to an end. At the appropriate time, your driver will pick you up for the ride to the Itabaca Channel, where you'll take a short ferry ride to reach the airport on Isla Baltra. Safe travels!

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