Greetings and welcome to the Galapagos Giant Steps Tour! During the span of 8 days, you’ll have a wonderful chance to explore and encounter extraordinary plant and animal species that exist exclusively in the Galapagos Islands. One of the standout moments of our tour is a visit to Española Island, a remarkable place where you can observe the captivating Albatross in their breeding grounds. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss!

Flight to the Galapagos Islands. Arrive at the Airport of San Cristobal Island, where we will be received by a naturalist guide and have a friendly welcome. Transfer to the hotel to Check-in. Lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit different attractions. Our very first visit will be to THE INTERPRETATION CENTER. This center was inaugurated in August 1998 and presents a complete and documented history of the Galapagos Islands. This place takes us through the history of the Islands, in their natural, human, and conservation contexts. Then, we will go walking up the “FRIGATEBIRD HILL” or “TIJERETAS HILL”, which consists of a trail that leads us to different viewpoints. The first point is the top of Tijeretas Hill, from where you can see León Dormido “Kicker Rock” and Darwin Bay from above. The second viewpoint is a North American purchase cannon that dates from the Second World War and was taken by the Ecuadorian Navy in the early 1970s for military practices. At the third viewpoint, there is a statue of the Scientist Charles Darwin in honor of his trip to the Galapagos Islands. We will finally go to DARWIN BAY to snorkel and swim with sea lions, marine turtles and take a look at tropical fishes. Then, we will go through a white sand beach, which got to be an exotic landscape due to the nature that surrounds this place. Its name is Punta Carola Beach. We will finally visit PLAYA MANN BEACH. This is recreational white sand and broken shells beach. We can enjoy the sea lions resting on the sand. The clarity of the water allows us to go snorkeling in the bay. It is also the perfect place to have a romantic afternoon looking at the sunset. Return to the hotel.

Operation days: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

After breakfast, we will depart to one of the most charming islands in the Archipelago. Española Island is one of the smallest and oldest islands in the Galapagos. It is located to the southeast of the Archipelago and at a distance by yacht of approximately 2 hours from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal Island. It is an island of volcanic origin and one of the greatest characteristics that have a high percentage of endemic species due to its isolation from other islands.

There are many points to visit on the island

Punta Suarez: It is located west of Española Island. It has a path of approximately 2 hours of walking (1.6 km) through which we can observe coastal cliffs and various species of animals such as Galapagos Hawk, Española Cactus Finch, Nazca Bobbies, Blue Footed Bobbies, Galapagos Dove, Forked-tailed Gull, Frigates, Red-Billed Tropic Bird, Yellow Warbler, Medium Ground Finch, Warbler Finch, Española Mocking Bird, Christmas Marine Iguana, Española Lava Lizard, Española Racer Snake, and between the months of April to December, you can observe species of Albatross that make to Española Island in its place of mating, nesting, and initiation to the flight of the newly hatched birds.

Blowhole: It consists of a water siphon that reaches 20 meters in height and that is originated by the pressure exerted by the water when entering and leaving between the cracks and colliding with the rocks.

Gardner Bay: It is located on the north coast of Española Island. Its main attraction is a white sand beach that is the habitat of juvenile sea lions, adult males, and females; it is also home to a great diversity of resident and migratory birds. Near the islets of Garder Bay, we can snorkel and observe sea turtles, rays, and dozens of sea lions swimming, dancing, and playing near us.

Española Island is an Eden for people who love birds.

After a delicious breakfast, we will take the speedboat to go to LEON DORMIDO or KICKER ROCK. LEON DORMIDO is located one-hour navigation from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It is formed by two rocks that rose abruptly from the ocean taking the shape of a Sleepy Lion, that is why the name of it.
This is an impressive jewel of an ancient eroded volcanic tuff formation that reaches a height of 148 meters and is home to marine birds that nest and repose on the cliffs such as Nazca Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, and Frigates.
During the snorkeling activity, we will be able to observe rays, sea lions, tropical fish, sea turtles, and hammerhead sharks. In the middle of these two rocks, there is a channel where we can see Cerro Brujo and Puerto Grande from far depending on the position of the boat.
This spot is one of the best natural sanctuaries in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to take your inter-island flight to Isabela Island. This flight will take approximately 30 minutes. Isabela, is a small port village, with sandy streets, a few locally run restaurants, small hotels, and nice people. Once we arrive on this beautiful pacific Island “Isabela”, we will go to the hotel for check-in. Our guide will be waiting for you to go on your magnificent tour. We will visit THE WETLANDS of Puerto Villamil. It consists of a set of various visit sites, which can be accessed through a tour of a natural trail surrounded by mangroves and pools that are home to a large number of animal species such as the Yellow Warbler, the Nightingale of Galapagos, the Lava Gull, Marine iguana, American oystercatcher, cactus finch, large ground finch, medium ground finch, small ground finch, blue-footed booby, sand finch. It also houses a large number of plants such as Mezquite, Leatherleaf, Candelabra Cactus, White Mangrove, Button Mangrove, Black Mangrove, Red Mangrove, Salar, Galapagos Carpetweed, and Nopal. We will keep our adventure until arriving at the WALL OF TEARS. This wall formed by lava rocks reaches 7 meters high, 3 meters wide, and approximately 100 meters long. The Wall of Tears is evidence that indicates a stage in the life of many prisoners who were cruelly tortured.
In the afternoon, we will visit THE TORTOISE BREEDING CENTER where the reproduction and breeding of tortoises in captivity are carried out and has the objective of recovering the populations of tortoises affected in the past, both by introduced species as by the presence of pirates, whalers, and the first settlers, who used it as food and as a source of oil proportion. Currently, there are approximately 330 juvenile and adult tortoises from southern Isabela populations, many of which have experienced relatively high levels of human poaching and nest trampling by wild donkeys in the last 10 to 20 years. In this place, you can enjoy and meet these wonderful animals that now live on this site protected by the staff of the Galapagos National Park.

Breakfast. Transfer to the harbor of Puerto Villamil to take the boat and go for our adventure. Our visit will be to LOS TUNELES, also known as “Cabo Rosa”. It is the most spectacular site for snorkeling on Isabela Island due to its crystal-clear and shallow waters, a real sea sanctuary. Millions of years ago, the lava flows formed a large number of arches and tunnels getting to be one of the most bio-diverse sites in the Galapagos Islands. The adventure starts in Puerto Villamil, where you will take a boat ride for approximately 45 minutes to do the first stop in the open sea, around Roca Union. This site houses blue-footed boobies, Nazca Boobies, Brown Pelicans, Penguins, Zayapas, and Iguanas that can be seen very close to the boat. Then we will do a second stop to walk on these beautiful lava formations to catch with our eyes the sea lions resting on the rocks or playing by the lava tunnels. We can also see cacti that have been adapted to this kind of lava formation. Our last and wonderful stop will be snorkeling in open water, we will get into a wonderful submarine world where we can swim along with white-tipped sharks, manta rays, penguins, sea lions, sea turtles, sea horses, lobsters, sea snakes, among many other tropical species. Return to Puerto Villamil.

After breakfast, we will have an interesting visit to SIERRA NEGRA VOLCANO. This volcano is one of the most gorgeous, impressive, and largest caldera of all the Galapagos Islands volcanos. This crater is also considered to be the second-largest caldera in the world. It measures 10 km across from north to south and 9 km from east to west. It is one of the most active of the Galapagos volcanoes with the most recent historic eruption on June 26th, 2018. The morphology of Sierra Negra is like a bowl. This is a very special place for people who love geology. We can observe some species of birds such as Yellow Warbler, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Galápagos Mockingbird, Galápagos Hawk, Tyrant Flycatcher, Galápagos Flycatcher, Large Tree Finch, Small Ground Finch. We can also observe some species of plants such as Guayabillo, Galápagos pisonia, Heart-leafed Scalesia, among others. Visit Sierra Negra Volcano requires a 40 minutes drive from Puerto Villamil followed by another 45 minutes of walking up.
In the afternoon, we will refresh ourselves with a visit to CONCHA PERLA. Concha de Perla is a natural pool with calm and clear seawater located a few meters from the “El Embarcadero” Pier. Concha Perla has a circular structure naturally formed by rocks, through which the sea enters, giving rise to an ideal attraction for swimming and snorkeling in calm waters with tropical fish, marine iguanas, sea lions, marine turtles, and penguins. You can reach this place by a short walk through a wooden pathway surrounded by marvelous mangroves.

Transfer out very early in the morning to the port of Puerto Villamil, to take the trip of two hours and a half approximately to Puerto Ayora by speedboat. Arrive in Puerto Ayora and transfer to the Hotel. Check-In. Time to have breakfast and chill around the hotel. Then, we will go up the Highlands of Santa Cruz to enjoy the fabulous and very famous giant tortoises in their natural habitat; these animals of prehistoric aspect lengthen their necks to eat and to be photographed by our visitors at the Archipelago. At the same time, getting to know these giants, is one of the biggest expectations for the passengers. The density of vegetation in this forest, including orchids, daisies, and bromeliads, give also a place to be the habitat of several endemic land birds including Darwin’s finches, Galapagos Hawks, short-eared owls, Yellow Warblers, Galapagos Rails, Vermilion Flycatchers, and Paint-billed Crakes. Have a delicious lunch surrounded by nature. Transfer to Puerto Ayora and visit TORTUGA BAY. Playa Tortuga Bay or Bahia Tortuga rounds out the World’s Top Ten Beaches. On the way there, you will walk for about 2.5 km through an arid zone, giant cacti forest, yellow flowers, and Galapagos flora. You will enjoy the song of many land birds and the more you get closer to the bay, the more you can hear the movements of the waves. There are two well define environments here. the first bay is open and wide and its sea has strong waves, perfect for Surfers. Many turtles come to this place during their nesting season and that is why the name “Bahía Tortuga”. The second Bay, which is at the very end of the first, is ideal for relaxation and swimming. It is a perfect and wild combination of giant cactus and mangroves on the shore of the sea.

Return to Puerto Ayora.

This is your last day with us and we hope you have enjoyed your trip to the Enchanted Islands. We will have our visit to THE CHARLES DARWIN STATION. It is the operational center of the Charles Darwin Foundation. Their mission is to provide knowledge and assistance through scientific research and other actions to guarantee the conservation of biodiversity and the environment in the Archipelago of Galapagos. The station opened in 1962 under the directorship of Roger Perry and was officially inaugurated in 1964 the very first objective of the program was to restock islands where these giant tortoises suffered depletion. In this place, we can find land iguanas species and tortoises of different ages.

Transfer to the airport of Baltra and assist to take your return flight.

GALLERY

Tijeretas
Playa Mann
Española
Sea Lion
Española
Kicker Rock
Sierra Negra
Cabo Rosa
Cabo Rosa

Price per person – Full Board

1 Pax 2 Pax 3 Pax 4 Pax 5 Pax 6 Pax 7 Pax 8 Pax 10 – 14 Pax 15 – 16 Pax
Budget $4.193 $2.805 $2.474 $2.436 $2.346 $2.257 $2.218 $2.293 $2.206 $2.074
Mid – Range $4.783 $3.094 $2.763 $2.724 $2.635 $2.545 $2.507 $2.582 $2.494 $2.363
First Class $5.524 $3.541 $3.210 $3.172 $3.082 $2.993 $2.954 $3.030 $2.942 $2.810
Luxury $7.725 $4.721 $4.390 $4.352 $4.262 $4.173 $4.134 $4.210 $4.122 $3.990

Price per person – Half Board

1 Pax 2 Pax 3 Pax 4 Pax 5 Pax 6 Pax 7 Pax 8 pax 10 – 14 Pax 15 – 16 Pax
Budget $4.018 $2.630 $2.299 $2.261 $2.171 $2.082 $2.043 $2.118 $2.031 $1.899
Mid – Range $4.601 $2.913 $2.581 $2.543 $2.453 $2.364 $2.326 $2.401 $2.313 $2.182
First Class $5.218 $3.235 $2.904 $2.866 $2.776 $2.678 $2.648 $2.723 $2.636 $2.504
Luxury $7.344 $4.340 $4.009 $3.971 $3.881 $3.792 $3.753 $3.828 $3.741 $3.609
  • Certified Naturalist Bilingual Guide by the Galapagos National Park.
  • Seven nights’ accommodation in the selected hotel.
  • Meals detailed in the itinerary and according to the program of your preference:
    • Full Accommodation Plan (B: Breakfast, L: Lunch, D: Dinner).
    • Half Accommodation Plan (B: Breakfast, L: Lunch).
  • Full-Day navigable tour to Española Island (Sharing Basis).
  • Full Day navigable tour to Leon Dormido – Kicker Rock (Sharing Basis).
  • Flight Ticket inter-islands / San Cristobal – Isabela Islands.
  • Short Navigable Tour to the Tunnels (Sharing basis).
  • Transfer by speedboat / Isabela – Santa Cruz Islands (Sharing basis).
  • Snorkeling equipment at the spectacular sites detailed in the program (Tube, mask).
  • Air ticket Quito/Guayaquil – Galápagos – Guayaquil/Quito.
  • Transit Card INGALA $ 20 for each passenger (Must be paid at airports from Quito or Guayaquil).
  • Entrance Fee to the Galapagos National Park: $ 100 per Adult and $ 50 per Child.
  • Using Dock rate in Isabela Island: USD 10.
  • Personal expenses, tips, and services not specified in the program.
  • Additional meals not specified in the program.

Galapagos Itineraries are subject to change due to weather, logistical or operational reasons.

  • Christmas and New Year: special conditions apply.
  • High season applies supplement.
  • Children policy: Discount for children under 12 years old.
  • Solo Travel Passengers applies supplement.
  • Rates are subject to change in case of additional taxes, fuel increases, or any other unforeseen circumstance.
  • Galapagos itineraries are subject to change due to weather, logistical or operational reasons.