Sunday - Day 1
Baltra and Seymour Norte:
AM: The island of Baltra is the only island of all Galapagos, not included in its totality in the National Park area. The Americans built Baltra`s airport between 1941- 1948, using it as an air force base in the Pacific during World War II. The airport and the port are now Ecuadorian military territory. Unfortunately, both military presences left their traces.
The flight from Guayaquil to Galapagos takes about 90 minutes. Upon arrival at the airport, visitors will have to pay the entrance fee of US$ 100 to the National Park. Leaving the arrival hall, the National Park Guide will wait for you and accompany the entire group to the port of Baltra, where our Yacht is anchored.
PM: Seymour Norte is a flat and elevated island in the "rain shadow" of Santa Cruz Island and, for this reason, with dry vegetation of the Arid Zone.
The landing on the pier is often a bit complicated, depending on the waves.
The arrival on the rocky coast is full of surprises with sea lions, swallow-tailed seagulls, light-footed crabs and marine iguanas. The trail leads through the nesting area of the colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigate birds.
Monday - Day 2
Chinese Hat - Bartolome:
AM: Only a 200 meters wide channel separates this small island from the big island of Santiago. The shape of the island looks like a Chinese hat, and the island is beautiful because of the landscape.
The landing is on a small white coral beach with sea lions. The smooth and short trail leads along the coast with very fragile lava. There are many small lava tubes and little, but very attractive, vegetation. The cushioned lava can be found at the turning point of the trail.
PM: The landing is at a pier. The trail leads to the summit of Bartolome on a wooden walkway and stairs to protect the fragile landscape. The view from the top of Bartolome, Santiago with Sullivan Bay and the neighboring islands is wonderful. All the secondary cones, lava flows and lava tubes imitate a lunar landscape.
We have the possibility to dive around Pináculo Rock, Bartolome`s famous landmark.
In the late afternoon, we go with the boat along the coast to observe the Galapagos penguins. The penguin lives and nests in the lava tubes of the rocky coast, where we also fish.
Tuesday - Day 3
Genovesa: Darwin Bay - The steps of Prince Philip:
AM: Landing on a small white beach made of coral sand. The trail follows the coastal vegetation of red mangroves and bushes. The thorny pear cactus in particular grows on Genovesa often as a cactus hanging with soft, hairy thorns. Under the coastal vegetation, swallow-tailed gulls are nesting, and in the bushes, there are the nests of red-footed boobies and magnificent frigate birds. Some boobies nest on the ground. The trail leads along small pools of fresh water to the cliff with a spectacular view over the caldera. At low tide, there are thousands of Galapagos crabs on sandy soil.
PM: Disembark near the cliff. Prince Felipe`s steps offer the only possibility to climb the steep basaltic cliff. The following trail leads, through a small colony of masked boobies nests and crosses a low and dense forest of palo santo where the red-footed boobies have their nests. Arriving at the edge of the island, there are thousands of small petrels nesting in the cracks and lava tubes. They are the favorite food of the short-eared owls. On both sides of the trail, there is a large colony of Nazca owls nesting.
Wednesday - Day 4
Porto Egas - Rabida:
AM: The landmark of Puerto Egas are the cliff formations with the relief structures. The landing is on a black beach. The walk with shows, during the ever changing levels of the tide, an unusual and peculiar fauna. Often we can observe lava herons fishing in the tide pools.
Throughout the walk we can see Galapagos sea lions, light-footed crabs and marine iguanas. Depending on the season, there are also many migrant coastal birds that live on these shores during the winter. Next to the trail we will find a colony of Galapagos fur seals. The Galapagos fur seal found an ideal living space in the cracks and caves of the rocky lava coast.
PM: Rabida looks red by the color of the lava that contains a lot of ferric oxide. Very special is the red sand of the beach with the salt vegetation and the silver trees of palo santo on the slopes. Before El Niño, Rabida had one of the largest colonies of sea lions in Galapagos. The colony is recovering again with small remaining population. There is a small lagoon behind the coarse salt vegetation area with (depending on the season) flamingos and white-cheeked ducks.
Thursday - Day 5
Darwin Station - Santa Cruz Highlands:
AM: The visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station gives the opportunity to know the scientific work being done in the National Park. Especially the survey programs for the different subspecies of giant turtles.
In the Van Straiten Exhibition Hall, there is interesting documentation about the Galapagos Islands with photos and diagrams. The vegetation is lush green and many of Darwin`s finches are easy to identify.
Passengers will have some time to visit the city, have a coffee or do some shopping.
PM: The trip to the highlands takes approximately half an hour. In this short time you can observe the transition between the different vegetation zones, from the arid zone to the Escalda zone (and agricultural area), where the problems of introducing animals and plants are quite noticeable. At the highest point of the road, the National Park starts again.
Primicias Ranch: we visit a farm in the Santa Cruz highlands to watch the Galapagos Turtles in freedom.
During their migratory routes, they spend part of the year in these highlands and are easy to observe.
Friday - Day 6
Española Playa Gardner - Punta Suarez:
AM: Española belongs to the oldest islands of Galápagos. Due to its geographic isolation, a significant number of endemic species can be found on the island, which makes it very attractive. The Galapagos albatross, for example, only arrives on the island of Española for reproduction from April to December.
Gardner Beach: Land on a beautiful, long, white beach made of coral sand. For this visit, you do not need shoes. A perfect place to watch the finches and mockingbirds in the salt vegetation, you can also enjoy the beach near the Galapagos sea lions.
You can swim and dive on the beach.
PM: Loop trail with landing on a pier. The walk on rocky and stony ground is long and quite challenging.
Visitors can find, even at the beginning of the trail, the colorful Spanish iguana marine and Galapagos sea lions. Everywhere, the curious mockingbird approaches visitors. The path leads through the nesting colonies of blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and wavy albatrosses. The large Spanish lava lizards are everywhere.
A resting place near a cliff gives the opportunity to observe all the different sea birds flying along the coast.
The take-off of an albatross is a fantastic event to witness.
There is another stop by the blowhole where the sea water is pushed through a crack in the cliff into the air, depending on the waves and tide level up to 80 feet high.
Saturday - Day 7
Santa Fe - South Square:
AM: The landing is on a beach with a large colony of sea lions.
The short trail leads from the sea lion colony, through the dry vegetation of the Arid Zone, to a wonderful cliff wooded with fig pear cactus and then back to a second beach.
Only the very attentive visitors will be able to detect the endemic land iguana of Santa Fe, as they camouflage perfectly in the same colors as the vegetation and their territories are quite significant.
PM: Easy trail with landing on a pier.
Plaza Sur is a small elevated island with a cliff 25 meters high on the southern side of the island. The entire north coast, flat and rocky, has a large sea lion colony of Galapagos and at point east a colony of single sea lions. Very attractive are the beautiful pear-thorn cacti and of course the large colony of land iguanas.
Depending on the season, the terrestrial vegetation of the desert changes its color from intense green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season.
Sunday - Day 8
Black Turtles Cove - Baltra:
AM: With the boat, early in the morning, before breakfast, we enter the large protected inlet of the mangroves. We turn off the motor of the boat to watch the sea turtles.
There are many of them in the inlet during the mating and nesting season (December to February), but even out of season, there are always some turtles that stay in the mangrove inlet to rest. You may also spot eagle rays, golden rays and white-tipped reef sharks.
At the end of the cruise, you will leave the Angelito at Baltra port to be transferred to the airport to board your plane back to the continent.
Itinerary B - Angelito Cruise
Sunday - Day 1
Baltra and Las Bachas:
AM: The island of Baltra is the only island of all Galapagos, not included in its totality in the National Park area. The Americans built Baltra`s airport between 1941- 1948, using it as an air force base in the Pacific during World War II. The airport and the port are now Ecuadorian military territory. Unfortunately, both military presences left their traces.
The flight from Guayaquil to Galapagos takes about 90 minutes. Upon arrival at the airport, visitors will have to pay the entrance fee of US$ 100 to the National Park. Leaving the arrival hall, the National Park Guide will wait for you and accompany the entire group to the port of Baltra, where our Yacht is anchored.
PM: Las Bachas: A white coral beach in the north of Santa Cruz Island. Landing and easy walking along the beach. There are small brackish water lagoons behind the dune where occasionally it is possible to observe flamingos and other coastal birds such as black-necked birds, whimbrels and white-cheeked ducks.
Important: do not walk on the dunes because it is a favorite nesting place for sea turtles.
After the walk, you can swim and dive on the beach.
Monday - Day 2
Mosquera - Cerro Dragon:
AM: Mosquera is a small sandy island located between North Seymour and Baltra.
The landing is sometimes a little difficult, depending on the tide.
Mosquera has one of the great colonies of sea lions in Galapagos with different Harems and is a beautiful place to observe their behavior. Often we can see the endemic lava gulls and other coastal birds. On the lava rocks we find sea iguanas and light-footed crabs and under the rocks sometimes scorpions.
PM: The name Cerro Dragon means Dragon Hill and is a very scenic place. The walk first passes through a lagoon of flamingos and then leads through an impressive forest of thorny pear cacti. A trail goes to a small hill where land iguanas live and nest. The view from this small hill over the surrounding landscape is spectacular.
Tuesday - Day 3
Tagus Cove - Punta Espinoza (Fernandina):
AM: Tagus Cove:
This protected cove was a favorite resting place for the first pirates and whalers who also carved and painted their names on the high cliffs of the bay. We landed on a pier and the scenic walk takes the climb through the vegetation of the Dry Zone to Lake Darwin, a saltwater crater lake. At the end of the walk, we climb up to a cone of parasitic splashes and have a fantastic view of the lava fields of the Darwin volcano. With the boat, we then go along the cliffs to observe the Galapagos penguins and the flightless cormorants. If the water is clean, Tagus Cove is a fascinating place to dive with a considerable amount of marine invertebrates on the vertical walls.
PM: Punta Espinoza (Fernandina): This visit is one of the highlights of Galapagos cruises. The landing depending on the tide will take place in lava or on the landing platform in the mangrove swamp.
During the walk you will see marine iguanas in large groups. Be careful to stay on the trail because the dunes are nesting areas for marine iguanas. On the lava coast, there are the cormorant nesting sites without flight. The lava lizards, the Galapagos falcon, sea turtles and Galapagos penguins are always in sight. In a lava flow, there are the largest groups of endemic lava cacti to be seen. A small trail inside a lava field leads to the edge of a large lava flow.
Wednesday - Day 4
Baía de Urbina - Elizabeth Bay:
AM: Baía de Urbina (Isabela): It is an area raised from the sea at the foot of the Alcedo volcano. The landing is on a steep beach, being sometimes a little difficult because of the high waves. Along the coast, occasionally there are cormorants without flight and huge marine iguanas. On the trail that leads inland, we will see the colorful land iguanas. Sometimes it is also possible to see Galapagos turtles along the trail.
PM: With an inflatable boat, we enter the protected inlet of the mangroves. The entrance through a very narrow channel is not always easy, depending on the tide. We turn off the motor of the boat to watch the sea turtles. In Elizabeth`s bay, we find the highest trees of Red Mangrove.
Thursday - Day 5
Punta Moreno - Sailing to Villamil with whale watching:
AM: Early in the morning, we will take a walk in a lava field of Punta Moreno. It is a place where we can see the three species of cactus: candelabra, pear prickly cactus, and lava cactus. This lava field also has many pioneer plants. As a surprise, we find in the middle of the lava field some brackish water pools with flamingos, gallinules, white-cheeked ducks and painted ducks. On a boat trip, we can see cormorants without flight, Galapagos penguins and huge marine iguanas.
Around 10:30 am we start our long (about 6 hours) and beautiful sailing along the coast around the Cerro Azul Volcano to Puerto Villamil. Depending on the season, this navigation can be a little difficult. We look for dolphins and whales and will stop to watch them, if we find them. Just before dark, we arrive at the small port of Puerto Villamil.
Friday - Day 6
Villamil Sierra Negra - Turtle Breeding Center:
AM: We will have the opportunity to appreciate a totally different image of the Galapagos Islands: by bus, we go up the hill, until near the caldera of the Sierra Negra volcano with the possibility to observe the different vegetation zones during the trip of about 17 miles/27 km. Due to these areas, it is often a bit rainy, or cloudy and foggy.
After a hike of about one hour, we arrive at the edge of the volcano to enjoy the impressive view of the volcanic caldera (weather permitting!); measuring 6.2 miles/10 km from north to south and 5.6 miles/9 km from east to west, this is the second largest caldera in the world!
We can also see the vast new lava field since the last eruption in 2005. The Sierra Negra is a large shield volcano in the extreme southeast of Isabela Island in the Galapagos with an altitude of 1124m. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the Galapagos, with the most recent historic eruption beginning in June 2018.
PM: In the afternoon, we take an excursion to the Villamil lagoons. We start at the Turtle Breeding Center, where we can see different subspecies of land turtles of the Galapagos and the work of restoring the population of endangered populations. On the way back to the city, we will take a beautiful lagoon trail and look for flamingos, common gallinules, white-cheeked ducks and black-necked stilts.
Saturday - Day 7
Floreana Punta Cormorant - Devil`s Crown - Post Office Bay - Porto Ayora:
AM: Punta Cormorant (Florida):
The landing is in "Praia Verde" of Punta Cormorant. Depending on the light conditions, the sand shines green because of the high percentage of olive crystals. In the easy walk through the Arid Zone, we arrive at a large saltwater lagoon with flamingos, white-cheeked ducks, black-necked stilts and, depending on the season, migratory coastal birds. In a short walk, we arrive at the beach of white flour sand, made of white corals. It is a famous sea turtle nesting beach and it is important not to walk on the dune. Often we can see many stingrays in the shallow waters.
Crown of Demons (Floreana):
The rest of a volcano looks like a black crown emerging from the sea and here is one of the most famous snorkeling spots in Galapagos.
Important to know: as there is often a strong current, this snorkeling spot is only for experienced snorkelers.
Post Office Bay (Floreana):
Before lunch, we will make a brief visit to the famous barrel in the Bay of the Post Office. We will comply with the law, fictitious, which says that to visit this place we must check if there is a letter or postcard to the city where you are from. The most peculiar would be if you could take a postcard with you to deliver it to the destination. Thus, the tradition will be maintained and will not be lost. The barrel was first placed there in 1793 by whalers. They used it to receive and send letters home.
After the visit, we will sail to Santa Cruz Island until Porto Ayora where we will arrive around 5:00 pm. The passengers will have a little time to walk in the city (not a guided tour). During this time, the Angelito boat will be loaded with food and all the necessary things for the continuation of the cruise. Dinner will take place on board.
Sunday - Day 8
Daphne (Panorama) - Baltra:
AM: The Daphne Island, in cone shape, with little vegetation. This island is famous for the studies of Peter and Rosemary Grant about the Darwin Finches. The perfect literature to read: Jonathan Weiner`s Finch Beak
We will make a panoramic navigation around the island, not too close to avoid the insects.
After breakfast, we will leave the Angelito around 08:00 to go to Baltra airport for the return flight to the mainland.