GTAM – 164A – GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
GALAPAGOS TOUR PROGRAMS ABOARD THE M/Y AIDA MARIA
HIGHLIGHTS
A snapshot of islands to be visited and the highlights and iconic fauna and flora species of each island.
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY:
Detailed information on activities and visits to each island and applicable cruise rates
CRUISE DATES:
A complete listing of all of the dates that the Eastern Islands cruise itinerary will be operating.
PRE-CRUISE TOURS:
A sample of tours offered in Quito and surroundings o be offered in combination with this cruise. In addition, we can tailor additional Pre and Post cruise tours to adjust to your clients’ interests
GTAM – 164A – GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Quito & Galapagos Islands
Two days Quito – Eight day Galapagos cruise
M/Y Aida Maria – Tourist Superior Category
Galapagos Cruise Itinerary “A” – Sunday – Sunday
Nine Days / Eight Nights
HIGHLIGHTS:
Baltra, Bachas, Darwin Bay, El Barranco, Sullivan Bay, Black Turtle Cove, Cerro Dragon, Charles Darwin Research Station, Highlands, Post Office Bay, Punta Cormoran, Devil’s Crown, Punta Suarez, Bahia Gardner, Isla Lobos, San Cristobal Island
ITINERARY
DAY 1: Sunday – Arrival in Galapagos Islands
AM: Arrival at Baltra Airport – PM: Bachas
Meals: Lunch, dinner
DAY 2: Monday – Galapagos Islands
Genovesa Island
AM: Darwin Bay – PM: El Barranco
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 3: Tuesday – Galapagos Islands
AM: Bartolome Island – PM: Sullivan Bay
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 4: Wednesday – Galapagos Islands
AM: Black Turtle Cove – PM: Cerro Dragon
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 5: Thursday – Galapagos Islands
Santa Cruz Island
AM: Charles Darwin Station – PM: Highlands, Santa Cruz
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 6: Friday – Galapagos Islands
Floreana Island
AM: Post Office Bay – PM: Punta Cormoran / Devil’s Crown
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 7: Saturday – Galapagos Islands
Española Island
AM: Punta Suarez – PM: Bahia Gardner
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 8: Sunday – Galapagos Islands
San Cristobal Island
AM : Isla Lobos
AM: Transfer to airport for flight to Quito or Guayaquil and your main destination
Meals: Breakfast
GROSS RATES PER PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
VALID THRU DECEMBER 32, 2019
GTAM-164A (GE -24) QUITO & GALAPAGOS | RATES |
With Hotel Wyndham Airport (First Class) | $ 3,636 |
With Hotel Casona de la Ronda | $ 3,643 |
With Hotel Patio Andaluz | $ 3,651 |
M/V Aida Maria Eight Day/Seven Night Cruise only | $ 3,431 |
This Galapagos cruise is also available with pre-Galapagos tours of 3 and 4 days programs. Please check with us for details
TOUR RATES INCLUDE
QUITO
Roundtrip private transfer between airport / hotel / airport
One night accommodations at selected hotel including 22% taxes and service fees.
Daily breakfast
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Eight day cruise aboard the M/Y Aida Maria (Tourist superior) based on double occupancy
Daily fully escorted tours to islands indicated in itinerary by English speaking naturalist guides
Round trip transfers between Baltra airport and motor yacht
All meals during the cruise
NOT INCLUDED
International air between the USA and Quito or Guayaquil
Roundtrip air between Quito or Guayaquil & Galapagos
Galapagos National Park entrance fees total $120 per person and subject to change
Gratuities and tips to guides and crew
Land services, meals and tours not indicated in the itinerary
Expenses of personal nature
Travel insurance (Highly recommended)
GTAM – 164A – GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Quito & Galapagos Islands
Two days Quito – Eight day Galapagos cruise
M/Y Aida Maria – Tourist Superior Category
Galapagos Cruise Itinerary “A” – Sunday – Sunday
Nine Days / Eight Nights
DETAILED ITINERARY
DAY 1: Sunday – Arrival in Galapagos Islands
Baltra Island Airport & Bachas Beach (wet landing)
Fly from the Ecuadorian mainland to the islands on an early morning 90-minute flight. As you prepare to land in Baltra, look out the window. The landscape below will seem otherworldly – you’ll truly be landing in a place like no other. The Galapagos Islands are completely unique and you’re about to see why. Your bilingual naturalist guide will greet you at the airport and meet you after customs. During lunch he/she will introduce you to the islands, specifically the flora and fauna that you will encounter at our first destination – Las Bachas Beach.
On the sandy white beaches of Las Bachas you will get a close look at a sea turtle nesting area as well as a lake frequented by pink flamingos and other migratory birds. Afterwards, you’ll cool off with a dip in the beautiful, blue Pacific Ocean. As this is the first evening together, the crew will invite everyone to a pre-dinner cocktail on the yacht before the welcome dinner. If the night is clear, as it usually is, the stars above will sparkle; look for the Southern Cross, the Big Dipper (turned up-side down!) and Orion.
Meals: Lunch, dinner
DAY 2: Monday – Galapagos Islands
Genovesa Island: Darwin Bay (wet landing) | El Barranco (dry landing)
Early in the morning you’ll have breakfast and then you’ll disembark at Genovesa “Tower” Island, which is located in the northeastern part of the Galapagos (less than half a degree north of the equator). At “Tower” Island you’ll anchor at Darwin Bay, which is located on the southern part of the island, and is actually the caldera of an extinct, partially eroded volcano, with the surrounding cliffs forming the inner lining of the rim. While the origin of the name “Tower” is not known, one can imagine it had something to do with these towering cliffs. The tour will be a long, fairly-easy walk, but it is usually hot and dry here, so you may want to carry some water. After a wet landing on a coral beach the trail begins in an area where there are several swallow-tailed gulls. As you walk back from the beach, you’ll see a variety of Opuntia cactus and mangroves.
Tower is an outpost for many sea birds (as Española is in the south). Interestingly, there are almost no land reptiles on Tower, only very small marine iguanas. This is attributed to the direction of the ocean currents, which wouldn’t have carried the terrestrial animals here. Visit El Barranco during the afternoon then return to the boat for dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 3: Tuesday – Galapagos islands
Bartolome | Sullivan Bay
Bartolome Island, which at its highest point is 114 meters, is one of the most photographed vistas in the archipelago. This island is quite young and quite volcanic, therefore, it’s relatively unpopulated; only a small handful of die-hard plant and animal species have survived long enough to call this lava-land home.
After the visit to Bartolome Island you’ll visit nearby Sullivan Bay. At the turn of the century a huge lava flow spilled right down to the sea and today you can stroll across this black volcanic expanse, admiring its time-frozen ripples, bubbles and ropes.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 4: Wednesday – Galapagos Islands
Black Turtle Cove | Cerro Dragon
Black Turtle Cove, is a red mangrove lagoon on Santa Cruz and is a nursery for many sharks and rays. It’s also a great location to observe mating turtles around this time of year. You might see a large groups of resting White-Tip Reef Sharks, schools of Golden Rays and Spotted Eagle Rays, and a few juvenile Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks and Black-Tip Sharks. The water very calm so we often used paddles instead of the loud panga engines to move around the area.
After this visit you’ll navigate for a couple of hours to Cerro Dragon, where you’ll make a dry landing on lava rocks. Cerro Dragon is a small bay on the west coast of Santa Cruz and got its name from the many land iguanas that live in the area. Land iguanas are endemic to the Galapagos Islands where they have found good mating and nesting areas.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 5: Thursday – Galapagos Islands
Santa Cruz Island (dry landing)
Charles Darwin Station & Tortoise Rearing Center
After breakfast you’ll sail to Santa Cruz Island, where you’ll visit the world-famous Charles Darwin Station, a non-profit institution that dedicates itself to studying and protecting the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. This is one of the best places to see land tortoises, including Lonesome George museum.
Then you’ll visit the station’s Tortoise Rearing Center. Here you can find baby, hand-sized tortoises, between the ages of one and five, and marvel at how they achieve such large sizes as adults (500 lbs. or more!). Galapagos tortoises are believed to have a lifespan of over 100 years, so the young ones have a long life ahead of them as long as they receive the protection they need.
Aside from the Station headquarters, Santa Cruz Island is home to the largest town and economic center of the Galapagos, Puerto Ayora. In this portside town you can buy souvenirs (postcards, t-shirts, books, etc.) of the islands. Check out the unique Galapagos ceramic shop near the entrance of the Charles Darwin Station. After shopping in Puerto Ayora and lunch on the boat (guests may dine in town if they desire), you’ll explore the highlands or “parte alta” of the island, which is a moisture-rich area with fertile volcanic soils. You’ll learn about the vegetation and animal life of this zone, often strikingly different than that found at lower elevations and our best opportunity to find the famous giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Darwin’s Finches, Yellow Warblers, and other land birds will fly in and out of the moss-covered trees. From this high vantage point you’ll be treated to beautiful views of the island. In the late afternoon you’ll return to town. For those who wish to check out the nightlife, this is your chance; the boat will be docked in port most of the night.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 6: Friday – Galapagos Islands
Floreana Island
Cormorant Point (wet landing), Corona del Diablo (wet landing) and Post Office Bay (wet landing)
When you wake up and look out your porthole on Day 6 you will see Floreana, one of the greenest islands in the archipelago. Ask your guide to tell you about its mysterious history laden with rumors of witches, murderous baronesses, blackmail, and dubious disappearances.
Your first stop is Punta Cormorant, where you’ll follow a footpath to a lagoon inhabited by flaming-pink flamingos. You will also pass by Carolina Beach, a Sea Turtle nesting area and a superb spot for watching sea birds and sea rays.
Back on the yacht, you’ll skirt the island’s coast until you arrive at La Corona del Diablo (the Devil’s Crown), a sub-marine crater that offers some of the most spectacular snorkeling in the Galapagos. This is a great spot for seeing the wide array of tropical fish, many endemic to the islands, including purple sea stars and spiky sea urchins. The crater’s most thrilling undersea creatures, however, are the white-tipped sharks. As with most of the creatures in the Galapagos they are unperturbed by your presence, so you can swim in their company freely and fearlessly.
After returning to the boat for lunch you’ll sail on to Post Office Bay, where the islands’ original post office (really only a wooden barrel) was established in 1793. The current system still functions as it did three centuries ago: Visitors drop off unstamped letters and postcards and pick-up whatever mail they can hand deliver themselves when they return home! (Try it, it actually works!).
DAY 7: Saturday – Galapagos Islands – Española Island: Suarez Point (dry landing) & Garner Bay (wet landing)
Espanola is one of the most magical of all the islands. It is a place where the animals reign supreme and we humans are merely guests. As your dingy brings you to shore you’ll see Sea Lion pups sunbathing with Marine Iguanas and Blue Footed Boobies nesting in between, and nearby may be a Galapagos Hawk. If it is Booby mating season watch the bonded pairs do the infamous Booby dance (if it’s not mating season, ask your guide to demonstrate – after all it’s their job to teach you about the local fauna!).
As you follow the footpath around the island, you will pass hundreds of Blue Footed Booby nesting sites including one colony of masked boobies.
There is a good chance you’ll see the thief-like Frigate Bird (which has the habit of stealing other birds’ food), as well as the stunning Red-Billed Tropicbird and the nocturnal Swallow-Tailed Gull. If it is the right time of the year (mid-April to December) you’ll also encounter the giant Waved Albatross. Apart from a few pairs that breed on Isla de Plata, off the Ecuadorian mainland, all of the world’s 12,000 Waved Albatross breed on Espanola Island. At the end of the breeding season, the entire population leaves the island and heads out to sea, where they spend years without touching land; four or five years may pass before the fledglings return to Espanola.
As you make your way around the island you’ll pass by El Soplador, a giant blowhole that explodes to heights reaching 25 feet. In the nearby tide pools you can often find lounging sea lions enjoying the blowhole’s misty spray. Following lunch on board the yacht, you’ll visit Garner Bay, a great place for sunbathing, swimming and snorkeling. Lionfish, Flycatchers, and Galapagos Hawks will keep you company as you relax under the rays of the evening sun. Dinner on the yacht completes your day.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
DAY 8: Sunday – Galapagos Islands
San Cristobal Island
Isla Lobos, Interpretation Center & Departure
On your 8th day of visiting the Galapagos you’ll arrive early in the morning to San Cristobal, the capital of the Galapagos. The first site will be Isla Lobos, a very small islet made of volcanic rocks that gets its name from the colony of Sea Lions (Lobo de Mar in Spanish) that live there. Here you can observe the behavior and interaction of Sea Lions living in a small community. Before taking the flight back to the mainland you will have some time to visit the town on your own for last minute shopping or people watching in the Galapagos. Transfer to airport for your flight to Quito or Guayaquil and your next destination.
Meals: Breakfast
GROSS RATES PER PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
VALID THRU DECEMBER 32, 2019
GTAM-164A (GE -24) QUITO & GALAPAGOS | RATES |
With Hotel Wyndham Airport (First Class) | $ 3,636 |
With Hotel Casona de la Ronda | $ 3,643 |
With Hotel Patio Andaluz | $ 3,651 |
M/V Aida Maria Eight Day/Seven Night Cruise only | $ 3,431 |
This Galapagos cruise is also available with pre-Galapagos tours of 3 and 4 days programs. Please check with us for details
TOUR RATES INCLUDE
QUITO
Roundtrip private transfer between airport / hotel / airport
One night accommodations at selected hotel including 22% taxes and service fees.
Daily breakfast
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Eight day cruise aboard the M/Y Aida Maria (Tourist superior) based on double occupancy
Daily fully escorted tours to islands indicated in itinerary by English speaking naturalist guides
Round trip transfers between Baltra airport and motor yacht
All meals during the cruise
NOT INCLUDED
International air between the USA and Quito or Guayaquil
Roundtrip air between Quito or Guayaquil & Galapagos
Galapagos National Park entrance fees total $120 per person and subject to change
Gratuities and tips to guides and crew
Land services, meals and tours not indicated in the itinerary
Expenses of personal nature
Travel insurance (Highly recommended)
MOTOR YACHT AIDA MARIA | |||
EIGHT DAYS / SEVEN NIGHTS ITINERARY “A” | |||
CRUISE DATES 2019 | CRUISE DATES 2020 | ||
START DATES | END DATES | START DATES | END DATES |
7/28/19 | 8/4/19 | 1/12/20 | 1/19/20 |
8/11/19 | 8/18/19 | 1/26/20 | 2/2/20 |
8/25/19 | 9/1/19 | 2/9/20 | 2/16/20 |
9/8/19 | 9/15/19 | 2/23/20 | 3/1/20 |
9/22/19 | 9/29/19 | 3/8/20 | 3/15/20 |
10/6/19 | 10/13/19 | 3/22/20 | 3/29/20 |
10/20/19 | 10/27/19 | 4/5/20 | 4/12/20 |
11/3/19 | 11/10/19 | 4/19/20 | 4/26/20 |
11/17/19 | 11/24/19 | 5/3/20 | 5/10/20 |
12/1/19 | 12/8/19 | 5/17/20 | 5/24/20 |
12/15/19 | 12/22/19 | 5/31/20 | 6/7/20 |
6/14/20 | 6/21/20 | ||
6/28/20 | 7/5/20 | ||
7/12/20 | 7/19/20 | ||
7/26/20 | 8/2/20 | ||
8/9/20 | 8/16/20 | ||
8/23/20 | 8/30/20 | ||
9/6/20 | 9/13/20 | ||
9/20/20 | 9/27/20 | ||
10/4/20 | 10/11/20 | ||
10/18/20 | 10/25/20 | ||
11/1/20 | 11/8/20 | ||
11/15/20 | 11/22/20 | ||
11/29/20 | 12/6/20 | ||
12/13/20 | 12/20/20 |
GROSS RATES PER PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
VALID THRU DECEMBER 32, 2019
GTAM-164A (GE -24) QUITO & GALAPAGOS | RATES |
With Hotel Wyndham Airport (First Class) | $ 3,636 |
With Hotel Casona de la Ronda | $ 3,643 |
With Hotel Patio Andaluz | $ 3,651 |
M/V Aida Maria Eight Day/Seven Night Cruise only | $ 3,431 |
This Galapagos cruise is also available with pre-Galapagos tours of 3 and 4 days programs. Please check with us for details.
IMPORTANT: Since this cruise depart Galapagos on Thursdays on the dates indicated in the CRUISE DATE SECTION you need to plan to arrive a day before Wednesday in Quito. And Tuesday for a 3 day stay in Quito; Monday for a 4 day pre-cruise tour.
TOUR RATES INCLUDE
QUITO
Roundtrip private transfer between airport / hotel / airport
One night accommodations at selected hotel including 22% taxes and service fees.
Daily breakfast
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Eight day cruise aboard the M/Y Aida Maria (Tourist superior) based on double occupancy
Daily fully escorted tours to islands indicated in itinerary by English speaking naturalist guides
Round trip transfers between Baltra airport and motor yacht
All meals during the cruise
NOT INCLUDED
International air between the USA and Quito or Guayaquil
Roundtrip air between Quito or Guayaquil & Galapagos
Galapagos National Park entrance fees total $120 per person and subject to change
Gratuities and tips to guides and crew
Land services, meals and tours not indicated in the itinerary
Expenses of personal nature
Travel insurance (Highly recommended)