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These tours involve staying at a hotel and visiting the islands by fast launch during the day. For some people, especially those having a tendency to getting seasick, this is the more comfortable option, as you are not living aboard the boat.
BARTOLOMÉ
EVERY DAY
$275PP
The Day Trip to Bartolome leaves at 6:00 AM from Puerto Ayora and includes breakfast and lunch. The bus picks you up in front of your hotel and you are transferred across the island of Santa Cruz to Ithabaca Channel between Santa Cruz and Baltra. From there you take the yacht across to Bartolome, which is a small island right next to Santiago. There is a walk up to the top of Bartolome for a picture postcard view (the most photographed in the islands) through a moonscape of volcanic craters.
The famous Pinnacle Rock is where you will see the Galapagos Penguins and there is a nice swimming / snorkeling beach. You will be back in Puerto Ayora around 5:00 or 5:30 PM.
SEYMOUR & BACHAS
EVERY DAY
$255PP
The Day Trip to Seymour leaves at 7:15/ 7:30 and 8:00 AM from Puerto Ayora and includes lunch. You take the same initial trip across Santa Cruz to be picked up at the channel by the boat. You see the Magnificent Frigate bird, Blue Footed and Great Frigate Birds, Swallow Tailed gulls and sealions, and there is a chance of seeing Land Iguanas. Later in the day you visit Las Bachas beach for swimming and snorkeling.
There is also a wading bird lagoon behind the beach which sometimes has
flamingos. The return to Puerto Ayora is around 3:30 or 4:00 PM.
PLAZAS & PTA CARRION
EVERY DAY
$255PP
The Day Trip to Plazas is similar logistically to the trip to Seymour in meals and travel times. This is the best place to see the Land iguanas in Galapagos, and one of the best to see Sea Lions.
There are also Blue Footed and Nazca Boobies and Swallow Tailed Gulls and
interesting geology.
SANTA FE
EVERY DAY. EXCEPT SATURDAY
$275PP
For the Day Trip to Santa Fe you will need to be at the main dock in Puerto Ayora by 7:30 and 8:00 AM where you will be picked up for the tour.(It is best to be 10 or 15 minutes early). The island of Santa Fe is about 18 miles away from Puerto Ayora.
Between around 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM youwill be doing a land visit, having lunch and snorkeling. For the land visit you will have a wet landing on the beach (take off your shoes and roll up your trousers), followed by a walk. There are lots of sea lions and you will be seeing Conolophus pallidus, the light colored land iguana which is endemic to the island of Santa Fe. You will be seeing Galapagos Doves and possibly a Galapagos Hawk.
There are also giant prickly pear cacti and the endemic Rice Rat is also found on this island. The snorkeling is done outside the bay now, along the cliff where a small gully enters the ocean. You will be back in Puerto Ayora between 4:00 and 4:30 PM and dropped off back at your hotel.
The trip over on the yacht also offers opportunities for seeing porpoises and whales at certain times of the year. You will be back in Puerto Ayora around 4:30 or 5:00 PM
SAME ISLANDS IN A FIRST CLASS YACHT
SEAFINCH $300 per person
SEALION $450 per person
WINDROSE $450 per person
FLOREANA
USUALLY AVAILABLE EVERY DAY
$165PP
For the Day Trip to Floreana you will need to be on the main dock by 7:00AM departing at 8;00AM from Puerto Ayora and includes lunch. You will be visiting “La Loberia” (Sea Lion Colony), which has a 900 meter long trail of sand and rocks. There are Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas and Sea Turtles. You can snorkel off the Loberia or Black Beach. There is a visit to Asilo de la Paz, which is up in the highlands about 450 meters above sea level.
There is the Pirates’Cave and a fresh water spring, as well as a Scalecia forest which is a nesting area for the endemic
Galapagos Petrel and is also a good place to see the Medium Billed Tree Finch, which is endemic to Floreana. Near Asilo de la Paz the National Park has built a
corral where you can see Galapagos Tortoises from several islands.
ISABELA
USUALLY AVAILABLE EVERY DAY
$165
For the Day Trip to Isabela you will need to be at the main dock by 6:30 AM, leaving at 7;30AM from Puerto Ayora . The trip takes about 2 to 2 ½ hours each way.
You will be visiting las Tintoreras on a Bay Tour where you can observe Sea Lions, Sea Turtles, Stingrays and Sharks. There are also Marine Iguanas, Penguins, Boobies and Pelicans. You will be surrounded by AA lava flows for most of the walk, but the trail is an easy one. Puerto Villamil Beach is a beautiful white sand beach for swimming, bird watching and marine iguanas.
You will be visiting the “Humedales” or Wetlands, which is a complex of trails and ponds for observing the 4 species of mangroves, lava formations and various birds such as flamingos, black necked stilts, sand pipers, white cheeked pintail – ducks, etc. You will also be visiting the Tortoise Rearing Center, which has beautiful gardens with endemic plants and several species of tortoises. You will be back in Puerto Ayora around 5:00 PM.
HIGHLANDS TOUR
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, ISABELA ISLAND AND SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND EVERY DAY
$165PP
On Santa Cruz, this involves a vilsit to the Gemelos Pit Craters, with a walk through the endemic Scalesia forest looking for birds and enjoying the view of the 300 ft deep pit craters. Looking down into the craters you get a peek into the island’s past. If you are lucky you may see a Short eared Owl or a Vermillion Flycatcher. After the pit craters you will be visiting a local eco-ranch / preserve to observe wild Galapagos Tortoises and a Lava Tube.
On Isabela, the Highland Tour is a trip to the top of Sierra Negra Volcano and Volcan Chico. You take a bus or taxi up the ranger station, sign in, and then there is a 3 or4 hour walk up and back.
On San Cristobal you visit the Highlands, to see the Junco lagoon and tortoises. All of these include transportation by bus or taxi (depending on the size of the group), and a knowledgeable local guide.
With over 50 years combined experience in tourism in the Galapagos Islands