12 Day | Complete Galapagos Experience

This 12-day Galapagos tour is designed for those travelers who do not want to miss a thing and plan to make the most of their time in the Galapagos. You will stay in three different islands and explore nearby areas, as well as go on a couple day tours to uninhabited islands. Visit the highlands of Santa Cruz where you will walk amongst giant tortoises, go on day excursion to an uninhabited islands to see wildlife up close, hike up to Sierra Negra Volcano for a spectacular view, enjoy a scenic flight over the islands, bike in the highlands of San Cristobal, visit Española Island, and enjoy many snorkeling opportunities where you will swim with sea lions, large schools or fish, rays, and much more!

Day 1- Arrival on Santa Cruz and visit Los Gemelos and El Manzanillo Tortoise Reserve

Arrival at Baltra airport where you will be met by your local guide. Transfer over the island stopping at Los Gemelos sink holes, and then continue on to El Manzanillo Tortoise Reserve for lunch. Depending on the time, either before or after lunch you will spend some time walking the trails of this reserve, and you will have the opportunity to see many giant tortoises. In the late afternoon, continue on to Puerto Ayora and check into your hotel. Evening free to explore and try one of the many local restaurants. (L)

Day 2: Tour to one of the uninhabited islands

In the morning you will make your way to the main dock to join your tour to one of the uninhabited islands. Transfer over land to the canal where you will board the motor yacht and then head out to one of the many uninhabited islands surrounding Santa Cruz. Depending on the day of the week, will determine what island you visit. Among the islands you can visit are: North Seymour, Bartolome, South Plazas, Santa Fe. This is also the best way to get up close and personal with the wildlife as you will be away from populated areas. You may also get to swim with a few sea lions! (B/L)

Day 3: Snorkeling and Fishing tour

We head out on the water again today, but this time for a snorkeling/fishing adventure. We will try our luck to catch some fish on our way to one of the snorkeling sites. Fish we may catch are: wahoo, jacks, mahi mahi and various species of tuna. If we are lucky and get some fish, the guide and crew will prepare a rare treat for you, fresh sashimi and a bbq made right on the boat. After some snorkeling and lunch we will head to Playa Escondida, located on the coast of Santa Cruz. This is a beautiful beach is surrounded by red mangroves and also has crystal clear water, an excellent place to snorkel. The boat usually gets back to Puerto Ayora around 15h00 and 16h00, depending on the destinations visited. (B/L)

*This tour can be switched for a full day tour to an uninhabited island, for an extra surcharge of approximately $50 per person

Day 4: Cerro Mesa Reserve and Tortuga Bay

In the morning you will be picked up from your hotel and driver to the highlands to visit Cerro Mesa Reserve, where you will be awarded with wonderful views of Santa Cruz Island. Here there are few trail options to explore, one leading down to the bottom of a crater. Afterwards visit a trapiche farm where local caña liquor is produced, learn about the process from start to finish, and sample some yourself! From here continue on to have lunch a local restaurant in the highlands.

In the afternoon return to Puerto Ayora. You will still have some time to visit Tortuga Bay Beach on your own or with your guide. Walk 2.5km on a paved path through national park arriving at a beautiful white sand beach, where (depending on the season) sea turtles make their nest under the cover of darkness. This is also a great place to bring some snorkel gear or a boogie board and enjoy the ocean. If you walk to the end of the beach you will arrive at a marine iguana nesting area. (B/L)

Day 5: Transfer to Isabela by ferry and Bike tour the Tortoise Breeding Center

In the morning, make your way to the dock to catch your ferry to Isabela that departs at 7am. Upon arrival in Isabela, you will be picked up from the dock and taken to your hotel for check-in. When we are ready, we will hop on our bikes and begin our bike tour that will take us to see flamingos in two different lagoons. We will visit the breeding center to see the various species of land tortoises from early hatchlings through 100 years old. After learning about our Galapagos tortoises, explore the town and finally ending with a refreshing swim and snorkel in Concha de Perla! (B)

Day 6: Sierra Negra Volcano

This tour begins with a 40-minute drive from Puerto Villamil town. Then you will begin your hike. During the first hour, the trail goes gently uphill until we reach the second largest volcanic crater in the world, which is 6 miles wide. Continuing our trek along a landscape of lava flows and then down through the moon-like environment until we reach Volcan Chico where we will view the active fumeroles. This is a 16 km hike and takes approximately 5-6 hours depending upon your rhythm and walking abilities. (B/Box-Lunch)

Day 7: Snorkelling at Tintoreras / Free afternoon to enjoy beach

This island is a unique and fragile environment formed of A’A lava and home to an abundance of wildlife. Your visit begins with a short boat ride to Tintoreras. It is an easy, one-hour walk on a sandy path, observing marine iguanas, sea birds, sea lions and white tipped reef sharks resting in a shallow crevice, which you will view from the land. There will be a boat ride looking for penguins, birds and other marine life. Your snorkeling adventure will be determined by the tide. Your captain and guide will take you to either La Calera or Loberia Chica. Some of the marine creatures to be observed are marine turtles, rays and colorful reef fish, starfish, and look for octopus! You will be back in town in time for lunch, and afterwards you have the rest of the day free to enjoy the town on your own. Spend some time at the beach, rent a surfboard, rent bikes and go to visit the Wall of Tears, and more – please ask for suggestions! (B)

*This tour can be switched for a full day snorkelling tour to Los Tuneles, for an extra surcharge

Day 8: Scenic flight to San Cristobal / Free afternoon

You will have some free time in the morning before you are taken to the airport to board your small flight to San Cristobal Island (these planes have limited seats and spaces must be booked in advance). Upon arrival to San Cristobal you will make your way to your hotel to check-in (we will provide a transfer service if required). Afterwards you will have the afternoon to do a little exploring on your own. You can visit San Cristobal’s Interpretation Center where you will get to see an in-depth explanation of the history of Galapagos and where it is now in terms of conservation and what is being done to protect the islands. There are also many trails surrounding the center where you can walk through native forests and visit secluded beaches full of underwater life. The town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is situated next to a very active sea lion colony with hundreds of resident sea lions. At night there is hardly any space left on the beach in front of the town and it is quite a spectacle to watch. (B)

Day 9: Full day navigable tour around San Cristobal (360 Tour)

Today you get up early to catch your boat at 7:30 am to do a full 360 loop around the island. This is a complete tour full of land visits, snorkeling and even some fishing! Our first stop takes us to Rosa Blanca famous for its many picturesque beaches. This is also a good place to drop the lines and try to catch some fish. Many turtles, sharks and rays frequent this place so we will have a good chance to see something while snorkeling. Our second stop is Punta Pitt. Here we will view many bird species from the boat as we slowly cruise by. This is one of the only two locations in the entire Galapagos Islands where you can see all three species of boobes cohabiting the same place. You will also see two different types of frigate birds nesting here.
Moving on, we head to Sardin Bay where we will get another chance to jump in the water to see some amazing sea life. This area is known for its many sea turtles and rays roaming the crystal clear waters. You may even get a chance to swim with some playful sea lions!

We now disembark at Punta Pucuna for a 45 min hike with amazing views of Cerro Brujo and Kicker Rock from a distance.
 We get back on the boat and head towards Cerro Brujo for a short scenic ride around the rock. Finally, we head out to the famous Kicker Rock, also known as ‘The Sleeping Lion’ (Leon Dormido). Kicker Rock is a rock formation located off the coast of the Island San Cristobal. It is a magnificent small islet in the middle of the sea, standing up to 500 feet from the ocean, it has the form of a gigantic sleeping lion, hence the name ‘El León Dormido’. The rocks are the remainders of a vertical conformation of rock and are a favourite place for diverse species of marine birds. Here, you will snorkel in the channel of Kicker Rock for an hour. At first the depth reaches 35 metres and decreases to 12 meters at the end of the canal. The wildlife that you can observe include black tip reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks, hammerhead sharks, eagle rays, marine turtles and sea lions. (B/L)

Note: This itinerary may change slightly do to the day of the week, time of year and weather conditions.

Day 10- Morning free and then afternoon tour to El Junco by mountain bike or 4×4

You’ll have the morning free to explore the town of San Cristobal, visit one of the nearby beaches, or rent a board and catch some waves. In the afternoon you will go up to the highlands to visit el Junco Lagoon, the only permanent freshwater lake in the Galapagos. You can either travel there by 4×4 truck or by mountain bike – depending on your interest. El Junco Lagoon (technically a crater lake) is located at 659 meters above sea level and a walk along the edge of the crater gives visitors a 360 degrees view of the island. Afterwards we will visit Finca Otoy (Otoy Farm) where we will walk the bamboo forest trails and have a chance to try exotic fruits. Then we continue on to La Galapaguera: a free range tortoise breeding center managed by the Galapagos National Park. We’ll walk the grounds in search of wild giant tortoises and learn about the efforts this center does to support their conservation. Afterwards we will go to the beautiful beach of Puerto Chino. (B/L)

Day 11- Full day navigable tour to Española Island

On this day, we venture a little further out to Epañola Island. First we visit Punta Suarez; from April to December the Waved Albatross make their nests here. It is also the only place in the Galapagos where you can observe this magnificent bird. Due to their massive wing span (8.2 ft / 250 cm) it can be quite tricky for them to land and take off. Sometimes you will see them launch themselves off the side of the island to gain a little extra lift. The island is also home to blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies, along with several other bird species. Then we head to Gardner Bay for snorkelling. Here there is a good chance to see rays, sharks, turtles and many more tropical fish here. On the journey back to port, there is a chance to see dolphins or whales swimming by, if we are lucky! (B/L)

*Please note this tour does not operate on Sundays – we will move around days to accommodate travel dates, if need be

Day 12- Departure

Sadly this is your last day, you will be picked up from your hotel in the morning and taken to the airport for your departure back to the mainland.

**End of services**

• Location: Galapagos Land Tours
• Duration: 12 days / 11 nights
• Start / End: Baltra (Santa Cruz) / Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal)
• Activities: Wildlife viewing, walking, hiking, snorkeling, fishing, bike riding, boat rides, scenic flight
• Highlights: Los Gemelos, Tortoise Reserve, visit uninhabited islands, snorkel in a world renown marine reserve, fish for some local fish, Tortuga Bay, Cerro Mesa Reserve, Isabela Tortoise Breeding Center, Sierra Negra Volcano, full day boat tour to circumnavigate San Cristobal, visit the island of Española, and much more!
• Season: All year
• Included: Accommodation in double rooms, all transfers mentioned in program, all excursions and activities mentioned in itinerary, snorkeling gear on days where there is snorkeling, meals mentioned in program
• Not Included: Flights to and from Galapagos, Galapagos National Park entrance fee, Migratory card fee, any extra beverages on board (anything in a bottle), wetsuit rental, tips, personal expenses