5 Day | San Cristobal Discovery

Upon arrival to San Cristobal (Puerto Baquerizo Moreno) by boat or plane, 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.

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

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.

On this day, we venture a little further out to Española 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 snorkeling. 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!

Sadly, this is the last day of the San Cristobal Island tour. You will be picked up from your hotel in the morning and taken to the airport for your departure back to the mainland.