Galapagos Wildlife Cruise - Cachalote Explorer

The group flight usually arrives into Quito this evening. Land Only clients should aim to arrive at the hotel this afternoon/evening. Free transfers are available for all clients. A local guide will welcome you to Quito and explain the schedule for the next few days. Stay: Hotel Vieja Cuba (or similar).

Today is free to relax, recover from the flight and explore the fascinating city of Quito. Quito is the second highest capital in the world, standing at 2,850m on the western cordillera of the Andes. It is one of the smaller and more attractive of the colonial capitals of South America. Because of the altitude visitors to Quito are advised to take it easy at first. Stay: Hotel Vieja Cuba (or similar) (B).

Transfer to Quito Airport and fly to Baltra in the Galapagos Islands. We take a short ferry crossing to Santa Cruz Island where we drive to the highlands to look for Galapagos giant tortoises.

This afternoon visit the Charles Darwin Centre to learn about the ecology of the islands and visit the centre's tortoise hatchery. After this we board our boat at Puerto Ayora, the island's main town. For today's excursion it's a good idea to have access to your camera, sun cream and appropriate clothing: comfortable footwear for some short walks (possibly amongst grass), light clothes, a hat/cap and a light waterproof in case of a shower or mist.

The Galapagos Wildlife Cruise does both of our two seven-night cruising itineraries back-to-back. Whether the cruise does Itinerary A (eastern islands) or B (western islands) first depends on the departure date of your trip (please ask your sales consultant if unsure). Below we list the schedules for the cruise itineraries A and B for each day. Stay: Cachalote Explorer (B/L/D).

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(B).