Galápagos Land & Sea - Central & South Islands aboard the Yolita
Itinerary
Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer included. There are no planned activities, so check into the hotel and enjoy the city. A G Adventures representative will greet you at the hotel and brief the group on the various aspects of the tour.
Opt to pre-book the "Quito City Tour & Equator Line" activity on the checkout page ahead of time to include this optional on your tour.
- Transport: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
- Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting with G Representative: The adventure begins today. Feel free to explore, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Your G Representative will review the details of your tour.
- Teleférico: Enjoy spectacular views of Quito from this sky tram up Volcán Pichincha. Choose to go for a hike at the top, or just come along for the ride.
- Quito City Tour & Equator Line: Enjoy a city tour of Quito. Visit the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with stops at the Basilica del Voto Nacional, La Compañia Church, San Francisco Square, Plaza Grande and the Panecillo, a towering statue of the virgin of Quito who looks out over a stunning view of the city. Drive 25km (16 mi) north of Quito to the Middle of the World, latitude 0º. Stand with one foot in each hemisphere. Please note that this tour starts at 8 a.m. and ends around 5 p.m.
- Cotopaxi Volcano - Full Day: Enjoy a spectacular 2 hour drive to Cotopaxi Volcano National Park to see the highest active volcano in the world (5,897m/ 19,347 ft). Visit a museum in the park and hike around a lagoon at the bottom of the volcano to learn about the flora and fauna found at this altitude. Continue by car up the volcano to the parking lot, at over 4,500m/14,763 ft. Walk for an hour and a half to the refuge and after a short break, continue to the glacier (if the weather holds out). Return to Quito in the early evening.
Fly to Baltra. Meet the CEO and transfer to Puerto Ayora. Check into the hotel followed by lunch. Enjoy an afternoon hike to Tortuga Bay along with a visit to Las Grietas.
Flights from Quito to Baltra depart between 6:40am and 9:40am depending on the day of the week. These will arrive into the Galápagos between 9:30am and 12:30pm with a short refuelling stop in Guayaquil (you will not disembark the plane). The National Park charges a visitor fee of USD100, payable on arrival, which funds park maintenance and supervision in the Galápagos as well as ecological study, conservation, and infrastructure development in Ecuador's other national parks. Entry fees and the funds they generate for the National Park System are among measures taken by the Ecuadorian government to protect its natural heritage.
- Plane: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
- Tortuga Bay Hike: Enjoy a walk along a lava stone pathway to the beautiful white beach of Tortuga Bay. Relax on the beach, walk along the mangroves looking for marine iguanas and birdlife, or rent a kayak and explore this marine wonderland. Look for Tintoreras sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays in the water's shallow areas.
- Tortuga Bay Kayaking: Grab a life jacket and go for a kayak adventure in the mangroves of Tortuga Bay. Keep an eye out for a wide variety of marine life, including colorful reef fish, rays, and sea turtles, as you paddle the blue waters. Relax after on a beautiful fine white sand beach, and soak up some sun – you may spot some iguanas also trying to catch some rays on the shore.
Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in the morning before boarding the Yolita. Get to know the crew and settle in. This afternoon, visit a tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands.
- Yolita: Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
- Highlands Giant Tortoises Visit: Head to Santa Cruz’s verdant highlands. This is a perfect place to hike through the grounds and see giant tortoises in their natural environment, before savouring an included lunch.
- Fausto Llerena Breeding Center & Charles Darwin Research Station Visit: Visit Fausto Llerena Breeding Center a great place to observe many species of tortoises. Brought back from the brink of extinction, see the famous Galápagos tortoise up close – a corral houses adult tortoises, and a nursery cares for the young until around age three when their shells have hardened. This area also houses the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organization initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galápagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. While the offices themselves are not open to visitors, the research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.
This morning, snorkel at Devil's Crown, a coral reef surrounded by an eroded volcanic crater, the perfect home for marine life. Look out for small sharks, rays and schools of tropical fish. In the afternoon, make sure you have a postcard to leave behind on a visit to Post Office Bay.
- Snorkelling (Corona del Diablo): Enjoy an amazing snorkelling experience at the ‘Devil's Crown’, an old underwater volcanic cone just north of the Punta Cormorant. Spot large schools of tropical fish, rays, reef sharks, and sea turtles that make their home among the coral reef. Be sure you're a strong swimmer; the currents can be intense.
- Post Office Bay Visit: Visit Post Office Bay and learn about its unique history. In the late 18th century, English whaling vessels placed a barrel here to be used as a post office. Today, the box is used mainly by tourists, who may drop off and pick up unstamped letters to be carried to far destinations. Continue the tradition – leave a letter and take one to deliver (be sure it makes it to the correct location)!
- Yolita: Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
Visit the white sand beach at Chinese Hat in the morning, before an afternoon at Cerro Dragón for an opportunity to break out the binoculars and do some excellent birdwatching.
- Chinese Hat Visit: Explore Chinese Hat’s beautiful landscape and view many geological formations such as lava tubes and lava flows. Don't forget to bring your snorkel gear!
- Cerro Dragón Visit: Visit Cerro Dragón (Dragon Hill) for some prime birdwatching. Take a short walk from the beach to a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon frequented by pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks, and other species of birds. Pass through a Palo Santo tree forest; endemic to the area, there are only 400 specimens of Scalesia trees left in the world.
- Yolita: Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
In the early morning, explore the mangrove lagoon at Black Turtle Cove before transferring to the airport for a flight back to Quito. Enjoy a final night out on the town.
G Adventures strongly recommends not booking departure flights on the day the group returns to Quito. Local flight times are often subject to change and could potentially cause issues if delayed. We recommend booking flights on the last day of the tour as noted on the Full itinerary page.
- Black Turtle Cove Excursion: Explore the mangroves by panga to find rich marine wildlife between the fresh and salt waters. Keep any eye out for sting rays and sea turtles in this tranquil ecosystem. Whitetip reef sharks can also be seen gliding by.
Depart at any time.
- Quito City Tour & Equator Line: Enjoy a city tour of Quito. Visit the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with stops at the Basilica del Voto Nacional, La Compañia Church, San Francisco Square, Plaza Grande and the Panecillo, a towering statue of the virgin of Quito who looks out over a stunning view of the city. Drive 25km (16 mi) north of Quito to the Middle of the World, latitude 0º. Stand with one foot in each hemisphere. Please note that this tour starts at 8 a.m. and ends around 5 p.m.
- Cotopaxi Volcano - Full Day: Enjoy a spectacular 2 hour drive to Cotopaxi Volcano National Park to see the highest active volcano in the world (5,897m/ 19,347 ft). Visit a museum in the park and hike around a lagoon at the bottom of the volcano to learn about the flora and fauna found at this altitude. Continue by car up the volcano to the parking lot, at over 4,500m/14,763 ft. Walk for an hour and a half to the refuge and after a short break, continue to the glacier (if the weather holds out). Return to Quito in the early evening.
- Teleférico: Enjoy spectacular views of Quito from this sky tram up Volcán Pichincha. Choose to go for a hike at the top, or just come along for the ride.
Trip Inclusions
- Five days exploring the Galápagos Islands.
- Enjoy an amazing snorkelling experience at the Devil's Crown.
- Visit Post Office Bay.
- Cerro Dragón for some excellent birdwatching.
- Snorkel with the local wildlife.
- Arrival transfer
- Certified Galápagos National Park Service Guide
- Cruise the Galápagos Islands aboard the Yolita (3 nts)
- All meals aboard the Yolita
- Overnight on Santa Cruz Island
- Tortuga Bay hike and kayak (Santa Cruz Island)
- Excursion to see giant tortoises in the wild (Santa Cruz Island)
- Visit to Post Office Bay (Floreana Island)
- Snorkelling at Corona del Diablo
- Onboard snorkelling equipment and wetsuits while aboard the Yolita
- Internal flights
- All transport between destinations and to/from included activities
- Plane, motorized yacht (Yolita), van, panga, private bus
- CEO (Chief Experience Officer)/Naturalist Guide while in the Galápagos Islands (certified by the Galápagos National Park Authority), local G Adventures Rep in Quito
- Hotels (3 Nights), Aboard The Yolita In Twin-share Cabins (3 Nights)
- 6 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners
- Accommodation, itinerary and inclusions subject to change.
- Price is for land, cruise and internal flights as specified. Flights not specified are not included.
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Dates & Pricing
The Great Adventurers Club
GJ Loyalty Discount
A definite departure means minimum numbers have been reached for this departure to operate. Your Global Journeys Travel Advisor will check the availability of your departure date when you Enquire. Additional savings may apply. T&C’s apply.
Tour & cruises prices are per person. Prices shown have savings applied, are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Pricing and trip details are correct at this point in time, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking and are subject to change by G Adventures. For cruise itineraries, cabin images are sourced from the cruise-line and should be treated as indicative only. Cabin inclusions, upholsteries and room layout may differ to the image(s) shown depending on the ship selected and your sailing dates.
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