Itinerary

Transfer airport – hotel in Quito. Overnight at Hostal Vieja Cuba 3* or similar(subject to availability). Breakfast included

Day 2 - Quito – Santa Cruz

Arrival at Baltra Airport followed by ferry crossing to Santa Cruz Island (10 min-ride). Arrival at Santa Cruz in the morning. Check-in at Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge. Begin your Academy Bay Tour at La Loberia, where you can snorkel with sea lions (optional) and enjoy a 40 minute navigation of Tortuga Bay. As we enter the white sandy beach, we have a chance to observe different marine species, like sting rays and baby reef sharks in the shallow waters of the mangrove ecosystems. After swimming on the beach, we take a very short hike to the marine iguana nesting site. The walk back is through a prickly pear forest carpeted in crimson sesuvium with black lava outcroppings home to more marine iguana colonies. Box Lunch on the beach. Welcome Cocktail. Briefing followed by Dinner.

Day 3 - Santa Cruz - Florena

Eat Breakfast, before being taken to where you will make two dives at one of the following three dive sites:
North Seymour where you will dive with Eagle Rays, Manta Rays, Hammerheads, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Galapagos Shark, Stingrays, Marbled Rays, Tiger Snake Eels, Moray Eels, Garden Eels and more.
Mosqueras where you will see Sea Lions, Eagle Rays, Hammerheads, White-Tipped Reef Shark, Mantas, Garden Eels, Snake Eels, Bonitos, Jack, Mackerel, Three banded Butterfly fish and more.
Daphne Minor where you will see Sea Turtles, Hammerheads, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, Silky Sharks, Tuna, Parrotfish, Wrasse, Razor Surgeonfish, Panamic Grays by Cabrilla and more.
Lunch is served on the boat. Post lunch, we will cruise a cove called "Luz del Dia" (Light of Day) where there is an abundance of penguins and sea lions on the steep, rocky shore and rays and tropical fish beneath the crystal-clear waters. We will continue on to the main dock in Floreana. It's not unusual to have to 'shoo' sea lions sleeping on the steps we need to ascend. On the other side of the dock are black lava rocks typically full of the amazing ruby-red and turquoise colored Marine iguanas. -BBQ Dinner at the Floreana Lodge.

Day 4 - Florena - Isabela

Breakfast and departure on the boat for your dive sites.
Dive 1: Enderby where you will see Eagle Rays, Stingrays, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Galapagos Sharks, sometimes Hammerheads and Pilot Whales, Barracuda, Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Juvenile Grunts, Creole fish, Mexican Hogfish, Sea Cucumbers, Blue and Gold Snappers and more.
Dive 2: Champion where you will see Sea lions galore, Sea Turtles, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Long nosed Hawk fish, Sea Stars, Scorpion fish, Mexican hogfish in various growth stages, King Angelfish, Spinster Wrasse, Guinea fowl Puffer in its bright yellow phase, Flag Cabrilla, Red Lipped Batfish, Barracuda, Black striped Salemas, Panamic horse conch, Green Morays, Pacific Seahorse, Blue Lobster, Octopus and more. Departure for Isabela. Sailing time is 1.5 - 2 hours. Box lunch served on boat.
Mid-Afternoon: Weather and tides permitted, we approach Isabela by sea, on the way we pass by Isla Tortuga, full of frigates, blue-footed boobies and other birds that live by the sea. Arriving in the port is a visual feast with stunning green and turquoise waters so clear, you can see turtles, sea lions and penguins as if you were looking through glass.
Check in Mangrove Lodge.
Post lunch Departure to Las Tintoreras and Bay Tour. After lunch, we take an intriguing walk through a jagged 'AA' lava field, passing abundant colonies of marine iguanas, to see a small canal full of resting white-tipped reef sharks…if the tide is low, they are sometimes a mere 2 feet below the surface. The black, treacherous lava field, the emerald green sea, the forest green mangrove and the cloud capped volcanoes of Isla Isabela is the sort of afternoon backdrop you may remember for the rest of your life! Once you return to the dock, you can snorkel this warm, shallow bay in the presence of gentle white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, penguins and, of course, the mystery of the mangrove below the surface.
Dinner in the Lodge.

Day 5 - Isabela

Post breakfast, depart for one of the following:
Isla Tortuga: Mantas, Stingrays, Sea Turtles, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Hammerheads, King Angelfish, Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Barber fish, Blue-Chin Parrotfish, Bump head Parrotfish, Galapagos Groupers, Galapagos Sheep head, Harlequin Wrasse, Grey Grunts, Tuna, Barracuda, Corals, Tubes and more. Possibility of Sunfish and Orcas.
Los Tunnels: (snorkel only) which is a series of sunken black volcanic lava formations where you can find a colony of Galapagos Penguins playing in the water all around you while you snorkel and you will see white-tipped sharks resting in the lava canal. You will snorkel or swim in the amazing habitat of these marine animals, in a virtual aquarium of colourful fish, as well as sea lions, sea turtles, iguanas, lobsters, and a great variety of birds.
After returning from a great day of diving or snorkelling, we will have a late lunch at Red Mangrove Isabela Lodge. After lunch we will visit Cuevas de Sucre. Set in a forest the Park says is now completely endemic plants. Inside, the tunnels ceilings look like you're walking through a gold mine. Next visit will be the Mango mirador, where on a clear day you'll have a wonderful view of the entire southern part of Isabela Island, its nearby islands and even other islands like Floreana and Santa Cruz. Back to Isabela Lodge, many prefer to laze on the beautiful beach or take photos of the marine iguanas. Also, nearby is a beautiful walk through the mangrove that leads to an area known as Concha de Perla where there is a sea turtle 'cleaning station' great to snorkel and see these creatures at an arm’s length away.
Dinner in the Lodge.

Day 6 - Isabela - Santa Cruz

After breakfast, depart for one of the following:
Dive 1: 4 Hermanos: Where you will see Manta Rays, Sea Horses, Lobster, Nudibranch, Sea Cucumber, Octopus, Sea Horse, White-Tipped Reef Shark, Yellowtail Surgeonfish and so much more.
Dive 2: La Viuda: Where you will see Galapagos Grunts, Parrotfish, Creole, Puffers, Bacalao, Snappers, Sea horse, Turtles, Panamic Soldier fish, Wrasse, Stingrays, Marbled Rays, Galapagos Blenny and so much more.
Lunch is served on the boat. Arrival in Puerto Ayora and check in to Aventura Lodge. Depart for a guided tour of Charles Darwin Research Station. Afterward, there will be some free time to shop along Charles Darwin Avenue. Dinner at the Aventura Lodge.

Day 7 - Santa Cruz - San Cristobal

Visit La Loberia, home to a large sea lion colony and nursery during low tide when it is best to see the mother's bring the pups into the tide pools for swimming lessons. Then we will drive through a farming district to El Junco Lake. The lake itself is the caldera (collapsed cone) of an extinct volcano and is about 300 metres wide. This lagoon lies at 700m in the centre of San Cristobal and is the only large sweet water reservoir in the Galapagos archipelago. Arriving on top of the lake, you are awarded by amazing views to the lagoon and the surrounding hills as well as the far away Pacific Ocean. Our tour continues on to La Galapaguera where you can see giant tortoises in their natural habitat.
Return to hotel, dinner in popular local restaurant.

Day 8 - San Cristobal

After breakfast, departure to dive the Carauga Ship Wreck at Kicker Rock or Sleeping Lion. Kicker Rock is one of the top photo opportunities in the Galapagos, a gigantic rock that raises 500 feet straight from the ocean. The surrounding crystal clear waters are great for scuba diving, where you will be treated to a brilliant show of colourful, tropical fish and invertebrates. Carauga wreck is a WW1 German steamer that was scuttled by its own Captain in Nov 1918 just outside San Cristobal harbour.
Eat lunch in Puerto Grande. Depart to Lobos Island, a seasonal nesting site for a staple of the Galapagos, the blue footed booby. Return to San Cristobal. Arrive at hotel. Free time to walk to town for last chance at shopping. Dinner at another popular local restaurant.

Day 9 - San Cristobal -Quito /Guayaquil

After breakfast, visit the Cerro de las Tijeretas or Frigate bird Hill. Reached via a well marked walking trail, this spot is the nesting ground for a number of Frigate bird species. Departure for airport.Before entering the 'gate' to depart, you will pass through a line where you need to present the part of your Migratory Control card you have carefully guarded and now have handy for the Immigration officer. Transfer in Quito. Overnight at Hostal Vieja Cuba 3* or similar (subject to availability). Breakfast is included.

Day 10 - Quito

Assistance and transfer from hotel to airport in Quito to take international flight.