Galapagos Land Tour Santa Cruz Island – EGSC4
Tour Santa Cruz Island to experience a taste of the wildlife of the Galapagos. The islands offer a plethora of exotic wildlife and picturesque landscapes. Follow Charles Darwin’s footsteps while exploring Santa Cruz and other islands on this tour.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Galapagos
Catch a flight from mainland Ecuador to Baltra on Santa Cruz Island. Upon arrival in Baltra, you are met and transferred to your hotel. On route, you will drive through the highlands of the Islands, stopping at Primicias Ranch, to see Giant Turtles in their natural habitat. Another attraction here is an excursion though the lava tunnel in order to hear an explanation of the geological formation of the islands. Enjoy lunch at the ranch. An optional activity is to proceed to a conservation project. The program consists of planting your own tree in Primicias Ranch, complete with your name on the tree and a certificate for actively supporting the maintenance of the Galapagos’ ecosystem. Next, we will head to Puerto Ayora to check in at your selected hotel.
Meals included: Lunch
Accommodations: Hotel
Day 2 Island Excursion
This day you will have the opportunity to do a navigable excursion to a different island, in order to discover the diversity of the Galapagos Islands. The tour consists of a hike around the island and afterwards you can snorkel, swim or just relax. Based on availability we can confirm one of the following tours:
Bartolome Island: Discover amazing landscapes, and fascinating geological formations. There is great opportunity for snorkeling.
North Seymour Island: The main fauna species of this island are Land Iguanas, the magnificent Frigate bird with their incredible scarlet regular pouch, blue-footed boobies with their particular courtship dance and sea lions surfing across the waves.
South Plazas: This is a small island with an outstanding concentration of wildlife, dramatic cliffs, spectacular natural red carpet of algae and generally great contrasts.
Santa Fe: This Island has a lot of diversity. The lagoons of Santa Fe Island provide an excellent place for snorkeling alongside colorful fishes, sea lions, giant tuna and even small sharks are often sited there.
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodations: Hotel
Day 3 – Free day
Today is a free day. If you wish, you can add an optional tour following breakfast.
Option 1: Half Day Tortuga Bay
After breakfast, we will take a 45 minute walk to “Tortuga Bay”, an incredible beach! We will pass by Playa Brava, a non-bathing beach due to its high tide. The next beach is Playa Mansa in Tortuga Bay. Here you will be able to swim and it is also a great spot to observe marine iguanas. In the afternoon return to Puerto Ayora, with the afternoon at leisure.
Option 2: Excursion to Another Island
Take an excursion to another island, choosing a different island from the one picked on day 2.
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodations: Hotel
Day 4 Charles Darwin Station and Transfer to Airport
After breakfast, we will head to Charles Darwin Station. The center is a reservoir of information on habitats and local conservation, as well as other fascinating relevant statistics. The most striking attraction of this station is certainly the Tortoise Breeding Center, where it is possible to view tortoises of varied sizes and shapes. Here you can walk freely and have your photo taken with the tortoises. Among other inhabitants at the center, you can see land and marine iguanas and different species of birds. Afterwards, we will transfer you to the airport for your return to the mainland.
Meals included: Breakfast
