Itinerary 8 Days B

A US$20 per person transit card is payable on departure at Quito Airport and a US$100 per person national park entry fee is payable on arrival on the islands. Please have cash on hand for these transactions as credit cards can be time consuming.

On arrival in the Galapagos, you collect your luggage and meet the cruise guide at the arrival’s hall. First you need to take the bus from the airport to the dock. Our guide will provide you the ticket for this. On arrival to the dock you will then take the Ferry to cross the Itabaca Channel and get from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island. We then head to the Highlands of Santa Cruz for our first Galapagos adventure.

Beginning at the coast in the northern part of the island, we travel across Santa Cruz through the agricultural region and into the misty forests where we can see the unique Scalesia cloud forest, dome-shaped giant tortoises in the wild, different species of Darwin finches and possibly the world famous woodpecker and warbler finches, as well as vermillion flycatchers. Today we will enjoy lunch in the highlands.

This afternoon we travel to Puerto Ayora, where we are then transferred to our boat, the Grand Daphne. Once on board, you will be assigned your cabin, meet the crew members and get to know better our guide and the group.

Discover the quirky maritime history of Post Office Bay, which has the oldest postal system in the Americas. Steeped in history, in 1793 a post office barrel was erected for mariners to post their mail and assist in delivery of mail to the United States and Europe.

It was simple, a sailor leaves a letter with its destination and to whom it goes and take a letter from another sailor if he is going to that letter´s destination. This custom continues today with Galapagos visitors leaving letters and postcards to be collected by the next passing boat. Send one of your own and check if there are any you can deliver back home. Snorkeling and enjoying a panga ride are activities also included in this outing.

We go ashore at Punta Cormorant where the sand is made up of fine olivine crystals, a glassy volcanic mineral, giving the beach an olive-green color. It is the best place to see Galapagos sea lions. Today is also one of our finest opportunities to see pink flamingos and other water birds wading in the lagoons, including pintails and stilts. The walk continues to a white flour sandy beach to an Eastern Pacific green turtle nesting site. Young diamond stingrays are commonly found in the shoreline and enjoy the view of the turquoise crystalline ocean.

Just offshore, the famous Devil’s Crown is an old eroded volcanic cone and a popular roosting site for seabirds such as boobies, pelicans and frigates. Red-billed tropicbirds can also be seen nesting in the rocky crevices. The center of the cone is an outstanding snorkeling spot and many people find this one of the best snorkeling experiences of their trip. We might see rays, sharks, sea lions and turtles.