Galapagos Express

Depart for Ecuador. Arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s sprawling and vivacious port city; transfer to your hotel
Please note flights may arrive in the very early morning of Day 2

Overnight: Guayaquil

Embark this morning on a journey to the “beginning of time” as you transfer to the airport for the flight to the astonishing Galapagos Archipelago of volcanic islands, five million years in the making. Arrive at Baltra Airport, meet your naturalist guides and transfer by ferry to Santa Cruz. Continue by bus to El Chato Tortoise Reserve and see their natural habitat – a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Tortoises can be seen grazing on the vegetation, wallowing in muddy banks or in the small red ponds. The area is teeming with wildlife – woodpecker finches, mockingbirds, flycatchers, as well as ducks, herons, and gallinules. After a stop for lunch, visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Fausto Llerena Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre. Gain insight into the huge efforts being made by scientists, guides, rangers and park managers to preserve this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue to your hotel for an evening at leisure

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Galapagos

Head by boat to North Seymour Island, which was lifted from the ocean floor by a seismic event. Cliffs that are only a few feet high from the shoreline, where swallow-tailed gulls sit perched on ledges and a tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing. This island is teeming with life! You might have to give the right-of-way to a passing sea lion or a marine iguana. Along the way, perhaps you may see the famous Galapagos blue-footed booby nesting beside the trail or, spot flocks of pelicans in a feeding frenzy. Keep on the lookout for the magnificent frigate bird, with its puffed-up scarlet throat sack, perched in low bushes watching over their chicks. Enjoy a visit to an isolated beach for a refreshing swim or, snorkel along the coast

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Galapagos

Travel by boat to the golden beaches of Bartolomé Island, dominated by the iconic Pinnacle Rock, an impressive towering lava structure that rises from the ocean’s edge. View an astonishing array of wildlife including Galapagos penguins, sea lions, turtles and a huge variety of fish. After snorkeling and swimming, option for a steep hike to the summit of this diminutive island with fantastic panoramic views of the archipelago

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Galapagos

This morning, on your way to Baltra, stop at Los Gemelos (twin sinkholes) to view the great depressions of volcanic material formed by a long process of the sinking ground, and the exceptional view of Scalesia trees, ferns, mosses and orchids. Then, proceed to the airport for your flight to Quito. Afternoon arrival in this city considered to be the economic capital of Ecuador. Transfer to the hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Quito

Enjoy the day at leisure or join an optional Full Day Quito City Tour & Middle of the World with Lunch. Walk along the narrow cobblestone streets and feel the charm of 16th-century Quito. See the Independence Plaza, the Cathedral, Presidential Palace, and the Archbishop’s Palace before visiting La Compañia de Jesus Church, with its beautiful gilded interior or the Church and Monastery of San Francisco, one of the great religious buildings of the New World with its impressive facade and atrium. Afterward, visit the Middle of the World Monument, located at a latitude of 0º, and stand with one foot in the Northern and one in the Southern Hemisphere. Spend your last evening in Ecuador on your own, perhaps dining at one of the city’s world-class restaurants and cafes.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Quito
Optional: Full Day Quito City Tour & Middle of the World with Lunch

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight*
*Some flights depart in the very early morning of Day 7 and will require a transfer on Day 6. Transfers depart the hotel approximately 4 hours prior to flight time

Meals: Breakfast