Galapagos Extreme Adventure (LFGA-07)

	Duration: 7 days Departing: Daily
	Itinerary Day 1 Galapagos Islands - Hiking in San Cristobal Island Day 2 Sea kayak in Playa Ochoa & snorkel in Kicker Rock Day 3 Snorkel in Santa Fe Island & Sea kayak in Santa Cruz Island Day 4 Hike & mountain bike in Santa Cruz Highlands Day 5 Hike & exploration in Isabela Island Day 6 Horse back ride and hike in Isabela Island Day 7 Isabela – Santa Cruz Islands return to Quito
	Package Descriptions

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1 – Galapagos Islands – Hiking in San Cristobal Island

After an early breakfast you will transfer to the airport to take your flight to the magical Galapagos Islands. Once you arrive in San Cristobal Island. You hike to nearby Frigate Hill for splendid views of the coastline and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Here, you will also enjoy your first encounters with local wildlife, since the hill is often visited by great Frigate birds, Blue footed boobies, Swallowed tailed-gulls, and Darwin finches. On your way back you can swim from the white sand of Mann Beach. Our first evening is free for exploring around town. Hotel Accommodation (B, L)

Day 2- Sea kayak in Playa Ochoa & snorkel in Kicker Rock

The next morning you will slip into our ocean kayaks and spend the morning paddling along the coast to reach Playa Ochoa. This journey is filled with Sea Lions, marine turtles, Blue footed boobies and Frigate birds. At Playa Ochoa we will take time to relax, enjoy the beach, or swim with the visiting Sea Lions. After lunch you paddle over to Leon Dormido, the jagged remains of an old tuff cone whose flanks are covered with seabirds. Leon Dormido offers excellent snorkeling, and for certified divers, one of the best dives in the Islands. Here you will have good opportunities to see Hammerheads and White-tipped sharks, eagles and Golden rays, and dozens of species of tropical fish, clams, starfish and marine invertebrates. In the afternoon you return to your hotel for your last evening in San Cristobal. Hotel Accommodation (B, L)

Day 3 – Snorkel in Santa Fe Island & Sea kayak in Santa Cruz Island

After breakfast you navigate in a fast boat from San Cristobal to Santa Fe and the Santa Cruz Islands. Santa Fe Island is home to a beautiful crystal water cove where we snorkel with playful sea lion pups and florescent fish. You also explore a submerged rock where rays and marine turtles can be found. You continue in our boat to Santa Cruz, where we pick up our kayaks to travel around Divine Bay and Punta Estrada paddling through multiple lava channels of calm, turquoise waters. Within the channels, White-tipped sharks and rays patrol beneath the waves, while colonies of Blue-footed-boobies, tropic birds, herons and marine iguanas perch among the jagged cliffs. You return to Puerto Ayora in the afternoon and spend this evening at leisure, to dine or explore alternatives in the Galapagos’ most populous town. Hotel Accommodation. (B, L)

Day 4 – Hike & mountain bike in Santa Cruz Highlands

You transfer to El Chato reserve in the upper realm of Santa Cruz Island, natural habitat of the Galapagos tortoise. As we seek these lumbering giants, you will also come across Pintail ducks, Egrets, flycatchers, finches and frigate birds bathing in fresh water lakes. You explore lava caves, incredible volcanic tunnel formations, and Media Luna, an old collapsed crater on top of Santa Cruz Island. Following a trail through Miconia forest, we’ll reach a point with great views down to the coastline. Following lunch, we prepare our mountain bikes to ride mostly downhill through highland farmlands and small villages to El Garrapatero beach. El Garrapatero is an expansive beach area, including a fresh water lake where you can come across pink flamingos, herons, grebes, stilts and other shore birds. Relax on this perfect, white beach after a full day of hiking and biking. On the way back to your hotel, you visit the Charles Darwin Research Station to learn about conservation and management efforts in the archipelago. In the evening, you’re free to relax at your beachfront hotel, or else join the local nightlife, liveliest at the weekend. Hotel Accommodation (B, L)

Day 5 – Hike & exploration in Isabela Island

From Puerto Ayora, we board a fast boat for Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island. Isabela is the largest Island in the archipelago, formed by the merger of 6 shield volcanoes - Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf. All of these volcanoes except one remain active, making this island one of the most volcanically active places on earth. Here you visit the Galapagos Rearing Center, to learn about tortoise development and conservation. We explore the bay in search of the unique Galapagos penguin and follow a trail along the coastline to observe dramatic lava formations and to meet a large colony of sea lions. The local mangroves and salty lagoons feature the mangrove finch, endemic to Isabela. You can also see American oystercatchers, herons, flamingos and many other shore species. In the afternoon you are left to enjoy exotic white sand beaches. The evening is spent in this tranquil port town. Hotel Accommodation (B, L)

Day 6 – Horse back ride and hike in Isabela Island

From Puerto Villamil, we head up to the highlands to prepare our horses for a ride of about 6 miles (9 km) on irregular terrain until we arrive at the rim of the Sierra Negra volcano. Sierra Negra is the second largest caldera in the world. From this viewpoint you have a fantastic prospect of the 6 x 5 mile-wide caldera, the other the volcanoes and the Perry Isthmus beyond. Form here we hike to Chico Volcano with its puffing fumaroles and striking lava formations, examples of the geological events that have formed the Galapagos Islands over millennia. In the late afternoon, we return to Puerto Villamil for our last evening on the “Enchanted Islands.” Hotel Accommodation (B, L)

Day 7 - Isabela – Santa Cruz Islands

In the morning we navigate back to Santa Cruz Island, to transfer by bus to Baltra Island, for your flight back to the continent. An optional, one- or more-day diving tour extension is highly recommended. (B)

IMPORTANT: This itinerary is subject to change without notice due to seasonal changes, last minute weather conditions and adjustment of Galapagos National Park policy.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

BOAT TRAVEL TIME: 2-3 hours per day
PADDLE OR ACTIVITY DURATION: 2-4 hours each day
SEASON: All year
ALTITUDE: Sea level to 600 m.
WEATHER TEMPERATURES: December to May: 80ºF to 90ºF / 25ºC to 30ºC. June to September: 60ºF to 70ºF / 15ºC to 20ºC. October to December: 70ºF to 80ºF/ 15ºC to 25ºC
WATER TEMPERATURE: The waters of the Galapagos Islands are a unique mixture of warm and cold water, ranging between 65ºF and 85ºF.
SUGGESTED: Water sandals, rain shell, flashlight, water bottle, non-cotton trekking gear, sun block, hat and mosquito repellent.