Northwestern Islands

Head to the boat and meet your guide before boarding. In the afternoon, travel to the highlands of Santa Cruz. Visit a giant tortoise reserve and walk through volcanic landscapes.

See Galapagos giant tortoises in the wild. Follow trails through the highlands and enter underground lava tunnels, some stretching over 1 km (0.6 mi). Walk the tunnels and watch for barn owls, which sometimes rest in the dark crevices.
Activities: Hiking

Today, travel to the remote and wildlife-rich Genovesa Island, a key nesting site for red-footed boobies. An estimated 200,000 of these seabirds inhabit the island, making it a prime destination for birdwatching.

Land on a sandy coral beach at Darwin Bay, the result of a collapsed volcanic caldera. Watch for birdlife such as swallow-tailed gulls, lava gulls, mockingbirds, yellow-crowned night herons, lava herons, Galápagos doves, and yellow warblers. Follow a flat trail through nesting areas of red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds. Continue to a tidal lagoon where sea lions swim and play, ending the walk at a cliff with panoramic views of the coastline. If time allows, snorkel straight from the beach. Swim with sea lions and look for sea turtles in the shallows.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling, Stand Up Paddleboard, Kayak

Climb the steep 81-foot staircase known as Prince Philip’s Steps, named after the British royal's 1964 visit. At the top, walk along a palo santo trail across a plateau. Spot Nazca and red-footed boobies, mockingbirds, and finches. Watch wedge-rumped storm petrels fly in large numbers, and search for short-eared owls hunting among the rocks. Join a deep-water snorkel session. This site offers the chance to see a variety of marine life, possibly including hammerhead sharks.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling, Stand Up Paddleboard, Kayak

Hike to Bartolome's summit for a stronger perspective of the islands' not-too-distant volcanic origins, and enjoy a panoramic view – it’s one of the best among the islands! See other Galapagos Islands in the distance as well as Pinnacle Rock, the island’s famous towering landmark.

Take the opportunity to swim and snorkel around Pinnacle Rock, one of the most iconic volcanic rock formations on the islands. Home to Galapagos penguins, friendly sea lions, sea turtles, and a huge variety of fish, Bartolomé and its surrounding waters are a fantastic place to explore the natural wonders of the Galapagos.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling

In the afternoon, you will visit one of the last off-the-beaten-path sites in the Galapagos Islands. Only a couple of cruises visit Bowditch Point. This pristine site offers you a great snorkeling session with giant schools of black-striped salema, parrotfish, and Mexican hogfish, or you can enjoy kayaking or SUP if you prefer. Afterward, you can spend time on the beach relaxing or walking around it.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling, Stand Up Paddleboard, Kayak
 

Head to Bachas Beach where the sand is made of decomposed coral, making it soft and white, and a favorite site for nesting sea turtles. Spot abundant Sally Lightfoot crabs on the lava rocks along the water's edge -- these crabs will eat anything they can get their claws on! Trek to see a wide range of wildlife, including flamingos, hermit crabs, black-necked stilts, and sea lions.
Activities: Hiking

Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) is considered a prime birdwatching site. You will take a short walk from the beach to a hypersaline (saltier than the ocean) lagoon frequented by pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks, and other species of birds. You will pass through a Scalesia tree forest, which is endemic to the area. A quick fact about this iconic species is that there are only 400 specimens of Scalesia trees left in the world. After an exciting land excursion, you snorkel off the beach along the rocky shoreline. This is a great snorkeling site where you can swim with green turtles, sharks, and rays.
Activities: Hiking, Snorkeling

Santiago Island has seen its share of human activity from whalers and pirates over the years, and despite the introduction of goats to the island many years ago, the wildlife of Santiago has otherwise flourished and provides outstanding viewing opportunities. The island boasts marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, land and sea turtles, among others. Enjoy great wildlife viewing both on land and in the water. 

Head to Buccaneer Cove to witness the towering cliff wall rock formations. Afternoon excursion to Egas Port to see the salt crater as well as a dark sand beach and tidal pools.

Jump into the panga or zodiac and cruise alongside high cliffs and rock formations on this visit, which was a favorite hideout for pirates looking to stock up their boats with food and water. Spot sea lions relaxing on the beach and sea birds nesting in the cove. After the panga ride, you can jump in the water and snorkel along with playful sea lions and fur seals. 
Activities: Panga Ride, Snorkeling, Stand Up Paddleboard, Kayak

The spectacular shoreline of Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay spots a great number of shore birds and reptiles – the beach area is home to a plethora of wildlife. Grab a snorkel and jump into the water right off the beach to explore Puerto Egas' interesting underwater world. Keep your eyes peeled for rays, turtles, and reef sharks while snorkeling. After this activity, you will visit the large tidal pool area – marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs are everywhere.
Activities: Hiking, Snorkeling

Today you will visit the most western site of the Galapagos Islands, Espinoza Point in Fernandina Island. This island is also one the most pristine on the archipelago as no foreign species have been introduced. You will visit Vicente Roca Point, on Isabela Island, famous for its rich underwater sea life thanks to its location on the Bolivar Channel. 

Vicente Roca Point has great deep-water snorkeling at one of the richest marine havens on Earth (Bolivar Channel). Vicente Roca Point is renowned for its Galapagos green turtles, which are very numerous on the bay. Although the spot is known for its high concentration of green turtles, sharks, and rays can also be observed when underwater visibility is good. Take a dinghy ride along the coast to observe a great diversity of sea and coastal birds; including nazca and blue-footed boobies, noddies, brown pelicans, penguins, and flightless cormorants.
Activities: Panga Ride, Snorkeling

Espinosa Point on Fernandina Island is one of the most pristine islands in the world, with none of man’s introduced species to date. From here you can see the island of Isabela across the Bolívar Channel, an area that boasts some of the highest diversity of endemic sea fauna in the Galapagos. Fernandina is the youngest of the Galapagos Islands and a visitor favorite.

When landing, check out the tidal pools where there is an abundance of sea life, including small fish and mollusks. If lucky, a sea turtle or ray may be trapped in the pools. A little further ahead you will pass through some marine iguana burrows and sea lion colonies. The trail continues to where several flightless cormorants have their nests. This remarkable bird is only found in the western Galapagos, and experts estimate that there may only be a few hundred individuals in total. After the exciting hike, you experience one of the best snorkeling sites on the archipelago. Marine iguanas, Galapagos penguins, and sea turtles are some of the species inhabiting this site.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling

After a long journey from the central part of the Galapagos, you will arrive to the pristine and remote West of the archipelago. Visits today are Urbina Bay and Tagus Cove on the west of Isabela Island, where you will have your first encounters with flightless cormorants, penguins, giant tortoises beautiful landscapes, and amazing snorkeling opportunities.

Urbina Bay is a fascinating visitor site that came to be as the shallow sea bottom uplifted in 1954 showing a large coral reef sticking up above sea level. Because of this, Urbina Bay is one of the newest features in the Galapagos. This visitor site is located west of Isabela and provides spectacular views of the Alcedo volcano. The long trail starts on the beach where a wet landing is made. In this location, you will likely see wild Galapagos Giant Tortoises and Galapagos Land Iguanas. As the trail circles back towards the shoreline, you'll come across colonies of the unique Galapagos Flightless Cormorant which lost its ability to fly. This is also a great spot for snorkeling, as you can come close to a Galapagos Penguin Colony and see Galapagos Marine Iguanas feeding underwater.
Activities: Hiking, Snorkeling

Tagus Cove is located on the Northwestern coast of Isabela. It is a historical site visited by Charles Darwin in 1835, where graffiti has been carved into the rock walls by visitors over the past centuries. This spot has been frequented by whalers and pirates since the 1800s that used the area as anchorage. The name of the site dates back to 1814 when it was visited by a British ship, The Tagus, which had anchored there in search of giant tortoises to be used as food supply on the boat. 

Here, you will admire a variety of seabirds, such as blue-footed booby, brown noddy, terns, flightless cormorant, and Galapagos penguins depending on the season. Occasionally you might see woodpecker finches, the Galapagos hawk, the yellow warbler, or a large-billed flycatcher. After a dry landing, you can climb up the trail to visit Darwin's Lake. The lake is located on the slopes of Darwin Volcano and is, surprisingly, a saltwater lake above sea level. The naturalist guide will tell you what are the different scientific theories for this occurrence. Meanwhile, while snorkeling, there are chances to see sharks, turtles, and sea stars. You may also see various different types of colorful fish.
Activities: Hiking, Panga Ride, Snorkeling, Stand Up Paddleboard, Kayak

Explore the mangroves by panga to find rich marine wildlife between the fresh and salt waters. Keep an eye out for manta rays and sea turtles in this tranquil ecosystem. Whitetip reef sharks can also be seen gliding by.
Activities: Panga Ride

Disembark at Baltra for a flight back to Ecuador's mainland.