Full Galapagos Island Hopping Tour

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Day 1: San Cristobal - Loberia

Flight to San Cristóbal. Transfer to hotel and lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Loberia Beach and Cliff; this hike is not long, but a bit difficult as you have to walk on lava rocks for a part of it. But is is really worth it as on the way we can spot huge marine iguanas and near the Cliff swallow tailed gulls, blue footed and Nazca boobies, frigate birds. Back to the beach for a snorkel session: usually there we can spot  turtles and all sorts  of tropical fishes, and of course the funny sea lions!
Meals included: -/L/D
Difficulty: MEDIUM

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Day 2: El Junco - Lobos Island - Kicker Rock

Departure in the morning for a great snorkel at Lobos Island first: we can swim with sea lions and spot iguanas, turtles.. (hike no possible on this alternative) and then on to  Kicker Rock aka Leon Dormido: a great snorkel site very famous because we can spot there rays, reef sharks, and if lucky, hammerhead sharks! Back on board we will reach a nearby beach, we’ll have lunch on board and then relax time before we navigate back to port.  Free  afternoon.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: MEDIUM (snorkeling in open water)

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Day 3: Floreana Island - tortoise reserve - Isabela Island - Flamingo's

Early breakfast at 6.00 a.m. and depart at 7.00 a.m. in the morning to Floreana Island (navigation time 2h30). At arrival, we will snorkel at Loberia beach and then visit the highlands, a place called “Peace Asylum” where the first colons of the islands settled. The guide will tell you about their history. We will also spot Galapagos giant tortoises on the way. Lunch will be served in the small village of Velasco Ibarra.
Afterwards we continue to Isabela Island (navigation time 1h30). Isabela is a beautiful island with its port located near a clear bay and a long white sandy beach. At arrival the bus will pick us up and we will reach the flamingo lagoon to spot these beautiful animals at sunset.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: EASY

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Day 4: Sierra Negra and Volcan Chino - Concha y Perla

We offer you 2 choices for this day: Volcanoes or Cabo Rosa (please note that for the last excursion you have to pay a extra supplement)
Isabela is  the biggest island but only a small part of it can be visited, the rest is entirely protected by the National Park and visits are forbidden.
Volcano Hike: Early in the morning we will travel by bus to the highlands: we will begin a trekking of 6 hours to the Sierra Negra and Chico volcanoes. Sierra Negra has the second largest crater in the world, with a diameter of 10 km. We will continue to Chico volcano, which is a cone  of Sierra Negra. We will walk through moon-like sceneries and have great  views all over Fernandina and the north of the island. This gives us an idea of how the islands looked at their creation. Lunch will be served in a local farm which is also a tortoise reserve. We will be back around 3h30 PM and we will end the day with a nice swim and snorkel at Concha y Perla lagoon.
Difficulty: MEDIUM
Optioneel, Cabo Rosa Tuneles: If you prefer to take another boat ride, you can take the excursión to Cabo Rosa tunnels. This is an amazing place where the volcano activity created lava tunnels going under and over the sea level. We can spot penguins, blue footed boobies.. and we will have great snorkeling too! Back to port around 2PM, late lunch and then we will wait until around 3h30PM when the rest of the group comes back from the volcano to go and swim/snorkel at Concha y Perla lagoon. This tour will cost 110 US$ p.p. additional.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: EASY

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Day 5: Tintoresras Islet - Santa Cruz Island - Cactus forest

A busy day that start with a visit of Tintoreras Islet near to the port: there we can spot small Galapagos penguins, sea lions, marine iguanas, and sea lions.
Hiking and snorkeling are scheduled before the continue on to Santa Cruz. Afterwards we will continue on to Santa Cruz (2 hours). At arrival, transfer to the hotel and lunch. Then we will walk to the Tortuga Bay beach to enjoy a last swim into the Galapagos waters and spot a huge iguana colony.
The walk to Tortuga Bay is 3km each way, passing through a giant endemic cactus forest.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: EASY

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Day 6: Visit uninhabited islands!

To complete this special 8 days tour, on day 6 and 7 you will visit 2 of the completely uninhabited islands such as Bartolome, Seymour, Plazas or Santa Fe. Each one has its own character and unique species. Note that on these days you will be traveling with different passengers and different guides than you were on the land tour, as those day tours have strict restrictions and just a few boats have the permit to operate these excursions.
The tour consists in reaching the Itabaca channel by bus ( except for Santa Fe which is south), and then board a yacht to navigate to the island. Hike and snorkel, lunch on board. We are usually back at the hotel in Puerto Ayora around 5PM.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: EASY (except for Bartolome where the hike uphill to the viewpoint is a bit longer than other hikes).

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Day 7: Visit another uninhabited island

After breakfast we will visit another uninhabited Galapagos Island from the list mentioned above. The tour of today will also include hike and snorkel activities, before traveling back to the port of Puerto Ayora, were we arrive around 5PM.
Meals included: B/L/D
Difficulty: EASY (except, again, Bartolome).

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Day 8: Baltra - main land

After breakfast we will bring you back to the airport on Baltra. On the way from Puerto Ayora to the airport we make a short stop at a site called los Tuneles. This is a special tunnel shaped by petrified lava.
When your plane departs towards the mainland the tour is over, but we guaranty you that you will never forget your time on these amazing islands.
Meals included: B/-/-

Note 1: Due to weather conditions, changing governmental regulations, or other unpredictable situations the itinerary might not always be exact the same as written above. We will always try to keep the changes as minimum as possible and find the best suitable solutions.

Note 2: Galapagos can be visited all year round. There are 2 seasons:
•    The Garua season goes from  mid-June to mid-October (more or less): the cold current of Humboldt enters the island so the wáter is colder (around 20 degrees celcius, wetsuit is needed), cloudy days and a small drizzle. This actually makes  the climate fresher so dont expect all sunny days but a cooler weather for the hiking , no need of A/C or fan during the night and almost no mosquitoes. The colder wáter brings more plancton and more wildlife, this is the best time of the year to spot whales during the boat transports.
•    The warm season is from  November to Mid- May: days can be really hot (more than 30 degrees) and the wáter is warm due to Panama current entering in the islands marine reserve. No need for a wetsuit , sunny days, if you need to warm up from the Winter back home, this is the good season! Expect heavy tropical rains that can last 1 to 3 hours  ( really, we have not  that much days with rain all day long, it can happen but not on all islands at the same time). Due to the rains all the islands are greener.  In between these two seasons would be the transition time where you can have a bit of both seasons!

It is optional to extend this tour to go diving, kayaking, biking, relaxing on the beautiful islands or more. When interested, please ask us about the many options.

This is a group tour which leaves on fixed dates with a min. of 8 bookings. If you are part of a group of 8 persons or more it is possible to organize this tour private for your own group. These tours can leave on any day. Feel free to ask more about this possibility and the departure dates for 2013/ 2014.

Hotel info:
We work with clean tourist class hotels and friendly hostels with hot water, private bathroom. Possible optionsincluding: Casa de Jeimy, La Gran Tortuga, Estrella de Mar, Casa de Laura, Tintoreras, España or similar. Keep in mind that sleeping in a hotel is in general already more comfortable than sleeping on a boat, especially if you book a budget tour.