2026026 Ecuador & Galapagos Islands

Day 1

Arrive in Quito, Ecuador, located more than 9,000 feet above "seal level". Meet your Tour Director at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport and transfer to your hotel. Get acclimated to the elevation and settle in tonight. Overnight in Quito

Day 2

Following breakfast, enjoy a guided tour of Quito, the first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Enjoy the electric architecture built over the last five centuries. See the gothic Basilica of the Heart of Jesus (Basilica Corazon de Jesus) and teh Metropolitan Cathedral (known simply as "la Catedral"), Featuring an elextric mix of architectural styles, from Moorish to Baroque and Neoclassical,. Also see Independence Square flanked by the Presidential and the Archbishop's palaces. Visit the Jesuit Church of the Society of Jesus ("La Compania de Jesus"), Quito's most ornate church and one of the most significant Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. Also see San Francisco Plaza, a vast complex of religious art. Next visit the Middle of the World ("Mitad del Mundo") where the earth's equator passes through Ecuador at 0-0'0" latitude and stand with one foot in each half of the world. The 98-feet monument is built on the historic site where a french explorer calculated the line of the equator in 1736. Also see the colonial church and bull-fighting ring. The evening is at leisure to explore the city of Quito on your own. Overnight in Quito.

Day 3

After breakfast transfer to the airport for your flight to Baltra Island in the Galapagos Islands. Upon arrival, meet your naturalist guide and transfer to the MV Galapagos Legend for your four-night cruise. Your cruise departs for Mosquera islet, a tiny, low lying islet, covered in coral sand, located between North and South Seymour Islands. It is home to a group of sea lions that come to laze on the soft white sand. It is a good spot to observe shorebirds as well as herons, lava gulls and bobbies. Rays, barracudas, and sharks can also be seen snorkeling.
Overnight in MV Galapagos Legend.

Day 4

This morning visit Santiago Island. A wet landing puts you on Egas Port, a black volcanic beach once visited by Darwin and sets this landing apart from most. This unique and dramatic shoreline hosts a variety of species that live between land and sea. Particular among these are the endemic Galapagos fur seals which maintain a small colony at the end of our walk. Other species of note include American oystercatchers, sea lions, waders, herons, lava lizards, and even Galapagos hawks. Our afternoon adventure lies at the heart of the archipelago, with a visit to Rabia Island with its distinctive red-sand beac. Home to sea lions, mockingbirds, finches, endemic Galapagos doves and more. A walk takes us to a beautiful overview of the bay. Snorkeling here can be a highlight, often with sea lions, ubiquitous turtles and black striped salemas.
Overnight in MV Galapagos Legend

Day 5

After breakfast our day begins with a wet landing on the beach at Urbina Bay. At the far end of a level hike we arrive at a strange phenomenon where large blocks of coral lie completley exposed after a dramatic geological uplift during the 1950's. Located at the western base of Alcedo Volcano, be on the lookout for impressive land iguanas as well as some of the volcano's endemic Galapagos giant tortoises. Excellent snorkerling today in the clear blue waters with an opportunity to see beautiful marine life up close. This afternoon we visit Tagus Cove, one of the few sites visited by Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle in early 1800's and a well-known hideout in the days of pirates. A beautiful hike leads us past an overview of Darwin Lake and on to a stunning volcanic landscape revealing Isabela island's dramatic northern volcanoes. Once back at sea lvel, we have an opportunity to snorkel with fish, penguins, turtles and spot other sea and wildlife.
Overnight MV Galapagos Legend

Day 6

Today we visit Espinosa Point on Fernandina Island with a dry landing. The youngest island of Galapagos Islands and one of the most pristine in the world, Fernandina Island is reffered to as the 'marine iguana capital of the world'. The Volcanic backdrop is hoime to a huge concentration of these enigmatic reptiles. Sharing the same shoreline, we can find pelicans, the diminutive Galapagos penguins, sea lions and fur seals all offering amazing photo opportunities. Here we also have the exciting opportunity to snorkel with marine iguanas feeing underwater, penguins, turtles and the bizzarre, flightless cormorants, the only place this species is found in the world. This afternoon visit Vicente Roca Point on Isabela Island. This of the eroded volcano. Studded with resting sea birds such as brown noddies and Nazca boobies, view them in close proximity from your dinghies. A marine-only visitor area, snorkeling here is superb and one of the richest marine havens in the Galapagos Islands with certain species of fish only found in the west of the archipelago. Here we have the opportunity to snorkel and swim with sunfish, sea horses, penguins and green turtles.
Overnight in MV Galapagos Legend

Day 7

Today your Galapagos Islands cruise ends as you look back on all of the highlights, sights, marine life, and wildlife encountered on your adventure. After a dry landing, disembark the ship and travel by coach into the central highlands of Santa Crus Island to the Highlands Tortoise Reserve. Here you have an opportunity to interact up close with wilds, Galapagos giant tortoises. A short walk among these huge, 600-pound reptiles offers great photo opportunityies and the cahnce to see several species of the famed finches. Continue on to the Baltra Island airport for your flight to Quito. This evening enjoy a Farewell Dinner with your fellow travelers and new found friends.
Overnight in Quito

Day 8

Today transfer to the airport for your return flight home with amazing memories of your Ecuador & Galapagos Island Cruise.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner