M/S Beagle | Saturday to Saturday “Northwest itinerary"

AM: Arrival to Baltra Island

On arrival at Baltra Airport all visitors pay their entrance fee to the Galapagos National Park. You will then be met by The Beagle’s naturalist guide who will assist you with your luggage collection and accompany you on a short bus ride to the harbor to board The Beagle.

PM: Daphne Major & Minor Islands

Daphne Islands, a tuff cone (giant pile of compressed volcanic ash shaped like a cone), sits off the north coast of Santa Cruz Island, west of Baltra Island and North Seymour Island. While off limits to all but limited scientific parties going ashore, we've obtained permission from the National Park to navigate around the island, close by. You will have a front row seat to witness bustling colonies of blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, magnificent frigate birds and more. You'll also have the opportunity to observe short-eared owls and red-billed tropicbirds.

AM: Santa Fe Island

One of the most beautiful coves of all visitor sites in the Galapagos, Santa Fe has a turquoise cove sheltered by a peninsula extending from the shore by a row of rock covered in Opuntia cactus and sea lions. This island was formed by an uplift caused by tectonic activity. You can see land iguanas, sea turtles, Galapagos hawks, sea lions, and a forest of giant Opuntia cactus, and it's lovely to swim and snorkel in the clear turquoise blue sea.

PM: South Plaza Island

South Plaza is one of the best spots in the Archipelago to see land iguanas and swallow-tailed gulls, both indigenous to the Galapagos. There are iguana nests scattered all over the hill. The sheer cliffs of the southern shore are a perfect bird habitat, making it an unparalleled bird observatory for especially swallow-tailed gulls, Audubon shearwaters, and red-billed tropicbirds.

AM: Genovesa Island – El Barranco (Prince Philip’s Steps)

After a dry landing, you climb up the fairly steep Prince Philip’s Steps that take you onto a lava rock trail leading you through Palo Santo forest full of nesting birds. There’s a good chance of seeing the unique short-eared owl at this site.

PM:  Genovesa Island – Darwin Bay

After lunch and a snorkel along the amazing cliff sides, you visit the beach area of Darwin Bay, home to frigate birds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, flycatchers, lava gulls, storm petrels and Darwin finches, to mention some of the birds found in this bay, formed from a caldera collapse.

AM:  Fernandina Island – Espinoza Point

Fernandina is the youngest island of the Archipelago. As you disembark at Punta Espinoza, you must be careful not to step on the marine iguanas piled up together to retain body heat. This visiting site is rich in wildlife, sea lions, flightless cormorants, penguins, herons, Sally light-foot crabs and much more, all living side by side on this small point with its mangrove forest.

PM:  Isabela Island –  Urbina Bay

Located to the south at the foot of the western side of Alcedo Volcano, Urbina Bay was uplifted in 1954 from the seabed leaving coral heads sitting out of the water. There is a large colony of land iguana, which has grown since the feral dogs and goats have been controlled through Project Isabela. It also affords an opportunity to see the Alcedo Volcano tortoise in its natural habitat.

AM: Isabela Island – Tagus Cove

The 30 minute hike at Tagus Cove takes you to the top of a cliff to view the volcanic landscapes of Darwin Volcano and Darwin Lake, the latter an uplifted ultra-saline lake saltier than the sea. Historically used as an anchorage site by pirates and whalers, this site is again an excellent place for marine and land birds.

PM: Isabela Island – Vicente Roca Point

Punta Vicente Roca offers a dinghy ride, excellent for marine life observation, to a snorkel area where underwater wildlife take full advantage of the nutrient-rich Cromwell current that upswells in this area.

AM:  Santiago Island – Espumilla Beach

Today visitors to Espumilla Beach come in search of birds rather than freshwater. The short walk up the beach leads inland to a mangrove typically inhabited by the Common stilts. Beyond the mangroves is a brackish lagoon where flocks of pink flamingos and white-cheeked pintails wade in search of mollusks.

PM: Santiago Island – Egas Port

After a wet landing at Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay, onto a black beach, an easy stroll takes you near the coastline to observe tidal pools, marine birds, iguanas, and sea lions, and often migratory birds are present in this area. This is also a good place to observe the Galapagos hawk. The trail ends at the fur sea lion grottos and, being nocturnal feeders, the fur seals sleep in and around the grottos during the day. On returning to the beach visitors may snorkel or swim.

AM: Santa Cruz Island – Charles Darwin Research Station

The Charles Darwin Research Station is on Santa Cruz Island which is the main inhabited island in the archipelago, with a population of approximately 16,000. A visit to the station will increase one's understanding of the work being done by the foundation and the importance of preserving the Archipelago's ecosystems. A series of walkways takes you through the captive breeding program where you will see juvenile and adult tortoises from different islands.

PM: Santa Cruz Island – The Highlands

A highlight of any trip to the archipelago is a visit to the Santa Cruz Highlands, where the sparse, dry coastal vegetation transitions to lush wet fields and forests overgrown with moss and lichens. Our afternoon destination is the Wild Tortoise Reserve where we will have chances to track and view these friendly ancient creatures in their natural setting.

AM: San Cristobal Island – Interpretation Center

In 1998 the Galápagos National Park Visitor Centre opened for the benefit of islanders and travelers alike, presenting a comprehensive exhibit of the islands’ natural history, human interaction, ecosystems, flora, and fauna.

Transfer to Airport

Your guide will take you to the airport in a bus, a ten-minute ride.