7-night Galápagos Cruise/Land Package: Wildlife Wonderland

Day 1 Quito

Quito is a fantastic place to visit and the best place to start your Latin American journey. Quito is also the entertainment center in Ecuador with new bars and discos opening every week and also the best place to shop, either at the small souvenir shops or at big malls. Quito has many interesting cultural sites, historical sites, museums, private galleries, churches, exhibition centers, and theaters.

Day 2 Quito

Quito is a fantastic place to visit and the best place to start your Latin American journey. Quito is also the entertainment center in Ecuador with new bars and discos opening every week and also the best place to shop, either at the small souvenir shops or at big malls. Quito has many interesting cultural sites, historical sites, museums, private galleries, churches, exhibition centers, and theaters.

Day 3 Quito

Quito is a fantastic place to visit and the best place to start your Latin American journey. Quito is also the entertainment center in Ecuador with new bars and discos opening every week and also the best place to shop, either at the small souvenir shops or at big malls. Quito has many interesting cultural sites, historical sites, museums, private galleries, churches, exhibition centers, and theaters.

Day 3 Isla Baltra

Today Baltra is the most important airport of Galápagos and a small navy base for Ecuador. Baltra has suffered most from human settling and does not have any visitor sites. Many cruises start from the its harbour and already there pelicans and noddies will welcome you. To the north lies Mosquera, a small sandy bank with a large colony of sea lions. Go swimming and snorkeling on the beach.

Day 3 Isla Santa Cruz

Here, the Charles Darwin Station offers insight into ongoing research and conservation in the Galapagos. Also located on this island is Cerro Dragon, one of the best places to spy land iguanas.

Day 4 Isla Santiago (Buccaneer Cove)

Day 4 Isla Santiago (Puerto Egas)

Santiago's Puerto Egas is the perfect place to explore dark, sandy beaches and spot birds and marine iguanas.

Day 5 Isla Rabida

Known for its striking dark-red color, this island is home to a picturesque saltwater lagoon where white-tailed pintail ducks and flamingos congregate.

Day 5 Isla Bartolome

This small, barren island offers guests the opportunity to observe firsthand its volcanic formations and moon-like landscape.

Day 6 Genovesa (Tower) Island

The island is home to Darwin Bay and colonies of Frigates, Red Footed and Masked Boobies. Just behind the beach one sees inland tide pools and outcrops of black rock and saltbushes, frequented by feeding Wandering Tattlers, Turnstones, Whimbrels, Lava Gulls and Fiddler Crabs.  Genovesa, as a result of its isolation, remains an undisturbed nesting ground for these birds, who fish in its rich waters, and lacks introduced as well as native land animals and reptiles-the only reptile, in fact, is a small subspecies of marine iguana. This island is a must for bird enthusiasts of all ages.

Day 6 Darwin Bay

Darwin Bay is located in the Galapagos Islands where one side of the caldera on the horse-shoe shaped Genovesa Island collapsed. The submerged crater that resulted formed Darwin Bay. The steep cliffs that surround the bay provide homes for many seabirds, and there is a white sand coral beach that heads a half mile trail from the bay. Genovesa has developed a reputation as “The Bird Island” due to the numerous bird species that nest there which include swallow-tail gulls, storm petrels, Darwin’s finches, nazca boobies and red-footed boobies. Visitors to Darwin Bay can enjoy hiking, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and dinghy rides. In addition to seabirds, additional wildlife found near Darwin Bay includes rays, colorful reef fish, marine iguana and sharks.

Day 7 Isla Santa Cruz

Here, the Charles Darwin Station offers insight into ongoing research and conservation in the Galapagos. Also located on this island is Cerro Dragon, one of the best places to spy land iguanas.

Day 7 Guayaquil

This tropical city of over two million people spreads out along the banks of chocolate-colored Guayas River, about 12 miles from Gulf of Guayaquil. The river, navigable for the largest of ocean vessels, makes this one of the Pacific's most important and best-protected ports. Visitors find the city itself is primarily valued as a gateway for the Galapagos Island and the rest of the country. Ecuador's scenic capital Quito can be reached via a 45-minute flight from Guayaquil. Lush green hillsides, snow-capped volcano cones and brilliant sunshine combine to make the city a charming surprise. Guayaquil offers a rich and interesting history. The meeting of Bolivar and San Martin is commemorated with the colonnaded La Rotunda facing the river. Other attractions include Colon Park where the city was founded, the Santo Domingo Church and the cemetery, often called the White City. With its elaborate tombs and monuments, this is one of South America's most striking burial grounds.

Day 8 Guayaquil

This tropical city of over two million people spreads out along the banks of chocolate-colored Guayas River, about 12 miles from Gulf of Guayaquil. The river, navigable for the largest of ocean vessels, makes this one of the Pacific's most important and best-protected ports. Visitors find the city itself is primarily valued as a gateway for the Galapagos Island and the rest of the country. Ecuador's scenic capital Quito can be reached via a 45-minute flight from Guayaquil. Lush green hillsides, snow-capped volcano cones and brilliant sunshine combine to make the city a charming surprise. Guayaquil offers a rich and interesting history. The meeting of Bolivar and San Martin is commemorated with the colonnaded La Rotunda facing the river. Other attractions include Colon Park where the city was founded, the Santo Domingo Church and the cemetery, often called the White City. With its elaborate tombs and monuments, this is one of South America's most striking burial grounds.