8-Day Galapagos Island Hopping: 6 Nights Santa Cruz Island & 1 Night Isabela Island**Shared Tour**

Passengers will be met at Baltra airport by a tourist guide from Turismo Paradise, and then taken to Ninfa Hotel in Santa Cruz Island. We will make an stop to visit the Twin Craters, geological subsidence found in the highest part of the island and in the middle of a forest of scales (endemic vegetation). Passengers can enjoy a beautiful view from the highest place of Santa Cruz Island where there is a rainforest with warm climate and a dense vegetation; by contrast the completely different landscape and environment existing in the lower part of the Island. At visiting the Santa Rosa location within El Chato Reserve, the “Galapagos giant turtles can be observed laying in calm and relax at the beach, or submerged at El Chato Lagoon. This place is also favorable for many wild birds to nest such as Finches, Scarlet Flycatchers, Cattle egrets and the Pachays birds from time to time. Visitors can also walk through a natural lava tunnel illuminated by a dim light, which has been placed by the owners of the stay.

After breakfast (at 7:45am), we will sail for about one hour to get the Santa Fe Island. From the yacht, we can see a forest of endemic cactus that grow in the huge ravines of this island. In addition, in a calm turquoise water inhabited by a colony of pelicans, blue-footed boobies, seagulls and a great number of sea lions you can enjoy practicing snorkeling or swimming by side harmless manta rayas, tropical fishes or occasionally while swimming you may bump into sea turtles. Lunch will be served on board and then we will leave to Playa Escondida where tourists will have time to relax before returning to the hotel.

Departure at 6:30am after breakfast. We board the yacht towards Isabela in a journey of approximately 2 hours. After arriving to Puerto Villamil, we enjoy watching the Flamingos Lagoon as well as the magnificence of the Isabela beach. Later, we have lunch at a local restaurant and then continue our journey to experience – watching from the yacht- the beauty of blue sharks, the colony of marine iguanas and the adorable penguins. Then if you like, the practice of snorkeling is available while tropical fishes, sea turtles and sharks living in these calm crystalline waters can be watched. Return at 6:00pm for dinner.

After breakfast at Isabela Island, we leave at 8:00am to visit the Sierra Negra Volcano, the biggest and most active volcano of these Islands. Its northern flank usually cloudy and misty, allows the growth of a dense vegetation. Here, there is also one of the most important worldwide biological reserve of turtles, iguanas and birds species, which were studied and observed by naturalist Charles Darwin in the XIX century to then write his famous book “The Origin of the Species”. There is another Volcano located at northeast part of the Sierra Negra Volcano - Chico Volcano - with a height of approximately 860 meters above the sea. There is a pedestrian path clearly marked which leads to this Volcano.

Choice 1: North Seymour Island - Bachas At 7:30am, a bus will pick passengers up from the hotels they are staying in to take them to the Itabaca Channel dock to board the yacht and start a new day tour. Northern Seymour Island is an incredible place to take walks and it is very pleasant to go by a 2 km. circular path that crosses the interior of the island, which will take you to explore the rocky coast and watch some of the largest and endemic colonies of marine birds of these dreamy Galapagos Islands. Here, there will also be the opportunity for visitors to observe the nesting places of the colorful blue-footed boobies as well as the frigates, these last mentioned birds inflate their huge buches at the mating season to attract the attention of the female frigates and they are also known for stealing the blue-footed boobies’ food. Tourists will really feel delighted to observe the beautiful mating ritual practiced by blue-footed boobies. After enjoying lunch, we can practice snorkeling alongside with the green sea turtles and the famous Galapagos Sharks. Also to watch to the naughty sea lions playing and surfing in these crystalline waters. We will visit the Bachas beach where the sun and the sea for sure will delight us. Finally, we are leaving at 5:00pm and will transfer tourists to each hotel they are staying in. Choice 2: Bartolome Island and Sullivan Bay Passengers will be picked up from every hotel they are staying in at 7:00am, and then taken on board of a yacht to the Itabaca Channel to enjoy of a new expedition day across these islands of pristine waters and white sanded beaches. Breakfast will be served onboard and then, in a journey of 2 hours sailing we get to Bartolome Island. Once there, we will go up through a stair until a summit from where you will enjoy a wonderful sight of these two fantastic bays, with amazing lava growths and volcanic cones. Visitors can also observe the famous Pinnacle Rock, a giant black lava formation that has eroded over time and has become a representative image of the archipelago. Near this elevation, we can also enjoy seeing two beautiful half-moons shape beaches. Green marine turtles choose Bartolome Island as their ideal mating zone and nest on the seashore from January to March every year. The most beautiful landscapes of Galapagos are present in Bartolome. This Island is an extinct volcano and has a variety of soils in bright colors (red, orange, green, black, etc.) as well as volcanic formations. Another activity to perform in this second choice seventh day is snorkeling and you can feel lucky of watching one more time the sea turtles, whitetip reef sharks, tropical fishes, sea lions and many other unique marine species existing only here in this superb paradise. This territory is besides, a perfect place to enjoy seeing the adorable Penguins. Sullivan Bay will be our next destination after having lunch so take advantage and enjoy seeing these amazing lava formations resulting of a volcanic eruption occurred in 1903. Return at 5:00pm.

From 7:30am a bus will pick passengers up from every hotel they are staying in to take them to the Itabaca Channel dock where they will aboard a yacht towards Plazas Islands. Once we get there after two hours sailing, the largest sea lion colony in the archipelago can be observed as well as only few meters behind the landing dock the land iguanas always lying on the rocks. Then, going by a path we get to the other side of this very small and rectangular shape island, walking along the ravine we see some blue-footed and masked boobies gliding over there, besides of swallow-tailed gulls, shearwaters, frigate birds, pelicans and other tropical birds. There will also be seen here, marine and land iguanas. Despite its small size, Isla Plazas is famous for being a home for a large variety of flora and fauna species since here we can find beautiful thorny trees, cacti, etc. Depending on the season, the existing vegetation changes its color; from an intense green in winter, to an orange and purple color in summer and besides of course, the very important colony of land iguanas. This Island is very popular among local and foreign tourists who feel pleased of visiting this paradisiacal place.

Loberia Islot is the ideal place to practice snorkel accompanied by our guides. There you can watch sea lions, multicolored fish and from time to time manta rayas and turtles. From the ravine at Punta Estrada beach, we see a small colony of blue-footed boobies and pelicans. Once disembarking at the dock and after a short trek, we get to the viewpoint of sharks channel and from a height of about 14 to 15 meters you can observe them. Later, we visit Dogs Beach where it can be seen lying on the rocks a colony of marine iguanas, the zayapas (red rock crabs) and occasionally the lava herons. Finally, we get to the Cracks beach, a paradisiacal crystalline waters lagoon where we can swim. Upon return, we will visit the beach of the Germans where you can enjoy the sun and the sea of Galapagos.

After breakfast, we will transfer to the airport to take your flight back to Quito or Guayaquil.