Epic adventures, unforgettable memories: our Galapagos adventure brings you up close and personal with nature’s wonders.
Picture yourself snorkeling beside a pair of playful sea lions, their sleek bodies gliding by, as you marvel at the kaleidoscope of colorful marine life below.
Marvel at a sea turtle swimming seemingly in slow motion, almost within reaching distance.
Snap photos of blue-footed boobies flaunting their feet and fire-engine-red Sally Lightfoot crabs scrambling over pitch-black volcanic rock bathed in saltwater.
Feel the gentle caress of the ocean breeze while you relax with a steaming cup of Ecuadorian coffee and contemplate the day ahead.
As you wade ashore to explore a secluded beach, the tropical fish darting just below the surface of the water are a tangible reminder of the untouched beauty of these remote islands.
Get ready for a journey that will ignite your sense of adventure, create lifelong memories, and leave your heart bursting with joy and amazement.
Included
Trip Notes
Your tour with Llama Expeditions starts when you meet our team at the airport in Quito and ends when we drop you off at the airport in the Galapagos for the first leg of your trip home.
Each participant is required to have travel insurance to cover hospitalization, evacuation, flight delays, & cancellations as well as to pay the National Park Fee of $100 per person. Please plan for and consider personal spending money for extra snacks, drinks, or treasures you find along the way. All meals on the first day and some meals on the last day are on your own.
Welcome to Quito!
Our friendly team will be there to greet you at the airport, ensuring a smooth check-in process at your hotel.
Once you’re settled in, the choice is yours: unwind and recharge at the hotel or venture out and explore the property.
Hotel: Casa Ilayaku in Quito (or similar)
After a short flight to Baltra, you are whisked away to the lush, green highlands of Santa Cruz Island — home of the Galapagos Tortoise. Look for these free roaming, almost too-big-to-believe tortoises hiding in the tall grass or partially submerged in a mud pond.
Explore the volcanic origins that shaped the Galapagos as you hike through a 400-meter ancient lava tunnel. Your guide explains how this empty space in the middle of a once-active lava flow was formed. Let your imagination transport you back in time, where you can envision the extraordinary forces that shaped this unique archipelago.
Then, hop on a mountain bike and coast downhill with the cool breeze in your face to Puerto Ayora, the coastal village where you’ll be spending the next two nights.
Hotel: Angermeyer Waterfront (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
Meet with a local fisherman turned conservationist.
Travel in his speedboat to the sandy beaches of Bahia Ballena, an ocean inlet where Galapagos sea lions and marine iguanas lazily soak up the sun resting on a bed of carpetweed.
Snorkel through an underwater world of lava rocks and small reefs swarming with tropical marine life. Reaching depths of up to thirty feet, the sandy ocean floor is home to pacific green sea turtles and long tailed stingrays.
If conditions permit, the crew can practice catch-and-release fishing to show you the stunning fish that inhabit these waters.
At the day’s end, not only will you have observed the unique marine wildlife of the Galapagos and enjoyed the splendor of a pristine beach, but also gained insight into the local community’s way of life. Your participation in this experience directly contributes to wildlife preservation and supports a local family’s livelihood.
Hotel: Angermeyer Waterfront (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
Hotel: Casa de Marita (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
Grab your lunch and head to the highlands of Isabela to reach Sierra Negra. This active volcano last erupted on October 22, 2005, leaving behind a dramatic layer of lava. The caldera is the second largest in the world, with a diameter of approximately six and a half miles.
From the rim of the caldera, hike through the petrified lava towards Chico Volcano. Fumaroles and unusual lava formations provide a striking visual record of the geological history of these islands. Keep an eye out for finches, flycatchers, and if you’re lucky, the majestic Galapagos hawk.
Head over to Finca Flor del Recuerdo for lunch. After lunch, enjoy the rich flavor of freshly harvested local coffee and learn about the workings of this plantation that also grows bananas, sugar cane, and other tropical fruit.
Return to the hotel where you can take a refreshing dip in the ocean to wash off the dust from the hike.
Hotel: Casa de Marita (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
It’s anchors away as you board a boat for an hour-long ride to Los Tuneles. It’s a curious place where lava platforms collapsed into the water creating a maze of arches, bridges, and caves. The shallow, calm, crystal clear water makes it perfect for snorkeling, though.
After lunch aboard the boat, hike to El Finado, just 10 minutes away. This protected inlet served as a sanctuary for weary fishermen to rest after an arduous time at sea.
Snorkel among submerged caves and small reefs here. Look for white-tipped reef sharks, colorful tropical fish, and stingrays. Near the mangroves, shallower water makes it possible to discover a hidden world where parrotfish, hogfish, and wrasses thrive.
Once you get back to town, collect samples of sand for the tour leader and naturalist guide to send to the University of San Francisco in Quito. These samples allow scientists at the university to understand and plan a course of action to address micro-plastic pollution in the Galapagos.
If the weather permits, enjoy a BBQ on the beach as you watch the sun set on another remarkable day.
Hotel: Casa de Marita (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
This morning, visit the Tortoise Breeding Center, an initiative of the Galapagos National Park dedicated to the conservation of Isabela’s tortoises. Melt over the sight of baby tortoises recently hatched. The breeding center raises them until they are old enough to be released into the wild.
Then, traverse elevated walkways over a tidal lagoon, where you’ll catch glimpses of pink flamingos and numerous migratory birds among four different species of mangroves.
Stroll along the glistening white sand beach of Puerto Villamil as you make your way to your hotel to retrieve your luggage for your afternoon flight.
Upon arriving in San Cristobal, visit Hacienda Tranquila, a ranch that works with the Galapagos Science Center to protect the Galapagos Petrel, which is in critical danger of extinction. Walk the paths on the 121-acre ranch to see where scientists are collecting data to save the petrels.
Hotel: Casa Opuntia (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
Are you ready for the ultimate snorkeling adventure at Kicker Rock?
Swim in a channel between two rocks as big as skyscrapers — a virtual freeway for white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, eagle rays, sea turtles, sea stars, and hundreds of colorful fish.
Return to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and wander its tranquil streets as you literally trip over lounging sea lions.
Hike to the spot where Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle landed on the islands for the first time in 1835. During the walk, learn about Darwin’s theories and findings from his five-week exploration of the archipelago.
From the top of Frigatebird Hill, watch the sun set over the breathtaking coastal views.
Hotel: Casa Opuntia (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, lunch, and dinner
As your time in the Galapagos draws to a close, there is one final special treat awaiting you. A visit to a sea lion haven. La Lobería is a picturesque stretch of beach with a big sea lion colony as its major attraction.
Sea lions are socially organized in colonies or harems, each with a dominant male and about 30 females with their pups. You can tell which sea lion is male and which is female by their size. Males can weigh over 500 pounds.
In addition to seeing loads of sea lions, including some babies, keep your eyes peeled for finches, yellow warblers, frigate birds, blue-footed boobies, and marine iguanas. Check out those blue feet carefully to tell the difference between male and female blue-footed bobbies. While the color difference is subtle, females have bluer feet.
Then, it’s off to the airport for your flight back to the mainland and onward to home.
Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
All of the guides were incredible. Augusto, Ruben, and Patricia are the best guides I have ever worked with from any country. On a scale of 1-to-10, it was a 15! It was a life changing trip for me.
We loved the whole thing; so difficult to choose what was the best!
Wow. This trip has been truly life changing for me. Thank you so much for crafting such an excellent taste of the Galapagos. This experience and you have been so inspirational to me. I am so grateful to have shared this experience with you.
Surprisingly, tourism is what helps sustain the Galapagos Islands’ fragile ecosystem. For example, tourism is why the waters are not over fished. It gives local people another career path to pursue instead of fishing.
The National Park has strict rules that govern what people can and can’t do in the park to protect wildlife and plants. Your guide will fill you in once you arrive.
Given its popularity, you would think so. The good news is that it is highly regulated to limit the number of visitors and to make sure everyone is not at the same snorkel spot or tortoise breeding center at the same time. So, you won’t feel like you are shoulder-to-shoulder with a lot of tourists, as sometimes happens in other parts of the world.
At one time, cruises were the only way to see the Galapagos Islands.
But our land-based adventure has a number of advantages over a cruise.
While you don’t have to be super fit, you do need to be physically active.
You will be hiking, snorkeling, walking, swimming, and generally moving around all day. The longest hike is 6 to 10 miles, depending on the preferences of the group.
Of course, you can also opt to relax on the boat instead of snorkeling and swimming. So, there is some flexibility.
But the more you do, the more you will get out of the trip.
You need to know how to swim, but you don’t necessarily need to be a strong swimmer.
You will be wearing a life jacket and mostly be snorkeling in calm, sheltered water rather than the open ocean.
Your guide will also be in the water with you.
However, if the swimming conditions look too challenging, you are welcome to relax in the boat.
Llama Expeditions specializes in designing adventures for adult family members and friends traveling together. Our adventures are not suitable for young children and teenagers.
Yes, there is. But, it can be unpredictable and it definitely is not high speed. Because the Galapagos Islands are in the middle of the ocean, WiFi speeds vary.
Because this is a private trip, you get to decide when you will go.
While cruises are abundant, hotels on the Galapagos Islands are not.
Also, the best guides (the ones we work with) book out well in advance.
So while you are welcome to reach out to us at anytime, booking 6 months in advance is highly recommended.
Just send us an email at hello@llamaexpeditions.com or submit the inquiry form on the right side of the page.
We’ll be in touch to discuss the details and dates, and to send you a link to pay your $500/person deposit to reserve your place.
As long as you cancel 90 days before the start of the trip (120 days before December 15th through January 10th), no problem.
However, if you need to cancel at the last minute, we won’t be able to issue a refund because we have to pay for your trip in advance.
However, we’ll provide you with all the paperwork you need from us to help you with your travel insurance claim.
Depending on the coverage you purchased, you may be able to get a full or partial refund.
We strongly recommend that you buy travel insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason.
Absolutely!
But you must request a change 90 days before your departure date (120 days before December 15th through January 10th) for us to be able to accommodate you.
This is why we strongly recommend that you buy travel insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason as soon as you book your trip.
