Cruise the Galapagos archipelago in style on the stunning Galapaos Odyssey yacht.
Departures: Option 1 - Fortnightly on Sundays (the cruise departs every other Tuesday) / Option 2 - Fortnightly on Tuesdays (the cruise departs every other Thursday)
Length: 9 days / 8 nights
Destinations: Quito / Galapagos Islands Cruise / Guayaquil
Cruise: 6 days / 5 nights on board the Galapagos Odyssey Yacht, a fantastic Superior-Class cruise yacht operating in the Galapagos. A selection of different itineraries are available on this yacht, contact us for further information.
Highlights: Explore the UNESCO World Heritage city of Quito, embark on a cruise voyage on board the fabulous Odyssey cruise yacht.
Tailor Made: This is a suggested holiday that can be booked exactly as described if you wish or that can be used to help inspire you on the fascinating journeys and destinations in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Like all our holidays this itinerary can be tailored, customised and crafted by our friendly experts to suit your own travel style, personal requirements, wishes, budget and interests. Simply get in touch to discuss, and we would be delighted to create a truly personalised holiday for you.
Holiday Itinerary Option 1 - The Central and Eastern Islands
Arrive in Quito airport at anytime at the start of your holiday. We will meet you on arrival and escort you to your hotel. The remainder of the day will be free time for you to relax and refresh following your flight to Ecuador, and to give you time to explore the immediate area near your hotel and enjoy your first Ecuadorian meal.
Meals: None
Overnight: Central hotel in Quito
Quito old-town city centre, with its fantastic cobbled streets, colonial architecture, and stunning Andean location is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we like to include free time here at the start of your holiday to allow you to explore and visit some of its wondrous old-town city-centre sites that are not included elsewhere in your holiday but that are within walking distance to your hotel. Highly recommended sights worth visiting include Compañia de Jesús (Church of the Society of Jesus) with its ornate gold interior, the Presidential Palace which is located on the wonderful central plaza known as Independence Square, and the Church and Convent of St. Francis.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in Quito
In the morning we will escort you to Quito airport for a flight to San Cristobal Airport on the Galapagos Islands where you will be met by your cruise guide who will escort you from the airport to the Galapagos Odyssey Cruise vessel in the harbour nearby. In the afternoon visit Cerro Colorado Tortoise Protection and Growing Centre which works to improve the status of the tortoises on the island and provides a great insight into these famous animals. During the visit it is also possible to spot species of native bird including the San Cristobal Mockingbird, yellow warblers, and Galapagos finch species.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Punta Suarez on Española Island is one of the wildlife highlights of the entire island chain. Here the landscape sustains a sea bird colony, one of the most varied in the Galapagos, and you will walk in and around the cliffs that rise out of the surf, providing spectacular views of soaring birds and of a nearby blow-hole as well as the chance to spot birds including albatross, blue-footed and Nazca boobies and many others. In the afternoon visit Gardner Bay which is an excellent beach to relax, swim, observe local colonies of sea lions, and swim or kayak in the crystal clear oceans. It is possible to see sharks swimming in the waters around the bay.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
In the morning visit Punta Cormorant, one of the best flamingo lagoons in the Galapagos Islands situated between two lava cones. In addition to the beautiful flamingos you may also observe common stilts and white-checked pintail ducks. Later visit Post Office Bay, one of the most historic locations in the islands - in the 18th century a wooden barrel was placed here by the crew of a whaling vessel and the barrel has been used since this time by mariners and tourists as a “post office”. You will continue to the north of the island to enjoy a beautiful landscape view at the “Baroness” look-out point where it is said that Baroness Eloisa Von Wagner spent several hours each day watching the horizon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Santa Fe is the home of a number of endemic species like the Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos snake, Galapagos mockingbird, rice rats and one of the two species of lands Iguanas found in the Galapagos islands and it is a fantastic island to visit. There are also possibilities to snorkel with playful sea lions and tropical fish around the island to conclude a fantastic morning in this area of the archipelago. In the afternoon you will journey to Islas Plazas on the east of Santa Cruz island which is yet another fascinating part of the Galapagos Islands with some of the most interesting species of wildlife. The plazas land iguana is smaller than its relatives from other islands within the Galapagos and there are also several hybrid iguanas which are the result of crossing marine and land iguanas creating unique animals recognisable by their black/grey colour with a land iguana’s crest but face and tail of the marine iguana. For bird-lovers this is yet another fabulous spot for bird-watching - Swallow-tailed gulls, Audubon Shearwaters, Red-billed Tropic birds, Frigate Birds, and Brown Pelicans are all known to nest here.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
In the morning journey to North Seymour Island where there are excellent bird-watching opportunities: the island contains good nesting sites for the large population of frigate birds, Blue-footed Boobies perform their courtship dance in open areas, swallow-tailed gulls sit along the cliff edges and sea lions stretch out on the beach. In the afternoon visit Las Bachas, a beautiful white-sand beach on Santa Cruz Island. The beaches are made of decomposed coral making them a preferred nesting sites of sea turtles on Santa Cruz Island and it is also a good place to spot flamingos, as well as migratory and aquatic birds.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Mosquera Islet is a small islet formed by a geological uplift with a reef of rocks, coral, and a great white sand beach where a big population of sea lions can be spotted. The site offers snorkelling and swimming opportunities. Along the rocks you can observe the Sally Lightfoot Crabs (sometimes called Red Lava crabs) scurrying around as they search for food. Later, transfer to Baltra airport to return to the Ecuador mainland with a flight to Guayaquil. In Guayaquil we will escort you to your hotel for the evening.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in Guayaquil
At a suitable time we will collect you from your hotel to escort you to Guayaquil airport so you can take your return flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: N/A
Optional: Consider exploring Ecuador further so ask us about our range of Ecuador mainland holiday options or extensions to visit places such as Cotopaxi volcano, the Amazon, or the colonial city of Cuenca. There are regular international flights from Guayaquil to Peru so Guayaquil offers the perfect opportunity for an extension to visit Machu Picchu and Peru.
Holiday Itinerary Option 2 - The Central and Western Islands
Arrival in Quito at the start of your adventure.
Meals: None
Overnight: Central hotel in Quito
Free day in Quito.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in Quito
Travel to the Galapagos and visit Charles Darwin station.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
White-tipped reef-shark canal, tortoise breeding centre, beaches and wetlands, and Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela Island.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Visit Punta Moreno and Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Visit Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, then return to Isabela Island and visit Tagus Cove.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
On Santiago Island visit Espumilla Beach, Puerto Egas and Buccaneer Cove.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Galapagos Odyssey Cruise Yacht
Isla Lobos, then return flight to Guayaquil on Ecuador mainland.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Central hotel in Guayaquil
At a suitable time we will collect you from your hotel to escort you to Guayaquil airport so you can take your return flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: N/A
Optional: Consider exploring Ecuador further so ask us about our range of Ecuador mainland holiday options or extensions to visit places such as Cotopaxi volcano, the Amazon, or the colonial city of Cuenca. There are regular international flights from Guayaquil to Peru so Guayaquil offers the perfect opportunity for an extension to visit Machu Picchu and Peru.
Included
- Two domestic flights within Ecuador (Quito - Galapagos Islands / Galapagos Islands - Guayaquil)
- All excursions
- English-speaking guides for all excursions
- INGALA Galapagos Control Card
- Entry fees to all sites included in the itinerary (with the exception of Galapagos National Park Entry Fee which needs to be paid on arrival in Galapagos)
- Accommodation
- All meals detailed
- Private transfers to / from airports or hotels
- All transport and travel within Ecuador
Not Included
- International flights to/from South America. We exclude international flights to give the option to compare flight pricing or use air miles, however we can include and provide international flights as part of your holiday and any international flights booked through us would be ATOL-protected as part of your package with us. Depending on time of year, departure airport and airline preference flight prices start from around £500pp economy for return flights. If you would like us to include international flights or provide a quote just let us know your preferred departure airport when you enquire.
- The Galapagos National Park Entry Fee (payable on arrival in the Galapagos).
ATOL PROTECTION
This is a flight-inclusive package holiday. All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/atolcertificate.
Contact Us if you want more information or want to book this holiday. One of our Galapagos cruise holiday specialists will be more than willing to help.
