Budget Galapagos Island Hopping 6 days, Santa Cruz, Isabela
Now also posible to visit Galapagos on a budget- Island Hopping tour !
Possible in good or Budget hotel
You don,t stay in expensive cruise boats, but stay in hotels/hostals from where you visit the islands and animals
Day 1 Arrive at Baltra / Transfer to Isabela Island
In the morning we have a transfer to the airport for the flight to Galapagos (you must be present 2 hours in advance). You arrive in Santa Cruz, after that a transfer will be arranged for you to your hotel, where your first tour starts immediately, namely the Highland tour. On this tour, you will be shown inland from Santa Cruz and look for wild turtles and volcanic caves. Option is to do a tour this afternoon with a glass bottom boat for underwater life. Santa Cruz is the most visited island in the Galapagos, nevertheless it still gives a relaxed feeling of a coastal town. You can easily mix with the locals here. Take a morning walk to Tortuga Bay or the Charles Darwin Center
Accommodations in Isabela Island in the hotel class of your choice.
Day 2 Isabela Island:
Day tour to a uninhabited island: you visit the island of Bartolome or Seymour. Today you will discover Galapagos with a beautiful day tour to the uninhabited island of Seymour.
This island is made up of submarine lava and a landscape formed by black basaltic lava. You can easily walk here and you will be able to see enough wildlife! Among other things you will see: sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, lava gulls, tropic birds, brown noddy terns, pelicans, the famous blue footed boobies and marine iguanas. The impressive frigate birds nest here in the trees and in the salt bush. You will also find the endemic Palo Santo trees with their characteristic scent. Other native plants are the Opuntia cactus, Croton, Castela and Sesuvium. You can snorkel at Bachas. There you will hopefully encounter turtles and even small sharks!
Accommodations in Isabela Island in the hotel class of your choice.
Day 3 Isabela Island:
Day tour to the uninhabited island Plazas or Santa Fe. Today you will discover Galapagos with a beautiful day tour to the uninhabited island of Plazas. This is the island of the sea lions and their young. The rocks here are covered with the white guano and with crabs. The landscape is covered with Opuntia cactus, Saltbush, Leatherleaf (Maytenus), and thorny plants (Scutia Pauciflora). In addition to the sea lions, you will learn about land iguanas, Darwin’s finches, red tropic birds, swallow-tailed gulls, brown pelicans, and the occasional frigate bird. Be further out at sea
dolphins, mantas and even killer whales. Snorkeling can be done at the beautiful snorkeling spot Punta Carrion. Option is to go for 2 diving days from Santa Cruz
Day 4
Transfer by water taxi to Isabela Island in the morning. With its unmistakable seahorse shape, Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos archipelago with 4590 square kilometers. The island is covered with a chain of active volcanoes, with the highest peak (Wolf Volcano) on it 1700m. Not many tourists visit this island, even though it has the largest colony of Galapagos turtles, the beach with coconut palms is superbly situated and has a good selection of small fish restaurants in the only town,
called Puerto Villamil. You will stay in the friendly Casa Marita. In the afternoon there is a tour to Tintoreras, a beautiful place where all the famous animals of the Galapagos can be found.
Day 5 Galapagos
Today you make a day tour where you will visit Los Tuneles, one of the most impressive places in the Galapagos, with a day tour. This is an extensive snorkeling tour, where you are only on land for a very short time. Tuneles is the name of lava formations that rise like arches above the sea. Here you can snorkel and see: turtles, rays, sharks, sea lions, penguins and seahorses. Along the way you will pass rocks where with a bit of luck you will see the blue footed boobies and penguins.
Day 6 Galapagos
In the morning you will take the water taxi (2 hours) back to Santa Cruz, where a transfer to the airport awaits for the flight to Guayaquil. From there you fly on an international flight home, arriving the next day. Transfer flights are on your own responsibility
NOTE: Itinerary subject to change without prior warning depending on seasonal changes, weather conditions, and adjustments in policies set by the Galapagos National Park, and other unforeseen circumstances that may arise.
IMPORTANT REMARKS:
*HOTEL SELECTION: The hotel selection depends on the category of hotels that you choose. When you choose the class of hotels that you would prefer, we will indicate to you which hotels are available for the dates of your trip.
*AIRFARE NOT INCLUDED: The price of the tour does not include air tickets. We can help with booking your ticket, or you may book your own flights on your own. PLEASE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT which island you will arrive and leave from, and if you choose to book your own flight please try to book your arrival in the morning (before 12am) and your departure in the afternoon (11am or after) so that you will not miss any part of the tour. You can book your flight through either TAME, AEROGAL, LAN, or TAME (recommended).
*GUIDES: We use local and different guides for each island you visit or sometime a guide that specializes in specific activities. The guides will accompany you throughout all excursions and visits, give explanations and education on their knowledge of the islands, flora, and fauna, and coordinate the activities each day.
Distances are short in the Galapagos, and as the inhabited settlements have few residents they are very safe to walk around any time of day with normal precaution. The Guide activities start and end with the excursions. The guide will not go with you on the speedboats transfer either.
*PUBLIC SPEEDBOATS: We recommend that before beginning the ride between islands that you take a seasickness pill if you are sensitive to sea-sickness. It is also recommended that you carry on small plastic bags in case of seasickness. The speedboats are not completely covered so please make sure that valuables and electronics, or anything that you do not wish to get wet, is stored in a plastic bag. The guide will not go with you on the speedboats but a new guide will greet you on the other side. There are no services onboard the speedboat as space is limited and the journey is relatively short. A water taxi ride is sometimes required (depending on the tide) from the dock to the speedboat, the cost is 1 USD per person and per ride. Please, make sure you bring cash in small denominations in case this expense is needed.
*SCHEDULE OF EXCURSIONS: The schedule of the excursions will be coordinated and determined locally through the guide and those responsible for the operations. The guide will indicate what time each activity will start. The transfers between islands on the public speedboats are the only activities that have fixed departure times.
INCLUSIONS & EXCLUSIONS
(subject to petrol regulation and Corona adjustments):
6 day Island hopping on 2 inhabited islands, Stay includes breakfast and good hotel.
THE RATE INCLUDES:
–Accommodation in selected hotels and rooms
-breakfast
– including 2 tours to uninhabited islands from Santa Cruz.
-Bilingual naturalist guides for each island and all activities
-Transfers
THE RATE NOT INCLUDES:
-Air Ticket.( around this price, ask fixed price on your date )
-Entrance fee and tax not included ($ 120 + $ 10 transfer fee + $ 10 dock fee)
-Other meals -Soft-drinks and alcoholic beverages