Invite your friends! Get $100 trip credit!     Invite Friends!
AdventureLink Logo
Register Login Why Book with us? Talk to an expert!
24/7: (877) 691-4488, +1 (626) 539-7506, Skype : Support.adventurelink.com
Deals Blog
HIGHLIGHTS
A quick look about this trip!
DURATION
7 DAYS
COMFORT
STYLE
LANGUAGE
RATING
  • Eye-to-eye encounters with Galápagos penguins and baby sea lions
  • Snorkeling, kayaking and splashing in the clearest, bluest water
  • Hanging out with out local naturalist/guide, their new best friend 
ACTIVITIES ON THIS TRIP
Primary: Walking Tour
Other: Snorkeling, Mountain Biking, hike, Swimming, Volcanoes, Wildlife, sightseeing, Sea Kayaking, boating, Marine Life Encounters
$3995USD
Prices vary by date. Make sure to pick your departure date.
Available Dates:
Available Spaces:
8 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Ready to book? Want more info?
You can also talk to an expert or book online:
BOOK ONLINE NOW
ONGOING PROMOTIONS
"Get 5% off when you book with AdventureLink before May 31st, 2012!"
SAVE 5%
Applies to Departures Between:
4/25/2012 and 1/1/2013
Promotion lasts :
From 4/25/2012 To 6/1/2012
TRIP MAP
See the locations you'll visit!

Galapagos Island Based Multi-Sport Family Vacation

The Galapagos Islands can really push a family’s “happy buttons.” The close-up looks at penguins and iguanas and sea lions are almost too cool to believe. The landscapes are like nothing you’ve ever seen, and the climate is great.
Too bad for most visitors that they tour the islands by cruise ship. Everybody can get stir-crazy in the limited space. And the fun of ship-to-shore Zodiac rides wears off after 4 or 5 trips. That’s why we prefer a land-based Galapagos family vacation. There’s plenty of elbow room to walk, swim in our boutique hotels’ pools, and watch for blue-footed boobies out the back door. You can go sea-kayaking right from dock outside your door. We have easy access to clear lagoons for snorkeling, great trails for mountain-biking, and white beaches for lounging. Even if you weren’t bumping into a titanic tortoise or a strutting flamingo at every turn, this would still be a fantastic active family vacation. And unlike those tourists marooned on their boats, we get to hang out with the locals and get a feel for what human life is like among the wildlife!
Day 1: San Cristobal Island
On our morning flight, we watch the Pacific slide under us and keep an eye out for San Cristobal, the first of three islands we visit in the Galápagos archipelago. First stop: The Interpretation Center for a quick orientation on all of the amazing things we’ll see in the week ahead. But we waste no time in getting right down to the fun. We’ll strike out on a lava trail where you can catch your first glimpse of blue-footed boobies, iguanas and frigate birds. 

This afternoon, slip on a snorkel mask for a splash at Carola Beach. The water is so clear that you won’t believe how far you can see. Then we check in to our waterfront inn in the beachy-cool town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. After a great evening meal, follow the boardwalk to see the huge colony of sea lions that lives just a couple of minutes away. Overnight: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Meals: L, D
Lodging Casa Opuntia
Description Casa Opuntia with its 11 cozy rooms is the finest accommodation on San Cristobal Island. The Galapagos hotel overlooks the boardwalk and is only a few meters away from Playa de Oro Galapagos Beach. Casa Opuntia's restaurant features some of San Cristobal's best sea food dishes to be enjoyed surrounded by endemic gardens and perfect ocean views. Casa Opuntia Galapagos Hotel has a swimming pool and a bar that are always ready to welcome our guests.
Day 2: Isla Lobos / San Cristobal Island
After breakfast, we’ll hop aboard a speedboat, towing our string of sea kayaks to the island’s northern coast. The water’s calm – a great setting whether your family has kayaked before or is trying it for the first time. Or we’ll gladly arrange a boat ride for the non-kayakers among you. But either way, on the sea around Isla Lobos you’ll get a great up close look at the baby sea lions as the goof around in the water with us. This is another fine snorkeling spot too, where your friendly swimming companions are prehistoric-looking marine iguanas. 

This afternoon, we walk to a volcano full of water – the islands’ only fresh water lake. And we’ll spend time with a family that does something you’ve probably never seen before. The Gonzales clan grows coffee on their own 250-acre plantation. We’ll meet them and their workers and see what life is like in this interesting setting. They’ll treat the adults to tasting of their organic, sustainable brew. Then we’re back to the hotel with plenty of time to chill out, hit the pool and sit down to a gourmet dinner. Overnight: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Meals: B, L, D
Lodging Casa Opuntia
Description Casa Opuntia with its 11 cozy rooms is the finest accommodation on San Cristobal Island. The Galapagos hotel overlooks the boardwalk and is only a few meters away from Playa de Oro Galapagos Beach. Casa Opuntia's restaurant features some of San Cristobal's best sea food dishes to be enjoyed surrounded by endemic gardens and perfect ocean views. Casa Opuntia Galapagos Hotel has a swimming pool and a bar that are always ready to welcome our guests.
Day 3: Isabela Island / Tintoreras
Everybody thinks of penguins living in Antarctic cold. But, in fact, most varieties live in warmer climates – a fact that becomes abundantly clear on Isabela, our second island-home of the week. First, we take our mountain bikes for a spin on trails that wind through the volcanic landscape. And on foot, we’ll see lagoons, mangrove swamps, white sand beaches and lava tubes come next. 

But the highlight of this day – and maybe one of the neatest experiences of your life – happens on Los Tintoreras, a cluster of small islets. We take a fishing boat to get there. It’s one of the only spots that Galápagos penguins live. And unlike some birds, they’re VERY easy to see. They have no predators, so they treat us just like some other big species of penguin. With the instruction of our guide, we can approach them and come way closer than you ever would have dreamed. 

Back at our waterside resort, you’ll all want to go for a barefoot stroll through the town’s all-sand streets. Overnight: Isabela Meals: B, L, D
Lodging Iguana Crossing
Description The ocean laps at the front door. There’s nothing but National Park (with a live volcano) out the back. This comfortable hotel is everything you could want in Galapagos accommodations – cool, very close to nature and eco-minded. Amenities include a swimming pool, a roof-deck Jacuzzi and its own excellent restaurant.
Day 4: Isabela Island
We've already mentioned volcanoes a couple of times, and there’s a good reason. The Galápagos were formed by volcanoes and some of them are still active. Today, you’ll learn how they behave, how they created the unique Galápagos environment, and just how huge they really are. 

Take Volcan Sierra Negra. It’s half a million years old and its caldera – the space inside the rim – covers 30 square miles. And you can see just how big that really is when we stand on the rim to look inside. Nearby Volcan Chico is a fantastic spot for a picnic. And afterward, you’ll feel like you’ve landed on Mars as we follow a path through orange, red and yellow lava formations with fumaroles shooting steam into the air around us. 

After all that talk about fire-breathing mountains, it feels really good to slip into the infinity pool and cool off back at our inn. Overnight: Isabela Meals: B, L, D
Lodging Iguana Crossing
Description The ocean laps at the front door. There’s nothing but National Park (with a live volcano) out the back. This comfortable hotel is everything you could want in Galapagos accommodations – cool, very close to nature and eco-minded. Amenities include a swimming pool, a roof-deck Jacuzzi and its own excellent restaurant.
Day 5: Sta Cruz Island
So we’ve already seen sea lions slide through the water and watch blue-footed boobies flap those famous feet in a mating dance. The stars of today’s centerpiece walk are a good bit slower, but just as fascinating. After our transfer to Santa Cruz, we head into the highlands to find the giant land tortoises. It’s hard to believe but some of them are so old that there were born before the U.S. Civil War and weigh as much as 500 pounds. We get to walk among them. We’re in their habitat, and we’re not fenced off. It’s one of those moments when it’s easy to understand how amazing nature is – and what we lose if we don’t take care of it. 

Close by, there are some incredible lava tunnels. As we explore them, it’s not hard at all to believe the stories that pirates might have used them to hide gold that was stolen from the Incas. Our day ends at our waterfront resort. It sits right on the bay so you can watch boats of all shapes and sizes crisscross the bright blue water. Overnight: Puerto Ayora Meals: B, L, D
Lodging Angermeyer Inn
Description This is a perfect place to relax and a stay here can be combined with a cruise of the islands. The port town of Puerto Ayora, with its restaurants, bars and shops, is just a two minute water taxi ride away. The world famous Charles Darwin Research Centre is on the outskirts of the town.s
Day 6: Santa Cruz / Tortuga Bay
Back at home, an attendant will never park a sea kayak right outside your front door. But that’s the way life is today! Right from our hotel, we can paddle to Punta Estrada and Divine Bay. We glide through narrow channels with a straight-up lava cliff on each side. Look down into the water, and you’ll see manta rays and white-tipped reef sharks. If you prefer a footpath to a kayak paddle, we’ll lead you to the volcanic cliffs of Las Grietas on a trail that starts right at our hotel. 

And we’ve saved the best beach for last. We’ll spend the afternoon at Tortuga Bay. The snow-white sand is football-field wide. With the snorkeling practice you’ve had all week, you’ll be right at home in these waters. Or go surfing –this beach is famous for its waves. The amazing thing is that after these daysin the Galápagos, you take it for granted that that’s an iguana basking on the sand beside you! Overnight: Puerto Ayora Meals: B, L, D
Lodging Angermeyer Inn
Description This is a perfect place to relax and a stay here can be combined with a cruise of the islands. The port town of Puerto Ayora, with its restaurants, bars and shops, is just a two minute water taxi ride away. The world famous Charles Darwin Research Centre is on the outskirts of the town.
Day 7: Santa Cruz / Charles Darwin Research Station
So it’s good to learn about everything they’re doing at the Charles Darwin Research Station to understand, protect and reintroduce the island’s unique species. Just to prove how important it all is, you’ll meet Lonesome George –the rarest of all animals because he’s the very last living Pinta Island Tortoise. 
After our visit, we transfer to Baltra Island for return flights back to either Quito or Guayaquil. Meals: B
TRIP INCLUDES
  • First class accommodations at boutique hotels 
  • 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners 
  • Full-time experienced guide(s) 
  • Admissions to scheduled events as noted in the detailed daily itinerary 
  • Gratuities for hotels, meals and baggage 
  • Trip literature 
  • All land transportation during the trip
TRIP DOES NOT INCLUDE
  • Two internal flights (on day 1 from your choice of Quito or Guayaquil to San Cristóbal, and on day 7 from Baltra to your choice of Quito or Guayaquil). These are priced separately from the land tour. The total cost for the internal flights is approximately $465 per person.
  • $100 Galapagos entry fee per person
  • $10 Transit Control Card per person
CANCELLATIONS: 20% cancellation fee applied if cancelled 60 days prior to departure. Cancellations within 60 days are 100% non-cancelable

Did you know that you can customize this trip?

Customizing a trip is a great way to:

  • Change anything about the itinerary you don't like.
  • Change the size of the group or make this a private tour.
  • Change the duration or departure date of the trip.
  • Because we use the local operator, this customization usually won't cost you extra!
Contact us to customize this trip
SEND TRIP TO A FRIEND
Email this Trip to:
Seperate multiple emails by a new line.
Customize your message:
SEND
Customize the Brochure
Download Brochure
AS SEEN ON

Company

About Us Our Blog API Terms of Use Privacy Policy
California Seller of Travel #2088061-40
Real Time Web Analytics

Customers

Why book with AdventureLink? Invite Friends - Get $100 Trip Credit! Talk to an Expert - Get Travel Advice & Booking Help

Tour Operators

List your Trips on AdventureLink Tour Operator Portal Login

Affiliates

Become an Affiliate Affiliate Widgets

Help & Support

Contact Us Support Portal
Call Us or Our Experts:
(877) 691-4488
+1 (626) 539-7506
Skype : Support.adventurelink.com