Galapagos Isabela Island Package

Day 1: Quito

Arrive in Quito and transfer to your hotel for overnight.

Day 2: Quito/Isabela Island (B,D)

Transfer to the airport for your flight from Quito to Baltra Island, our English speaking guide will meet us at the airport and transfer us to the port of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. Then, we will travel by speed boat for approximately 3 and half hours to Isabela, arriving at the hotel for a short rest. We will then visit the Flamingo Lagoon, the largest coastal lagoon in Galapagos and a principal breeding ground for the Flamingos.

Isabela is the largest island on the archipelago at around 4590 sq km. Lined with a chain of active volcanos with the highest peak (Wolf Volcano) standing at 1700m. Not many tourists visit this Island, even though it has the largest colony of Galapagos tortoises and the beach is beautifully set with coconut palms and a good selection of small seafood restaurants. In Isabela there are no banks so bring enough cash to last for the duration of your stay.

Day 3: Isabela Island (B, L, D)

Early in the morning, we will begin our full day tour to the Sierra Negra Volcano, located 13 miles from Puerto Villamil. Boasting the world’s second largest volcanic crater measuring 6 miles in diameter and 300 feet deep, we will hike up to this magnificent site to visit La Bocanilla and Volcan Chico. In the afternoon, we will return to the hotel before having the option to go snorkel in Concha Perla.

Day 4: Isabela Island (B, L, D)

Today we will visit the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre and “The Wall of Tears”; from 1946 to 1959 Isabela was designated a penal colony by the Ecuadorian government for prisoners who were obligated to build a wall with enormous blocks of lava. Due to the arduous labour and harsh conditions in which the prisoners lived, this site is known as “El Muro de las Lagrimas”.we will also visit a small lava tunnel and a second Flamingo lagoon, lunch at the hotel In the afternoon we will sail to “Islote Tintoreras,” a large crevice with very clear, calm water in which white-tip sharks (“tintoreras”) rest daily on the bottom. We can also see penguins, sea lions, marine iguanas and snorkel with sharks and colourful tropical fish while enjoying the beaches of Isabela.

Day 5: Isabela Island/Santa Cruz

Early in the morning, we will return by speedboat to Puerto Ayora where a guide will be waiting for us to check-in at the hotel. Immediately afterwards we will begin our visit to the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island where Giant Tortoise live in their natural habitat. After lunch in the Highlands, we will return to Puerto Ayora and go to the Charles Darwin Research Station and its Interpretive Centre. There we will have the opportunity to see Lonesome George, the last Galápagos Tortoise of his species.

Santa Cruz is the economic centre of the Galapagos and the most populated island of the archipelago. The Charles Darwin Research Station is a 10 minute walk from the centre of the main town, Puerto Ayora. Here you will have the opportunity to visit the adult Galapagos Tortoises in captivity, along with their young, which are raised at the Station. Another lovely feature of the island is Turtle Bay Beach, a 45 minute walk from Puerto Ayora along a well-established trail. The pristine white sand beach is absolutely stunning - a tranquil place with white surf accentuating the various blues of the deeper water.

Day 6: Santa Cruz/Quito (B)

En route to the Baltra Airport we will visit “Los Gemelos” (The Twins), collapsing craters formed from lava flows passing beneath the Earth's surface. We then depart to the Baltra airport for our flight back to Quito where we overnight.

Day 7: Depart Quito (B)

Depart Quito at any time.