Island hopping: the best way to travel for adventurous spirits
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There’s nothing better in the New Year than starting to plan new adventures, challenges, goals, and commitments. At Galapagos Elements, we firmly believe that fulfilling our bucket list is the best way to honor our existence, and traveling, of course, is the best way to do it.
Exploring new destinations or returning to places you once felt free and in harmony with nature is always the best decision. So, if the Galapagos are still on your bucket list or if they’ve already become one of the best trips of your life and you want to return, we bring you a guide to the best islands to visit on a 5-day itinerary touring this archipelago so you can start planning your 2025 vacation.
Day 1: Arrival in Baltra & Visit to the Giant Tortoise Farm
From Baltra, our guide will meet you and escort each passenger to Puerto Ayora, the largest island in the archipelago. We’ll travel by local ferry through the beautiful Itabaca Channel, a striking dividing line between Baltra and Santa Cruz Islands.
At the top of this island, we’ll enjoy a magnificent hike around a private ranch that encompasses one of the most beautiful ecosystems on Santa Cruz. Here, we’ll observe the giant Galapagos tortoises in their natural state. It’s important to be quiet and walk slowly around these creatures, as they are quite shy and sensitive, often retreating into their shells when uncomfortable. During the tour, you’ll also see birds such as finches, witchbirds, and some Galapagos donkeys. Remember never to disturb, touch, or feed the animals you see in the Galapagos to avoid disturbing their behavior.
Day 2: Tortuga Bay Beach and Sailing to Isabela Island
A delicious and nutritious breakfast at our Puerto Ayora hotel will open the curtain on the adventures ahead. White-sand beaches and the beautiful Pacific Ocean horizon will be the highlights of the day. Tortuga Bay is the first beach we’ll visit. After a short walk, we can run into the sea on the soft coral sand. You should be aware that the waves at the beginning of the beach are quite strong, so we don’t recommend swimming here if you’re not very experienced. However, to the west of the beach, there’s a beautiful bay with calm waters. If you’d like, you can dive into the sea or share the shore with colonies of marine iguanas, or watch blue-footed boobies rest from their flight on the rocks jutting out from the ocean.
From the hotel, we’ll walk to the pier to take a water taxi to the First-Class Yacht Galapagos Element Wind, a magnificent vessel with spacious living rooms and open deck areas so you can enjoy the horizon during your island hopping or see some species swimming in the sea, such as sea turtles, manta rays, and whales. On board, you’ll see how we approach Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island, although we’ll first pass by the Hermanos, a group of small islets with beautiful rocky outcrops that rise from the ocean. Once in Villamil, we’ll visit the lively and picturesque town, where we can see the local handicrafts and sample the delicious local food.
Day 3: Tintoreras, Breeding Center & Wetlands
The Isabela pier is quite noisy and active, from here we will take a local boat to Las Tintoreras Islet, a rocky setting with calm, shallow waters that are the ideal place to spot sea lions, iguanas, countless tropical fish, and reef sharks.
These animals often come to enjoy the channels formed by lava flows and water. In the bay, you can snorkel and share the ocean with penguins and sea turtles.
In the afternoon, a local shuttle will take us to the Isabela Giant Tortoise Breeding Center. Here, our expert guide will explain the importance of this site for the conservation of Galapagos species and the actions being taken to protect the National Park’s ecosystem. Later, you can visit Los Humedales, a swampy area with lagoons and mangroves. This is one of the archipelago’s most important microecosystems, home to several unique species, such as lapwings, curlews, and ducks.
The place is truly beautiful, and the trail is filled with lush, colorful flora, while the lagoons become festive with the variety of birds that coexist together: flamingos, Galapagos gulls, and blue-winged gulls.
Day 4: Sailing to Isabela Island, Santa Cruz Island, and bay tour
Aboard the Galapagos Element Wind yacht we will head towards Puerto Ayora and visit a couple of the must-see places on the islands, the Galapagos National Park Interpretation Center and the Fausto Llerena Turtle Breeding Center. Here, several scientists, environmentalists and volunteers put their best effort into maintaining the Galapagos National Park in a state of conservation and protection.
During the last afternoon, a small boat will take us along the coastal areas of Puerto Ayora. The bay is truly beautiful, and upon reaching Camaño Islet, we will observe a colony of playful sea lions sharing the rocks with some blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies. We will then pass through Bahía de Los Alemanes, a heavenly place with soft white sand and crystal-clear water, perfect for a few photos and peaceful walks. It is also where some whitetip reef sharks often gather to swim peacefully near the lava channels.
Next, we’ll pass by Los Perros Beach. This area is made up of a dry forest and some rocky areas very close to the shore. Here, sunbathing marine iguana colonies are often photographed. We don’t recommend swimming here. However, if you’re looking to take a dip in the ocean, this last stop is perfect. Las Grietas (The Grits) are a series of volcanic formations that formed during the cooling of lava. This is a pleasant place to enjoy water activities, and there’s plenty of diversity to see and photograph.
Day 5: Visit Twin Craters and transfer to the airport
In the upper part of Santa Cruz there is a beautiful natural formation: Los Gemelos, which meets the route to the Itabaca Channel.
This area has a slightly different climate than other parts of the island, the reason being that it is surrounded by Scalesia forests, the habitat of plants such as bromeliads, orchids, mosses, and countless birds such as Darwin’s finches, short-eared owls, and harriers.
Finally, we’ll travel back across the Itabaca Canal to reach the airport, so you can say goodbye to your new travel friends. We’ll help you get around the airport and eagerly await your next adventure.
If you’d like to learn more about Island Hopping tours or other travel options we offer at Galapagos Elements, contact us; our advisors will help you plan your trip.
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