Please note that the Quito international airport (UIO, Mariscal Sucre) will be closed on the following dates for preventative maintenance on the runway: May 11, 18, June 1, July 6, 13, 20, September 7, 14, and 21, 2024 between the hours of 2am and 12pm. The airport will also be closed on June 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2024 between the hours of 2am and 2pm. For passengers flying in or out of Quito on these dates, please double-check flight schedules with your airline in case of changes. Internal flights within Ecuador and Galapagos will be adjusted accordingly and any changes to schedules will be communicated at the welcome briefing.
Galápagos Land & Sea — Central & South Islands aboard the Yolita
Itinerary
Day 1Quito
Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer included.
There are no planned activities, so check into the hotel and enjoy the city. A G Adventures representative will greet you at the hotel and brief the group on the various aspects of the tour.
Opt to pre-book the "Quito City Tour & Equator Line" activity on the checkout page ahead of time to include this optional on your tour.
Transport
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting with G Representative
The adventure begins today. Feel free to explore, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Your G Representative will review the details of your tour.
Optional Activities - Day 1 HideShow
Quito City Tour and Equator
Enjoy a city tour of Quito. Visit the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with stops at the Basilica del Voto Nacional, La Compañia Church, San Francisco Square, Plaza Grande and the Panecillo, a towering statue of the virgin of Quito who looks out over a stunning view of the city. Drive 25km (16 mi) north of Quito to the Middle of the World, latitude 0º. Stand with one foot in each hemisphere.
Please note that this tour starts at 8 a.m.
Cotopaxi Volcano - Full Day Trip
Enjoy a spectacular 2 hour drive to Cotopaxi Volcano National Park to see the highest active volcano in the world (5,897m/ 19,347 ft). Visit a museum in the park and hike around a lagoon at the bottom of the volcano to learn about the flora and fauna found at this altitude. Continue by car up the volcano to the parking lot, at over 4,500m/14,763 ft. Walk for an hour and a half to the refuge and after a short break, continue to the glacier (if the weather holds out). Return to Quito in the afternoon. **Park entrance fee is not included and is split among the number of travellers in the group**
Accommodation
Below is an example of the hotel we may use in this city. For the actual hotel your specific departure will be using, please check your voucher.
Hotel Hilton Colon (or similar)
Day 2Quito/Santa Cruz Island
Fly to Baltra. Meet the CEO and transfer to Puerto Ayora. Check into the hotel followed by lunch. Enjoy an afternoon hike to Tortuga Bay along with a kayak ride.
Flights from Quito to Baltra depart between 6:40am and 9:40am depending on the day of the week. These will arrive into the Galápagos between 9:30am and 12:30pm with a short refuelling stop in Guayaquil (you will not disembark the plane).
The National Park charges a visitor fee of USD100, payable on arrival, which funds park maintenance and supervision in the Galápagos as well as ecological study, conservation, and infrastructure development in Ecuador's other national parks. Entry fees and the funds they generate for the National Park System are among measures taken by the Ecuadorian government to protect its natural heritage.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Tortuga Bay Hike
Enjoy a walk along a lava stone pathway to the beautiful white beach of Tortuga Bay. Relax on the beach, walk along the mangroves looking for marine iguanas and birdlife, or rent a kayak and explore this marine wonderland. Look for Tintoreras sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays in the water's shallow areas.
Tortuga Bay Kayaking
Grab a life jacket and go for a kayak adventure in the mangroves of Tortuga Bay. Keep an eye out for a wide variety of marine life, including colorful reef fish, rays, and sea turtles, as you paddle the blue waters. Relax after on a beautiful fine white sand beach, and soak up some sun – you may spot some iguanas also trying to catch some rays on the shore.
Accommodation
Villa Laguna (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 3Puerto Ayora/Santa Cruz Island
Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in the morning before boarding the Yolita. Get to know the crew and settle in. This afternoon, visit a tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands.
Yolita
Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
Fausto Llerena Breeding Center & Charles Darwin Research Station Visit
Visit Fausto Llerena Breeding Center a great place to observe many species of tortoises. Brought back from the brink of extinction, see the famous Galápagos tortoise up close – a corral houses adult tortoises, and a nursery cares for the young until around age three when their shells have hardened.
This area also houses the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organization initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galápagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. While the offices themselves are not open to visitors, the research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.
Highlands Giant Tortoises Visit
Head to Santa Cruz’s verdant highlands. This is a perfect place to hike through the grounds and see giant tortoises in their natural environment, before savouring an included lunch.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 4Punta Cormorant/Floreana Island
This morning, snorkel at Devil's Crown, a coral reef surrounded by an eroded volcanic crater, the perfect home for marine life. Look out for small sharks, rays and schools of tropical fish. In the afternoon, make sure you have a postcard to leave behind on a visit to Post Office Bay.
Snorkelling (Corona del Diablo)
Enjoy an amazing snorkelling experience at the ‘Devil's Crown’, an old underwater volcanic cone just north of the Punta Cormorant. Spot large schools of tropical fish, rays, reef sharks, and sea turtles that make their home among the coral reef. Be sure you're a strong swimmer; the currents can be intense.
Post Office Bay Visit
Visit Post Office Bay and learn about its unique history. In the late 18th century, English whaling vessels placed a barrel here to be used as a post office. Today, the box is used mainly by tourists, who may drop off and pick up unstamped letters to be carried to far destinations. Continue the tradition – leave a letter and take one to deliver (be sure it makes it to the correct location)!
Yolita
Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 5Chinese Hat/Cerro Dragón
Visit the white sand beach at Chinese Hat in the morning, before an afternoon at Cerro Dragón for an opportunity to break out the binoculars and do some excellent birdwatching.
Chinese Hat Visit
Explore Chinese Hat’s beautiful landscape and view many geological formations such as lava tubes and lava flows.
Cerro Dragón Visit
Visit Cerro Dragón (Dragon Hill) for some prime birdwatching. Take a short walk from the beach to a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon frequented by pink flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks, and other species of birds. Pass through a Palo Santo tree forest; endemic to the area, there are only 400 specimens of Scalesia trees left in the world.
Yolita
Yolita is an attractive 16-passenger ship boasting surprisingly spacious cabins for its size, and the large upper deck allows you to soak up as much of the Ecuadorian sun as you need.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 6Black Turtle Cove/Quito
In the early morning, explore the mangrove lagoon at Black Turtle Cove before transferring to the airport for a flight back to Quito. Enjoy a final night out on the town.
Black Turtle Cove Excursion
Explore the mangroves by panga to find rich marine wildlife between the fresh and salt waters. Keep any eye out for sting rays and sea turtles in this tranquil ecosystem. Whitetip reef sharks can also be seen gliding by.
Accommodation
Hotel Hilton Colon (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 7Quito
Depart at any time.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.
Optional Activities - Day 7 HideShow
Cotopaxi Volcano - Full Day Trip
Enjoy a spectacular 2 hour drive to Cotopaxi Volcano National Park to see the highest active volcano in the world (5,897m/ 19,347 ft). Visit a museum in the park and hike around a lagoon at the bottom of the volcano to learn about the flora and fauna found at this altitude. Continue by car up the volcano to the parking lot, at over 4,500m/14,763 ft. Walk for an hour and a half to the refuge and after a short break, continue to the glacier (if the weather holds out). Return to Quito in the afternoon. **Park entrance fee is not included and is split among the number of travellers in the group**
Quito City Tour and Equator
Enjoy a city tour of Quito. Visit the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with stops at the Basilica del Voto Nacional, La Compañia Church, San Francisco Square, Plaza Grande and the Panecillo, a towering statue of the virgin of Quito who looks out over a stunning view of the city. Drive 25km (16 mi) north of Quito to the Middle of the World, latitude 0º. Stand with one foot in each hemisphere.
Please note that this tour starts at 8 a.m.