Extraordinary Ecuador - 5 Islands & Mainland Pacific Beaches

ITINERARY: [view - close]

• Day 1: Arrival to Guayaquil
• Day 2: Guayaquil - Santa Cruz
• Day 3: Santa Cruz - Santa Fe - Floreana
• Day 4: Floreana - Tortuga Island - Isabela
• Day 5: Isabela
• Day 6: Isabela - Santa Cruz
• Day 7: Santa Cruz - Guayaquil
• Day 8: Ruta del Sol
• Day 9: Ruta del Sol
• Day 10: Ruta del Sol
• Day 11: Ruta del Sol - Guayaquil
• Day 12: Back Home

Places

Santa Cruz, Floreana, Isabela - and Santa Fe and Isla Tortuga - Depending on Availability
Experience the Galapagos with a local fisherman and its artisanal fishing activities in Santa Fe and Isla Tortuga, Subject to Availability

(11 Nights / 12 Days)

Introduction

The Ecuadorian Coast holds three main ecosystems: the tropical wet forests of the north, the tropical savannas of the center and south east, and the dry forest of the west and southern peninsula. Throughout the coastline there are two additional important ecosystems: the mangroves, the beaches and the rock cliffs.

These is an experience that will leave in your mind memories of beautiful beaches, rich culture and adventure!

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Day 1: Arrival to Guayaquil

Photo By Flickr

 

AM OR PM

Pick up at the airport from your international flight.
Overnight at Oro Verde Hotel or similar hotel.

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Day 2: Guayaquil - Santa Cruz

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Photo By Red Mangrove

 

Photo By Red Mangrove

 

AM
Baltra Airport.

Ferry crossing to Santa Cruz Island (10-minute ride). Arrival at Santa Cruz around 11:30 AM (depending on your flight schedule).

The adventure will start with a trip to "Los Gemelos" (The Twins), two enormous collapsed lava chambers-an awe-inspiring visual reminder of the power of nature. The short, easy hike to each of the twins is teeming with endemic flora and fauna, including the remaining Scalesia Forest, draped in liverwort, with large and small tree finches, the beautiful vermillion flycatcher, and more.

It's a wonderful introduction to the majestic power of the forces of nature and the great biodiversity of the Santa Cruz Highlands.


PM

Lunch will be served at one of the farms.

Afterward, we'll visit a 600-acre private reserve where the giant Galapagos tortoises freely roam, graze, and sleep. Sometimes it's a bit muddy here, so before setting out, we provide a selection of field boots to choose from, including large sizes for men.

You will be transported through this tropical environment by truck, and from there you walk through fields to mingle with these gentle giants. As prehistoric as these creatures look, wait until you hear what they sound like! After visiting the tortoises, we'll take a 5-minute ride to the entrance of a 450-meter (1350 feet) illuminated lava tunnel. With a ceiling nearly 20 feet high in most places, this is an incredible opportunity to ramble through the remnants of one of the most powerful forces in nature-lava flows.

Stalagmites, stalactites, sulfur, mineral-colored walls, and the rippled floor formed from lava can all be experienced in this uniquely Galapagos stroll.

Check in at Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge.

Dinner at the Lodge.

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Day 3: Santa Cruz - Santa Fe - Floreana

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Photo By Red Mangrove

 

Photo By Red Mangrove

 

AM

Breakfast at the Lodge.
Depart to Floreana via Santa Fe.
Our navigation will take us to Santa Fe, home to one of the most beautiful coves in all the Galapagos, formed from an uplift (rather than a volcano) giving the island a relatively flat surface rather than the typical conical shape of the other islands.

Santa Fe hosts a forest of Opuntia cactus, which are the largest of the archipelago, and Palo Santo trees. This is a great opportunity for bird-watching at the weathered cliffs that provide a haven for swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropical birds, and Sehar-Waters petrels. Santa Fe species of land iguanas are often seen, as well as lava lizards.

We'll visit a turquoise lagoon and calm waters where you can snorkel alongside sea lions and fluorescent fish or visit a submerged rock where manta rays and marine turtles can be found.

PM

Lunch on board.

We will continue sailing to reach Floreana and on our way have another great opportunity to snorkel, at the cove called Luz del Dia (Light of Day). There is an abundance of life in this cove, and you will most likely see penguins and sea lions on the steep, rocky shore and rays and tropical fish beneath the clear waters.

Arrival at Floreana Island.

Visit to Black Beach to enjoy this beautiful spot and swim, snorkel, or simply relax by absorbing the special scenery or a walk to La Loberia.

Check in at Floreana Lodge.

BBQ dinner at a local restaurant to enjoy Galapaguena food and the warm hospitality of one of the first families to arrive at the island and learn from them about the mysteries of Floreana.

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Day 4: Floreana - Tortuga Island - Isabela

AM

Breakfast at the local restaurant.
Departure in an open-air bus that will transport you up to the highlands of Floreana while your Naturalist Guide begins filling you in on the history of this, the first settled island in the Galapagos. You will walk up to see the Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum), where the spring is located-an artesian spring that attracted pirates, whalers, and later settlers to Floreana because it was one of the very few year-round sources of fresh water in the Galapagos.

The Cueva de los Piratas (Pirate's Cave) is quite literally where pirates carved temporary shelter out of soft stone. It is also where one of the original settlers, Margret Wittmer, gave birth to a son, Rolf, who is still living. Some have jokingly referred to it as the "Stonehenge" of Floreana because of its interesting shapes. Cerro Pajas (Bird Hill) truly lives up to its name, with a multitude of Floreana finches. It also offers spectacular views of the island and the sea below.

We will visit a tortoise reserve where you can watch many of the giant tortoises up close and personal. All the while, your Naturalist Guide will be pointing out the wildlife and filling you in on the colorful history of Floreana's first inhabitants, like the Baroness, and re-telling the legend of the "Floreana Mystery," which involves the mysterious deaths of several inhabitants. It has never been solved.

Departure at 11:00 AM for Isabela. Sailing time is 1.5 to 2 hours.

MID-DAY
We will approach Isla Tortuga, which is home to many frigates, blue-footed boobies, and other birds that rely on the sea for food. This is a great time to pull out your binoculars.

We will arrive at Isabela between 12:30 and 1:00 PM. Arriving in the port is a visual feast, with stunning green and turquoise water so clear you can see turtles, sea lions, and penguins as though looking through glass. We will check into the Red Mangrove Isabela Lodge and have a hot, wholesome lunch.

PM

Departure to Las Tintoreras and Bay Tour. After lunch, we will board a smaller craft to head out across the port, slowing down to view blue-footed boobies and Galapagos penguins sharing the same rocky sunning space, before turning a bend and docking.

From there we take an intriguing walk through a jagged lava field, passing abundant colonies of marine iguanas, to see a small canal full of resting white-tipped reef sharks. If the tide is low, they are sometimes a mere two feet below the surface.

The views from here are something you may carry with you for the rest of your life! The black, treacherous lava field, the emerald green sea, the forest green mangrove, and the cloud-capped volcanoes of Isla Isabela create an afternoon backdrop you are not likely to ever forget.

Once you return to the dock, you can snorkel in this warm, shallow bay surrounded by mangrove, for an opportunity to see white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions, penguins, and, of course, the mystery of the mangrove below the surface. Don't worry, white-tipped reef sharks are not aggressive, merely fascinating.

We'll have a bit of time to relax and shower before briefing and dinner in the Lodge at 7:00.

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Day 5: Isabela

AM

Breakfast at the Lodge.
Depart for Sierra Negra Tour.

4×4 vehicles will drive us up through the humid highlands to the slopes of Volcan Sierra Negra.

Then we hike to arrive at the caldera of Sierra Negra. At 4 miles across, it is the second largest in the world. The views are breathtaking! We will relax a bit and have a snack on the edge of the caldera.

For the more hardy of the group, the option exists to walk an especially difficult hour further to Volcan Chico, where fumarole activity is abundant, and again, the views are spectacular. This is not an easy hike, however, because it is mostly across sloping lava fields.

PM

After returning from Sierra Negra, we will have lunch at Campo Duro.
Campo Duro offers a "tortoise patronage" program that doesn't involve money changing hands.

Guests have the opportunity to become patrons to their chosen tortoise at the reserve merely by choosing a tortoise (they're all numbered), naming their tortoise, and then entering a story in the Patron's Book, such as information on why they chose the name and their contact information.

Then, Patrons invite any and all of their friends to go visit their tortoise and provide them with updates.

Back to the Lodge.
Briefing and dinner at the Lodge.

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Day 6: Isabela - Santa Cruz

AM

Breakfast at the Lodge.
Depart to Humedales Tour.
We begin with a drive out of town along the most beautiful, white sand, palm lined beach in all of Galapagos-Long Beach.

This beach, straight from the cover of a travel magazine, stretches on for 3 kilometers before the National Park, where we will walk up the trail for astounding views from the top of Cerro Orchilla.

We visit the "Muro de Las Lagrimas" (Wall of Tears), a unique construction built by the backbreaking labor of prisoners of a penal colony centuries earlier. On the path to the Wall of Tears you will see an abundance of lava lizards-the males are larger and striped and the females red-throated.

11:00 AM, depart Isabela for Santa Cruz. Sailing time is 1.5 to 2 hours.

PM

Arrive in Puerto Ayora around 12:30 to 1:00 PM.

Check in at Aventura Lodge and lunch.

Depart 3:00 PM for guided tour of the fascinating Charles Darwin Research Station. After the Darwin Station, there will be free time to shop for souvenirs or browse the shops along Charles Darwin Avenue.

Dinner 7:00 PM at Aventura Lodge.

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Day 7: Santa Cruz - Guayaquil

AM

Depart for airport 3 hours before flight.
Transport and guide from the hotel all the way to your airport gate.

PM

Pick up at airport of Guayaquil.
For you to begin feeling the flavor of this region, we will take you on a 2-hour drive through picturesque fishing villages, along white sand beaches, and through amazing landscapes.

Check in at Red Mangrove Samai Lodge.
At 330 feet above sea level an oasis emerges amid the ivory nut, tangerine, and orange groves. Built with natural materials, the cabins call to mind the countryside and its sweetness rather than the beach.

Tapping into the strong energy that stems from the encounter of mountain and sea, the lodges have been set up after a mixture of Feng Shui, Andean, and Amazonian cosmogonies. Surrounded by sounds of the jungle and lightened by the ocean breeze, Samai is an inn and spa suited for recollection, relaxation, and healing.

Enjoy the beauty and tranquility at this oasis of peace.
Jacuzzi, swimming pool, and spa treats.

Around 7:00 PM, prepare for dinner at one of the famous local restaurants and the chance to enjoy Montañita's famous nightlife.

Montañita is widely known as the best place to party!

Arts and crafts shopping.

Return to Samai for a good night sleep.

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Day 8: Ruta del Sol

AM

Breakfast at Samai.

Activities a la carte-feel free to choose:

- Learn how to dive: A discovery/resort scuba diving experience to explore the world under the water. Our professional team of experts will teach you step-by-step how to became a lover of the beauty below the water.
- Walk 10 to 15 minutes to San Jose beach-connect with the local community, swim, and relax at the beach.

PM

Lunch at Cuna Luna Hotel, with a wonderful panoramic view and an extensive gourmet menu.
In the middle of the afternoon, return to Samai to enjoy the sunset and coffee, bear, or soft drinks and prepare to experience one of the most amazing ancestral activities.

At Red Mangrove Samai Lodge, holistic healing and spa techniques are promoted to rejuvenate you on every level-mind, body, and spirit.

The facilities will blend the tranquility of the mountains, the soft breeze of the beach, and the sound of the ocean to embrace you, giving the opportunity to deeply relax and take strength from nature.

The activities in Samai Center are extensive-you can chose among:

- Shamanic Healing and Ceremonies
- Aromatherapy and Massage
- Rain-Drop Technique
- Salt and Oils Scrub
- Meditation Instruction Private Session
- Feng Shui Support and Class
- Tarot Card
- Prices for these alternative healing techniques and activities vary. Please ask us about them.

Dinner at the Lodge.

Late night optional Jacuzzi, swimming pool, and spa treats.

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Day 9: Ruta del Sol

AM
Breakfast at the Lodge.

Visit "Agua Blanca Community" site museum run by the local people-a great opportunity to see archeological sites while hiking and bird-watching and seeing iguanas, ending at a pond of healing waters and mud.

The Agua Blanca Community is a small village located 7.5 miles north of Puerto López and 3 miles off the main highway. The people of this community live in a way very similar to that of their ancestors, the Manteña Culture that inhabited this land from 800 to 1532 CE.

PM

Late lunch in one of the picturesque fishing villages, to enjoy the local gastronomy.

Late afternoon back to Samai to refresh and prepare for dinner at Hola Ola restaurant and enjoy the night life of Montañita.

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Day 10: Ruta del Sol

AM

Breakfast at the hotel

OPTIONAL: Adventure at your choice:

From Above: Spectacular hang gliding experience to see the hold area Ocean, Cordillera and more. Departure from Olon.

Lunch at local restaurant and free afternoon in Montañita to explore and enjoy the place on your own.

Surfing Lessons, learn with locals how to handle the waves of San Jose.

PM

Lunch at local restaurant and free afternoon in Montañita to explore and enjoy on your own.

Back to the lodge for a special Farewell Dinner

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Day 11: Ruta del Sol - Guayaquil

AM
Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Guayaquil. On the way we will stop at Propueblo NGO - San Antonio, 15 minutes north of Montanita and Manglaralt, to see arts and crafts creations by local artisans.

By noon, arrival in Guayaquil and check in at Oro Verde Hotel.

PM

Depart for Guayaquil City tour.

Visit the city, starting with Centennial Park on 9 de Octubre Avenue. Continue along this avenue to see how the city has been renovated, past the first fire station, the Masonic temple, and buildings from the beginning of the 20th century.

Opposite the Cathedral you can visit Seminario Park, also known as Iguana Park, famous for its iguanas lounging in the sunshine.

Our next stop will be at the Southern Market at Malecon 2000, to visit Integration Plaza and the artisan market, the Union Club, and the first fort in Guayaquil, where a statue of Jose Joaquin de Olmedo (first mayor of Guayaquil) stands in front of the Guayas River.

The tour continues along Malecon Simon Bolivar to our next stop-Civic Plaza, where you can visit the Moorish Tower, City Hall, and the Rotonda monument. Continue by car to Las Peñas, the old neighborhood where the city was born, located at the foot of Santa Ana Hill.

Then we will take you on a yacht tour of the Guayas River, where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the city at night.

Overnight at Oro Verde Hotel or similar hotel.

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Day 12: Back Home

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AM

Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport.

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IMPORTANT NOTES:

• 10% Service Charge as per Ecuadorian Law.
• All Meals mentioned on the programs.
• Soft drinks during meals.
• Excursions with English speaking Naturalist guide.
• Free internet wireless service while in Santa Cruz and Samai.
• Internet service at front desk while in Isabela
• When in Puerto Ayora and Isabela, free use of bikes.
• 25% discount for children under 10 years old.
• All snorkeling gear.
• All diving equipment except dive computers which can be rented separately.

• Air ticket to /from Galapagos
• Entrance fee to the Galapagos National Park ($100 International visitors and $6 Ecuadorians)
• Control Visitor Card ($10)
• Personal expenses
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Gratuities