Itinerary East Galapagos - Aqua Mare Yacht

Baltra Island Airport & Playa Las Bachas 

Receive a warm welcome aboard Aqua Mare, the GalapagosIslands’ first 50m luxury superyacht. At your leisure, pick out your snorkeling kit complete with mask, fins, snorkel, and an optional shorty wetsuit for your personal use during the week. You will also receive as a welcome gift a special waterproofbag to place your belongings during wet landings and an Aqua Expeditions water bottle.

The afternoon will see you head out onto your first excursion to Playa Las Bachas on the northern part of Santa Cruz Island for a short 20-minute hike taking us to two ponds where you can observe various species of flamingos, ducks, shore birds and sometimes marine iguanas. It is also possible to spot Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers, and mockingbirds    among the coastal vegetation, mangroves, and saltbush. For those who prefer to snorkel,the beach is one of the main nesting sites of sea turtles, so you will no doubt come acrossone or two. Head home to the yacht for the evening to indulge in your first sumptuous dinnerin the Archipelago, making it the perfect start to your Galapagos Islands adventure.

El Barranco & Bahía Darwin

This morning explore Genovesa Island, where you will take a tender ride along the volcanic rocks of El Barranco to view the fur seals resting inside rock crevices. A 1.5 km hike inland takes us to the lavafields to view red-footed boobies as well as great frigatebirds and Galapagos storm petrels. After the visit you will return to the yacht to get suited up for your snorkeling session to view bottlenose dolphins, schools of hammerhead sharks, colorful fish and pristine corals. The afternoon sees you at Bahía Darwin’s coralline beach for hiking, snorkeling, stand-uppaddle boarding, or kayaking. 

Bahía Sullivan, Santiago Island & Sombrero Chino Island 

The first excursion of the day will take you to the northeast of Santiago Island with a dry landing at Bahía Sullivan to discover recent Pahoehoe lava flows. After a sumptuous lunch and lecture on the geology of the Galapagos Islands,  you will depart to Sombrero Chino Island, sonamed after the small crater that forms the islet. The surrounding crystal-clear waters provide a great opportunity to observe sea lions and penguins from above. There will be time for snorkeling, stand-up paddle boarding, and kayaking. 

Bartolomé Island, Cerro Dragón  & Santa Cruz Island

With an early morning anchor at Bartolomé Island, you will embark upon a mild climb up to the summit of a spatter cone for a spectacular view of the island’s iconic Pinnacle Rock. Cool down afterwards with a snorkel where you may encounter sea turtles and Galapagos penguins, before heading back to the yacht and sail towards Santa Cruz Island.

The afternoon excursion takes you to Cerro Dragón or Dragon Hill, so named because in 1975 it was one of the only places in the Santa Cruz Island where scientists could still find a healthy population of land iguanas (Conolophussubcristatus). The hiking trail begins with a wetlanding and continues inland to a flamingo lagoon, ending with the option to swim and snorkel from the beach or walk along the mangroves and sand dunes of the south beach. 

El Chato Giant Tortoise reserve & Fausto Llerena breeding center 

This morning you will explore the El Chato Giant Tortoise Reserve to see these wild Galapagos Islands creatures up close in their natural habitat. The area is also a great place to observe Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers, cattle egrets, and if lucky Galapagos Rails. After lunch , you will take a tender ride to Darwin Station and National Park headquarters to observe tortoises in captivity at the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center, as well as the different age hatchlings categorized by islands.There will be free time to enjoy the town of Puerto Ayora before returning to the ship. For divers there is the option of a full day of diving instead of joining the day excursions

Punta Suárez, Bahía Gardner and Islote Osborn, Española Island

You will disembark in Punta Suárez for this morning’s excursion. This visitor site is one of the most interesting landing sites in Galapagos Islands, due to the high percentage of unique endemism in its fauna such as Española mockingbirds, lava lizards, Galapagos tortoises, marine iguanas, and the unique waved albatross. In the afternoon, you will take a tender ride to the beautiful array of islets where you will be able to snorkel alongside playful sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, rays and many different species of reef fishes. The last visit of the day will be Bahía Gardner, an outstanding coralline sand beach that boasts one of the biggest colonies of sea lions in the Galapagos Islands.

After a night of sailing, you will visit Santa Fé (also known as Barrington) Island for your penultimate day. It is one of the oldest in the Galapagos Islands (around 3.6 million yearsold), with the island being characterized to some degree by its vegetation of palo santo trees, a pear cactus that is called Opuntia Echio Barringtonensis, and many other native bushes. Here you will spot land iguanas, lava lizards, swallow-tailed gulls, shearwater petrels,red-billed tropicbirds, mockingbirds, Darwin’s finches, and Galapagos hawks. After the visit, you will be able to take advantage of the last full day in the Galapagos Islands by snorkeling,kayaking, or stand-up paddle boarding. In the afternoon you disembark at this small, but diverse little islet to head outon a two-hour hiking excursion led by your guide to discover its unique landforms. 

Los Gemelos, Santa Cruz & disembarkation

Your last visit before leaving paradise is a final short excursion to drive up the highlands of Santa Cruz Island to the twin craters of Los Gemelos en route to the airport. It is a remarkable location surrounded with lush vegetation you may spot short-eared owls, or if lucky, a vermilion flycatcher. Memories of this last adventure will accompany you as you are escorted to Baltra Island for the departing flight back.