10-Nights Tailor Made Galapagos: Northern & Western Route with Ecoventura - Luxury Tailor Made Travel from $12,295

Abercrombie & Kent: Tailor Made Galápagos: Northern & Western Route with Ecoventura

Day 1 Quito, Ecuador

Arrive in Quito, the charming capital of Ecuador, where you are met and privately transferred to your hotel.

This morning, join your guide for a walking tour of colonial Quito with its endless art treasures and flowering balconies. Marvel at San Francisco Church and its museum of religious art, as well as La Compañía, with its glittering gilded walls. Visit bustling Independence Plaza, flanked by the Presidential Palace and the Cathedral of Quito. Later, head to Panecillo Hill to admire wonderful views of the city and surrounding Andean peaks. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure with time to experience Quito’s distinctive ambience as you wish.

Fly to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal in the Galápagos Islands. Upon arrival, hop aboard a Zodiac for the brisk ride to your luxury expedition yacht, an A&K-preferred vessel, anchored in the bay. After lunch on board, sail till you reach the Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion), a remnant of a vertical tuff cone formation rising 500 feet from the ocean, and observe the variety of species that inhabit its cliffs, including blue-footed booby, Nazca booby and frigatebird. Tonight, join the Captain and crew for a cocktail reception followed by a multi-course welcome dinner.

Disembark on Genovesa Island to visit Prince Philip’s Steps, one of the best places in the Galápagos for bird watching because of its diversity of species. Swim or snorkel from the beach with sea lions in these warmer, northern-route waters. This afternoon, arrive at Darwin Bay, a coral sand beach where swallow-tailed and lava gulls gather near the tide pools, then enter a forest of cactus and mangroves where colonies of great frigate birds nest, enjoying abundant views of the raucous active adults and fledglings, including the males with their bright red throat pouches.

Drop anchor on the northern side of Santa Cruz to visit Las Bachas, home to dozens of bright pink flamingos that feed on the interior lagoons, and stroll along its long, glittering white-sand beach. After lunch back on board, step ashore on Cerro Dragon to take in a magnificent panoramic view of the bay and island landscape.

This morning, board the panga to Punta Vincente Roca and, after lunch, sail through the Bolivar Channel to watch for whales and perhaps spot dolphins riding the bow wave of your luxurious vessel. In the afternoon, disembark at Urbina Bay, on Isabela Island, where you can find four miles of its coastal seabed, complete with marine life, exposed due to a dramatic uplift caused by a volcanic eruption. View the remnants of coral skeletons, some of them waist-high, which you explore after a wet landing on the beach. Also sight the large and colorful Galápagos land iguanas that live on the island, along with the occasional giant tortoise, and other vibrant species.

Arrive at Fernandina Island to visit Punta Espinoza with its wonderful congregation of sea lions. Watch as the resident bulls carefully guard their harems and keep a lookout for sharks that threaten the colony’s pups. View some of the hundreds of marine iguanas that share this rocky domain, the largest colony in the Galápagos, as they warm themselves along the rugged shoreline. Next, land at Tagus Cove, located on the western Island of Isabela, historically a favorite anchorage for pirates and whalers. Explore the coves by panga or kayak to find the Galápagos penguin, booby, pelican and other seabirds. After dinner, go topside to take in the sparkling night sky as you cross the equator for the final time during this voyage.

Today, the dark red beach of Rabida awaits you. Considered the geographic center of the Galápagos, its volcanic rocks are the most diverse in the archipelago. Set out on hike along a trail beside the shore, where you may sight marine iguana, mockingbird, yellow warbler and several species of Darwin’s finch. Continue a saltwater lagoon where migrating greater flamingos flock and take advantage of the option to snorkel among a large colony of playful, inquisitive sea lions. After a break for lunch on board, resume your explorations in this fascinating corner of the Galápagos Islands.

After a restful night aboard, wake up in the lively harbor of Academy Bay at the island of Santa Cruz. Go ashore at Puerto Ayora and travel into the island’s highlands, observing how the scenery gradually changes as you wind your way up through the seven vegetation zones of the Galápagos, all of which exist in this one locale. Visit Centro de Crianza Fausto Llerena, a breeding center for various species of giant tortoise. Stop at the Charles Darwin Research Station, where you learn about ongoing conservation efforts from trail-side exhibits. After lunch back on board, set out again to view “the tunnels” — the largest lava tubes found in the Galápagos, created when lava on the earth’s surface cooled and hardened while molten lava continued to flow in the middle. Next, proceed to a tortoise reserve at Rancho Primicias, a privately owned farm in the highlands where you can encounter the giant tortoise in its natural habitat. Later, return to your ship by Zodiac for a delicious farewell dinner.

After breakfast, disembark your yacht a final time to visit the Interpretation Center on the island of San Cristobal, where you discover more about the human history of the Galápagos Islands. Afterward, enjoy time at leisure to perhaps walk paved trail or take some last-minute photos. Then, transfer to the airport to catch your flight to mainland Ecuador. Arrive in Quito with the rest of the day at leisure, free to rest or perhaps explore city landmarks, such the Central Bank Museum to see pre-Inca relics, or any of a number of impressive Baroque cathedrals.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and board your departing flight.