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

Abercrombie & Kent: Tailor Made Galápagos: Southern & Central 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.

Join your guide for a morning walk 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 panga (sturdy inflatable boat) for the brisk ride to your Ecoventura luxury expedition yacht. 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.

Watch for iconic Galápagos wildlife at Cerro Brujo, a breathtaking white coral beach, considered one of the most spectacular on the archipelago and perfect for a peaceful walk with expansive views and good bird watching. Stroll along the beach, swim with sea lion, or opt to paddle board or kayak. After lunch on board, go ashore at Punta Pitt, a tuff formation that serves as a nesting site for many sea birds including all three types of booby, both frigate species, swallow-tailed gull, storm petrel, shearwater and brown pelican as well as a sea lion colony. Take advantage of the opportunity to snorkel at Pitt Rock before returning to your vessel for dinner.

Explore Punta Suarez on Espanola Island, for the opportunity to see the highest rate of endemic species in the Galápagos. After lunch, snorkel at Tortuga Rock to discover caves covered with invertebrates. Later, disembark at Gardner Bay, the site of a beautiful white-sand beach where colonies of sea lion dot the shoreline. Swim with sea lion right from the beach, explore the bay and islets by kayak, or just relax on the beach. Tonight, dine on board, and then perhaps stroll the deck beneath the equatorial stars.

Step ashore at Punta Cormorant, on Floreana Island, one of the few populated isles in the Galápagos chain, boasting a rich and intriguing human history. Snorkel at Devil’s Crown or Champion, a shallow sunken crater colonized by a brilliant array of colorful fish and corral, white-tipped shark, sea turtle, spotted eagle ray, and sea star. After lunch, visit Post Office Bay, one of the most famous sites in the islands, to see where a postal barrel was first put into use in the late 18th century by English whalers.

After a restful night aboard your stable expedition yacht, wake up in Puerto Ayora. Go ashore and travel overland to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Observe how the scenery gradually changes as you wind our way through the seven vegetation zones of the Galápagos, all of which exist in this one locale. Visit the tortoise reserve at Las Primicias, a private farm in the highlands where you can encounter the giant tortoise in its natural habitat. Later, stop at “the tunnels” — the largest lava tubes found in the Galápagos — and continue to visit Centro de Crianza Fausto Llerena (site of the Charles Darwin Research Station). After lunch, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure on board or take advantage of a scheduled panga transfer to enjoy dinner in town.

Arrive at Bartolome, one of the youngest Islands in the Galápagos, featuring a landscape that is inhospitable to most plants and animals. After a dry landing, climb up stairs leading to the summit of a once-active volcano for some amazing views. Then, swim or snorkel in crystal-clear water among schools of tropical fish and Galápagos penguin. After lunch, continue your explorations before returning to your yacht for dinner and an insightful lecture on Charles Darwin and his legacy.

Today, land on South Plaza Island, a small geological uplift with tall cliffs offering spectacular views, where you seek the Galápagos land iguana, which you may spy chomping on its favorite food, cactus leaves. During lunch on board, sail to North Seymour Island, where a spectacular sight awaits: frigate bird with red sacs on their chests inflated, seeking mates. Take one last opportunity to snorkel in deeper water before reboarding for the Captain’s farewell party, the perfect way to celebrate your journey alongside your vessel’s Captain and crew, and fellow guests.

After breakfast disembark, bidding your yacht’s crew goodbye, and visit the Interpretation Center on San Cristobal to discover more about the human history of the Galápagos Islands. Later, transfer to the airport to catch your flight to mainland Ecuador.

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