Ecuador Galapagos Island Family Adventure Cruise

Itinerary

• Day01

  Arrive in Quito

  Welcome to the historic city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. An MT Sobek representative will meet you outside customs at the airport and escort you to your hotel. After settling in at the hotel, the rest of the evening is free unwind and take advantage of the pool and onsite restaurant. Dinner is on your own tonight.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Quito
• Day02

  Tour Mindo & Learn How Chocolate is Made

  After breakfast, depart for a full-day tour to Mindo, a village in the Andean Mountains that's known for its many bird and butterfly species. Visit a cacoa farm and factory and learn how chocolate is made, from harvesting the plants to the final product. Enjoy a welcome lunch surrounded by an incredible diversity of hummingbirds. Return to Quito in the afternoon for an introductory talk and orientation about your trip. In the evening, explore Quito and have dinner on your own.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Quito
  • Transportation: 4-hour private van transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Day03

  Journey to Sacha Lodge

  After breakfast, transfer to Quito airport for a short flight to Coca airport, located on the Amazon side of the Andes. From there, take a two-hour motorized boat ride along the Napo River to Sacha Lodge reserve. From the drop-off along the riverside, take a 25-minute jungle walk along a wooden boardwalk to look for monkeys, sloths, and other wildlife. Finally, board a dugout canoe for a 40-minute ride through a jungle canal to get to Sacha Lodge, your home for the next few days.

  • Accommodation: Sacha Lodge
  • Activity: 25-minute jungle walk & 40-minute easy canoe ride
  • Transportation: 30-minute flight transfer & 2-hour boat ride
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day04

  Explore the Amazon Rainforest at Sacha Lodge

  Spend the day exploring the 5,000 acres of pristine rainforest at Sacha Lodge reserve, home to an amazing variety of wildlife. Watch for roving bands of monkeys, hundreds of species of birds, and the occasional anteater, three-toed sloth, or ocelot. Go for a ride in a dugout canoe, fish for piranhas, and birdwatch from the top of a canopy tower. You can also go on a night walk to look for frogs, spiders, and other nocturnal critters.

  • Accommodation: Sacha Lodge
  • Activity: Rainforest walks & canoe rides
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day05

  Visit a Native Community

  Enjoy another full day of activities around Sacha Lodge. Visit the Shipati Warmi project - an initiative run by and benefiting the women of the Providencia community of Yasuní - to learn about how they live, the food they eat, and their culture. In the afternoon, climb the canopy-walk tower to experience the rainforest from atop the trees. In the evening, you can go on a night canoe ride to look for caimans, snakes, and other nocturnal wildlife.

  • Accommodation: Sacha Lodge
  • Activity: Rainforest walks & canoe rides
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day06

  Return to Quito

  After breakfast, depart Sacha Lodge and take a return boat ride to Coca. Then, board your flight back to Quito and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax at the swimming pool or visit the Old Town on your own.

  • Accommodation: Hotel Quito
  • Activity: 40-minute canoe ride & 25-minute jungle walk
  • Transportation: 2-hour boat ride & 30-minute flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Day07

  Fly to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos

  After breakfast, fly from Quito to San Cristóbal in the Galápagos Islands. On arrival your guide will escort you to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, where you will board the luxurious Galaxy I. Enjoy lunch before cruising to nearby Isla Lobos — separated from San Cristóbal by a narrow channel, providing opportunities to snorkel with sea lions, sea turtles, and tropical fish. There is also a short trail great for viewing blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, sea lions, and the picturesque León Dormido — a huge volcanic monolith located offshore.

  • Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
  • Activity: 3 hours walking, swimming and snorkeling
  • Transportation: 2-hour flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day08

  Discover Española Island

  Wake to swim, snorkel, sun bathe or take a jog in the company of sea lions on the beautiful, white-sand beach at Gardner Bay - considered one of the best in the islands. After lunch, experience incredible birdlife at Punta Suárez, including the endangered waved albatross (from April to December) and the Nazca booby. In fact birds are everywhere — underfoot, on the trail, overhead, diving into the sea, taking off from cliffs, sitting on eggs, and engaging in ritual mating dances. A great tangle of marine iguanas is usually present nearing our landing site.

  • Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
  • Activity: 5-6 hours hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and observing wildlife
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day09

  Explore Floreana Island

  This morning you will visit historic Post Office Bay for a chance to leave your mail at the famous post office barrel and pick up mail to hand deliver, as was the custom centuries ago. Head for our for an afternoon walk on Punta Cormorant, a sandy beach with green olivine crystals. Spot flamingos, sea lions and blue-footed boobies, and learn about the beach's importance for sea turtle nesting. Next, take a short Zodiac ride (small, motorized inflatable boats) to Devil's Crown. Here the current funnels plankton through the small eroded crater, attracting large schools of tropical fish — creating a perfect place to snorkel. Back on the boat tonight, enjoy a festive farewell cocktail hour and a group dinner with the captain.

  • Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
  • Activity: 5-6 hours hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and observing wildlife
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day10

  Visit Santa Fé & South Plaza Islands

  Wake to explore the beautiful bay and turquoise waters of Santa Fé Island. Here you can snorkel and swim with tropical fish, sea lions and turtles, and see a large colony of sea lions basking on the beach. Along the rocky trail, you will find endemic land iguanas, seeking shade under prickly-pear cactus, and many birds — from Galápagos hawks to Darwin finches. Next it's on to South Plaza Island, home to a colony of sea lions and a large population of Galápagos land Iguanas. The southern part of the trail follows the cliff, where you will see many sea birds nesting or flying, including frigatebirds, boobies, and shearwaters.

  • Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
  • Activity: 5-6 hours hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and observing wildlife
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day11

  See Tortoises in the Highlands & Return to Quito

  After an early breakfast, disembark the Galaxy and transfer to the lush highlands of Santa Cruz Island for a special opportunity to see Galápagos giant tortoises in the wild. Then head to the Baltra airport for your return flight to Quito. An MT Sobek representative will greet you at Quito airport and provide assistance to your nearby hotel. You can use your hotel room as a dayroom with extended check-out and depart on a late evening flight home, or you can use your room as an overnight room and depart the next morning. Lunch and dinner are on your own today. Use the complimentary shuttle to transfer to the airport in time for your outbound flight, or opt to stay on in Quito to join us for one of our extensions in Ecuador or Peru!

  • Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel
  • Activity: 1 hour walking and observing wildlife
  • Transportation: 45-minute private vehicle transfer and 2-hour flight transfer
  • Meals: Breakfast