Tour: 8-Day Galapagos Family Adventure Tour

Dinner Provided  

Arrive in Quito, Ecuador any time and check into your hotel.  This afternoon around 6pm you will be met at the hotel by our representative for a welcome dinner and a quick briefing about your upcoming family adventure. 

If you arrive early, you can use your free time to get acquainted with one of the highest capitals in the world sitting at just over 9,000 feet above sea level.  The city is nestled in a long, narrow valley of the Andes and flanked by the Pichincha Volcano to the west.  We are happy to give you recommendations and tips on how to spend you day or if you’d prefer, we can help arrange a tour with our Quito guide.  We can also assist in booking any accommodation you may need if arriving earlier or staying later in Quito. 

Breakfast and Lunch Provided

This morning, you’ll fly to Santa Cruz, or Baltra to be exact. Baltra is a little island off the coast of Santa Cruz, and is home to the airport. Your guide will be waiting for you and the adventure will begin! 

We will stop in the highlands to visit Los Gemelos (the twins), an interesting geological formation that is a pair of collapsed magma chambers. After that,  we carry on to a private giant tortoise reserve. You’ll be able to see these massive creatures in their natural habitat cooling off in a watering hole or munching away. You’ll also have the chance to explore some nearby lava tunnels and gain a better appreciation of the natural forces that created the Galapagos Islands. 

We’ll continue on to Puerto Ayora, where we will check into our hotel. Santa Cruz is the most populated of all the islands and its bustling port city is the tourist capital of Galapagos. Your guide will give you a quick tour of the town and point out some great local places to enjoy your dinner. 

Breakfast and Lunch Provided

We’ll take a 45 minute trail walk that ends at a white sandy beach with rolling tropical waves. Tortuga Bay is a gorgeous beach accessible only by foot and offers many adventure options for you and your family to choose from. Upon arrival at the first soft, white sandy beach, you’ll be greeted by some perfect surf. Further along you can reach Tortuga Bay, a calm bay that is sheltered by mangroves and ideal for our family kayaking activity. Keep your eyes peeled as baby sharks (they're friendly!) love to rest in this area. After our kayak you will have some time to swim and relax. 

We will return to town for lunch before visiting the Charles Darwin Research Station. We’ll learn about the station's many successes in repopulating the islands with the once endangered land iguana and several species of giant tortoise. From the collection of eggs to the age of release, we’ll observe how the giant tortoises are raised and readied for life back in the wild.

Breakfast Provided

This is your last day on Santa Cruz island and you get to choose how you’d like to spend your morning. Relax, explore the beach, souvenir shop or take the optional day tour to North Seymour Island or Bartolome Island. 

Day Tours to uninhabited islands: The day tour options are below, please inquire and book in advance. Booking depends on availability. 

Optional Day Tour to North Seymour Islands ($) If you want to see boobies, this is a great island to take a day trip to! Blue-footed boobies are in abundance, as are frigate birds and sea lions. Other birds you may find here include the red-billed tropicbird and swallow tailed gulls. This is an island rich in wildlife, presenting many great photo opportunities. A special species you may observe here is the Galapagos land iguana. There is great snorkeling here as well at a place called Bacchus beach. Tour Info: It is a 40 minute boat ride from Santa Cruz Island. Walk and snorkel included. Full day tour around 7 hours in total. 

Optional Day Tour To Bartolome Islands ($) One of the most picturesque landscapes of the Galapagos is from the top of Bartolome Island. The hiking trail here brings you above a sandy beach with coves on both sides, and views of the famous Pinnacle Rock formation. Beach snorkeling here allows you to often get close to sea lions, turtles and perhaps penguins. Tour Info: It is a 2 hour boat ride to get here from Santa Cruz Island. Expect to have at least a few hours of time for snorkeling in the water. This is a full day tour.

 Breakfast and Lunch Provided

This morning we embark for Isabela, the largest island in the archipelago. Once we arrive in Puerto Villamil, we’ll take a short walk to a nearby wetland that is home to pink flamingos and pintail ducks. This mangrove-lined path will lead us to Isabela’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center where we’ll see giant tortoises in all stages of development. The center has almost a thousand giant tortoises training for life on their own!  

After lunch, we go for a leisurely kayak around the sheltered bay area of Puerto Villamil. Galapagos penguins, sea turtles and rays frequent these shallow waters and blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and pelicans may be seen resting along the shore and in some nearby mangrove trees.

Breakfast and Lunch provided

Lace up your hiking boots – we’re hiking up a volcano! Sierra Negra is one of the most active volcanoes in Galapagos; its last eruption was in June 2018. As we hike to the perimeter of the caldera, we’ll be on the lookout for bird species found only in the highlands like the bright red Vermillion Flycatcher and the elusive short-eared owl. Once we reach the rim, we’ll be met with an impressive 9km view that stretches across one of the most active calderas in the world. 

This afternoon is free for you to enjoy. You can choose to relax and swim on the beautiful beach in town, or rent some bikes to further explore on your own. Alternatively, we can help you book some optional activities like body boarding or surf lessons.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Provided

If you think sleeping sharks, seahorses, sea turtles and strange lava tunnel formations sound intriguing then you’re going to need your mask, snorkel and flippers, because you get all that and more at Los Tuneles. Also called Cabo Rosa, this area about one hour from town was created when lava flows reached the ocean, forming tunnels, arches and sheltered bays perfect for snorkeling. They also happen to be perfect feeding grounds for sea turtles and resting places for other species like Galapagos sharks! Even the cute Galapagos penguins have been known to visit this area at times. It is one of the most diverse snorkel spots in the entire archipelago, and also home to some birds, such as nesting blue-footed boobies.

The ride to get here can be a bit rough, and because of the lava formations, safe access is only possible at certain tides.

After lunch, you have free time to relax and enjoy your last afternoon on the islands. Alternatively, we can help you book some optional activities like surf lessons. 

Breakfast Provided

Today is the last day of your Galapagos family tour and you will take a flight directly from Isabela to Baltra airport and from there you’ll fly back to Quito. If your family is spending more time in Ecuador, you may want to book a day tour or excursion with us to see another part of this small, but fascinating country.