After a meet and greet at the international airport, transfer with your guide to your hotel, primely situated in downtown Guayaquil, a port city of colorful houses and a waterfront promenade known as the gateway to sweeping Pacific beaches and the famed Galapagos. The deluxe Hotel Oro Verde is teaming with authentic Ecuadorian hospitality and with five gourmet onsite restaurants, a wide array of culinary delights await. Rooms feature hardwood or tile floors, plush bedding and exquisite bathrooms, all of which make this sanctuary complete with a spa, fitness center and outdoor pool and hot tub, the perfect place to unwind after your flight and prepare for the adventure ahead.

After breakfast this morning, you are transferred to the airport in Guayaquil for an exciting flight to the Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site full of exotic surprises! Flight Duration 1 hr 55Ms approximately. Upon arrival at Baltra airport, your guide will warmly greet you and escort you to your hotel, the Galapagos Safari Camp, where an otherworldly family adventure awaits. Nestled in the wild highlands of Santa Cruz Island with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and the National Park, this stylish camp allows your family to reconnect with nature while enjoying a very flexible and personalized program. Stay in the comfort luxury safari tents, or for added privacy and space, rent out the three-bedroom family suite. A panoramic lodge, an infinity pool under a canapé of endemic trees, a farm and a seasonal kids club makes this the perfect base from which to creating exciting memories for the whole family.

In an environment characterized by volcanic craters, exotic plants, lava tubes, white sand, turquoise waters, abundant birds and giant tortoises you truly cannot go wrong no matter which adventure you choose. The Galapagos Safari Camp offers an array of activities into this enchanted landscape, including a yacht trip to an uninhabited island, or a day on a private boat with local fisherman, or a naturalist guide to lead you in an exploration of the coastline. Perhaps you fancy snorkeling, sea kayaking or mountain biking, the choice is yours! Arts and crafts activities with a local artist are a great option for crafty kids.

You are already awed by the exotic beauty surrounding you and today it is about to get even more exciting as a private transfer escorts you from the Safari Camp to Puerto Ayora to board your 7-night expedition cruise through the western islands of the Galapagos aboard the yacht Integrity. Like true adventurers, you will retrace Charles Darwin’s route of 1835 on this 8-day cruise to the western islands, including Floreana, Isabela, and Fernandina Islands. At the varied stops, enjoy panga rides to different islands, wildlife watching, kayaking, snorkeling, swimming and hiking. Superb naturalists explain the history of these islands while pointing out unique wildlife at every turn. Dine on exquisite traditional cuisine, relax on the sun deck or in the jacuzzi, and nestle into your spacious stateroom. With its state-of-the-art stabilizers and engine vibration control system, the Integrity carries you through Darwin’s islands more smoothly than any other yacht.

The Galapagos is such an ecologically unique place, seeped in the history of Darwin’s discoveries, that an educational visit to the highlands of Santa Cruz islands are an ideal stop-over before embarking on your cruise. Here lies the opportunity to see giant tortoises roaming in their natural habitat of lush vegetation. In a forest of native daisy trees, watch vermilion flycatchers with their scarlet feathers flit against the emerald green backdrop where Darwin’s finches reside. At the Charles Darwin Research Station and Galápagos National Park headquarters, learn about conservation and research efforts and the refuge for tortoises and iguanas. Board the Integrity just in time to set sail as you sit for a gourmet meal specially crafted from local ingredients.

This morning you will awaken to the green, olivine sand beaches of Floreana Island, next to a large lagoon filled with flamingos and other diverse water birds. Today’s highlights include a short hike to Flour Beach where sea turtles nest and small rays frolic in the surf and a snorkel at Champion Island with curious, playful sea lions. If you are lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the rare Floreana mockingbird. Next, stop at the wooden barrel at Post Office Bay that has served as a mariner’s “post office” since the 18th Century. Leave a postcard, or take a postcard to continue the “postmaster” tradition. Afterwards, head into the highlands to visit a collection of tortoises and learn about the island’s ghostly human history at Wittmer Caves. End the day with a walk along Black Beach followed by an onboard barbecue as the sun sets.

Today’s adventure begins on Isabela Island at Punta Moreno. Walk along volcanic terrain, over lava flows and past numerous prickly pear cacti. The area is dotted with numerous oases of brackish lagoons containing a wide variety of wildlife, including flamingos, paint-billed crakes, white-cheeked pintails, and common gallinules. In the golden light of afternoon, a comfortable skiff will carry you through the narrow channels of Elizabeth Bay past mangrove lagoons filled with rays, flightless cormorants, penguins, pelicans, and lava herons. Don’t forget to watch the waters for sea turtles, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and the many exotic fish inhabiting the lagoons.

Urbina Bay on Isabela Island is a visually stunning landscape. In 1954, volcanic activity caused a six-kilometer stretch of coral reef to shift upwards of five meters in a matter of hours and this is the legacy. Walk along the skeletal coral gardens, now home to lizards, mockingbirds and large, colorful land iguanas. During certain times of year, encounter Alcedo tortoises from the highlands nest in the warm sands of the bay. The peninsula of Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island is one of the most pristine of the Galápagos. Upon landing, an abundance of marine iguanas and brightly colored Sally Lightfoot crabs litter the sands like drops of paint. Walk out onto the lava flow where, along the sandy shore, you can see flightless cormorants, pelicans, and numerous lounging sea lions.

Along the western coast of Isabela Island, the largest island in the archipelago, sits to Tagus Cove. Named for a British warship that moored here in 1814, the cove was used as an anchorage for pirates and whalers, whose names are literally carved into the rock. A short, steep hike takes you to Darwin Lake, set within a tuff cone filled with salt water. The cove is an excellent place to view tree finches, Galápagos hawks, yellow warblers, large-billed flycatchers and sometimes even the woodpecker finch. At Punta Vincente Roca, the large cave and caldera wall are impressive geological formations that provide a beautiful backdrop for blue-footed and Nazca boobies, gulls, storm petrels, and brown noddy terns. A calm, gathering area for sea turtles, the area makes for superb snorkeling full of colorful fish, penguins, sea lions, sea anemones, jellyfish, and a myriad of other sea life.

This morning, you will reach a fork in the road! Choose from two trails of Puerto Egas, the first meanders along the coast to an inlet where shy Galápagos fur seals swim amongst the crags and marine iguanas and sea lions abound. The other trail leads inland to a lagoon at the Salt Mine Volcano where flamingos and other birds soar and dance. Afterwards, sink your toes into the red sands of Espumilla Beach, a sea turtle nesting site. Hike inland to a small lagoon where many land birds fly overhead, including Galápagos hawks. Along the coast, snorkel or kayak Buccaneer Cove, home to amazing underwater geologic formations where sea lions, fur seals, sea turtles, rays, and sharks are to be found.

Enjoy a quiet and peaceful morning at the exquisite white sands of Bachas Beach.“Bachas” is so named due to the remains of a barge that ran aground decades ago, leaving just a few rusty spines still visible today. More striking are the resident flamingos that reside at the small lagoons just over the dune. In Caleta Tortuga Negra take a silent skiff ride to where sea turtles feed and mate, an area also home to three species of shark, spotted rays, egrets, and lava herons. This is the perfect last chance to snorkel the Galapagos before landing on North Seymour island to visit the largest colony of magnificent frigate birds in the area. Sit back and marvel at your last sunset at sea, glancing back at the iguanas and sea lions lounging on the shores, and you, alive with memory and adventure inside!

Enjoy breakfast onboard the Integrity before returning to Baltra Island, where you will join your flight back to the mainland. Fly from Baltra to Quito, Ecuador. Duration 3 hours (with short layover in Guayaquil) Upon arrival at the airport, you are transferred two hours to your lodge. Dating from the 16th century, Hacienda Zuleta lies in the spectacular Andean mountains range on a charming, private farm. The atmosphere is one of warmth, characterized by antique gardens, cozy living and reading rooms, and a fireplace in each of the tastefully decorated bedrooms. The homey feeling is accentuated by the Plaza family themselves; who welcome you with their natural warmth and hospitality to share life at an authentic hacienda in the Andes of Ecuador.

Miles of meandering roads through lush pasture land, pine trees and a eucalyptus forest make the valley of Zuleta a paradise for outdoor activities, such as hiking and trekking. Hacienda has twenty Zuleteño bred horses, mountain bikes and a horse-drawn carriage upon which you can explore the area. Whether it’s bird watching, hiking, mountain biking or a romantic ride in a horse-drawn carriage, the choice is yours!

After breakfast, you will be privately transferred to your Hotel in Quito, a world renowned World Heritage Site. A half-day private city tour will lead you to exquisite churches, museums and picturesque neighborhoods filled with cobblestone streets, Spanish architecture and impressive plazas. Return to your hotel and spend the afternoon at your leisure. Situated in the heart of Quito’s historical center and surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings, the Hotel Plaza Grande combines vintage taste with modern details. Furnished with fine woods and in a style beckoning Colonial Spanish times, the suites will transport you through time with all the luxury amenities of today!

Today, your visit to the Galapagos and Ecuador comes to an end. Relax and reminisce on your flight home, or perhaps fly onto other adventures if the allure of the unexplored has caught your spirit forever!