The Western Isles (Galapagos Cruise)

La Casona de la Ronda
La Casona de la Ronda is a boutique hotel set in an 18th-century home in Quito's historic centre.

The rooms are beautifully made up with dark wooden furnishings and parquet floors. They feature wide windows with shutters to allow in lots of natural light, and open onto a central courtyard ringed by wooden balustrades. A cooked breakfast is served each morning in the courtyard, or in the indoor lounge/cafe area.

After a safety briefing and check-in, enjoy lunch on board while sailing to the small, flat and arid North Seymour Island. Here you disembark for a coastal walk to see some of the bird colonies, including the magnificent frigate birds. You are also likely to see a colony of sea lions and a large population of land iguanas.

Return to La Pinta late afternoon for dinner and overnight.

Your naturalist guide will highlight the remains of lava flows and layers of volcanic rock. Depending on the sea conditions, you may be able to do some snorkelling in an area known to have visiting green turtles, seahorses and mola-mola (sunfish).

In the afternoon, continue your cruise to Fernandina Island, the youngest (under 1,000,000 years old), the westernmost and arguably the most beautiful of all the islands in the Galapagos. Dominated by La Cumbre volcano, which sits at the centre of the island with lava fields stretching to its coastline, Fernandina offers some truly fantastic landscape views.

You disembark at Punta Espinosa, on the northern coast of Fernandina, and follow the island’s trails on foot to see some of the hundreds of marine iguanas and flightless cormorants that live here. Depending on the tides you may spot interesting fish and marine life in the shallows and tide pools. Keep a lookout overhead for hawks, too.

Late afternoon, return to your yacht for dinner and overnight.

Heading further south along the coastline of Isabela Island, you disembark at Urbina Bay. Located at the base of Alcedo Volcano, this area experienced a major uplift of the ocean floor in 1954, causing the land to rise over 16ft, and leaving marine life stranded on the new shore. Here you can go swimming in search of coral, turtles and rays, while on land, some of the Galapagos’ largest and most-colourful iguanas can be seen.

Return to the boat for lunch while the crew steer you up the coast to Tagus Cove. This is a famous area frequented by pirates and whalers in the early 1800s. You will have the chance to hike up to Darwin Crater, a saltwater-filled lake, for wonderful views of the island. This is a wonderful spot for birdwatching, with finches, flycatchers, warblers, hawks and many more often sighted.

The earth on Rabida has a distinctive red colour, owing to lava flows from the volcanic craters at the centre of the island. Disembarking this morning, you’ll have time to explore its unique geology, rich and varied birdlife, and of course its marine life. From the beach you can snorkel, or alternatively take a trip on the glass-bottomed boat, while there are short walking trails to follow on-land.

In the afternoon you journey to Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill), on the northern shore of Santa Cruz. Here you can explore on foot a fascinating landscape circling a brackish lagoon frequented by flamingos and pintail ducks. Further inland, the trail offers a beautiful view of the bay and the western islands of the archipelago.

Dragon Hill is also the site of one of the Charles Darwin Foundation’s great success stories. Santa Cruz is amongst the most populated islands in the Galapagos and years of feral dogs roaming the island almost decimated land iguana numbers. A small number of iguanas were relocated to nearby Venecia Islet, where a very successful breeding program took place with the result that iguanas are periodically released back on to Dragon Hill.

After your tour of the station, transfer to the cool, lush highlands of Santa Cruz Island for lunch and further exploration.

The rest of the afternoon will be spent exploring the highlands region via several walking trails. The highlands of Santa Cruz are where most of the Galapagos’ tortoises live. If you visit in June, you may be able to witness them migrate from the highlands to the lowlands in search of a nesting place.

You too can leave postcards here, although it may not arrive on a doorstep for months, if not years! Heading out on a panga along the maze of channels on the northern shore allows for some very rewarding views. Depending on the waters, it may also be possible to kayak and swim from the beach, too.

After lunch, you stop at Cormorant Point, located between two beaches – Green Beach, so called because of the olivine crystals in the sand, and Flour Sand Beach, so called because of the fine crushed coral. At the right time of year, nesting turtles can be seen on these beaches. Another highlight of the area are the lagoons where you may see flamingos wading through the water.

On arrival at Quito airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel, Casona de la Ronda, where the rest of the day is free for you to explore.