8 June

Ecuador: Puerto Egas

8 June

Ecuador: Rábida Island

Rábida Island is known for its distinctive red sand beaches, which owe their unusual colour to the high iron content of the volcanic material found on the island. As you come ashore you are likely to encounter sea lions lounging on the beach, along with marine iguanas, brown pelicans and flamingos.

9 June

Ecuador: Bahia Elizabeth

Bahia Elizabeth, on the west coast of Isabela, is an incredible wildlife spot. As your zodiac cruises amongst the islets studding the bay you can expect to see blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants and Galapagos penguins, while the mangroves beyond are home to sea turtles, rays, pelicans and even sharks.

9 June

Ecuador: Tagus Cove (Isabella Island)

Caleta Tagus is a sheltered cove on the western shore of Isabela, a safe harbour for many sailors over the years, and a great spot for snorkelling and kayaking. You can also take a hike up a path lined with palo santo trees for spectacular views of Isabela’s volcanic landscape.

10 June

Ecuador: Sullivan Bay (Santiago Island)

The otherworldly lava fields of Sullivan Bay are formed from rope-like lava known as pahoehoe, and date back to an eruption in 1897. Vivid red Sally Lightfoot crabs are a common sight scuttling across the black rocks, and the bay is home to a very small colony of Galapagos penguins.

10 June

Ecuador: Bartolomé Island

The summit of Bartolomé Island offers outstanding views of some of the Galapagos archipelago’s most spectacular volcanic scenery, including the much-photographed Pinnacle Rock. The island is also home to penguins, sea lions and turtles, with some great snorkelling spots just offshore.

11 June

Ecuador: Las Bachas

The beautiful beaches of Las Bachas, on the north coast of Santa Cruz island, are a key nesting site for sea turtles. The name Las Bachas derives from a mispronunciation of the word ‘barges’, after the American army abandoned several barges here at the end of the Second World War.

11 June

Ecuador: Daphne Major

Access to Daphne Major is highly restricted and you won’t be able to land here, but a circumnavigation reveals birdlife including Nazca and blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, red-billed tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls. Daphne Major was also the site of Peter and Rosemary Grant’s 40-year study of Darwin’s finches, documented in the fascinating book ‘The Beak of the Finch’.

11 June

Ecuador: North Seymour

North Seymour island, named after the English nobleman Lord Hugh Seymour, is home to some of the biggest sea bird breeding colonies in the Galapagos. This is one of the best places to see the magnificent frigatebirds, along with blue-footed boobies and land iguanas.

12 June

Ecuador: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristóbal Island)

San Cristóbal is the most easterly of the Galapagos islands, home to the provincial capital and second largest human settlement in the archipelago, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The fantastic wildlife includes fur seals, boobies and the endangered Chatham frigatebird.

12 June

Ecuador: Punta Pitt (San Cristóbal)

13 June

Ecuador: Puerto Ayora

Puerto Ayora is the largest town in the Galapagos, on the south coast of Santa Cruz island. From here you can visit the lush highlands where giant tortoises roam free, and you can learn more about tortoise conservation at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

14 June

Arriving in Baltra

The flat and arid island of Baltra, also known as South Seymour, is home to the Galapagos archipelago’s main airport, formerly a US air base. The island is inhabited by wildlife including boobies and frigatebirds, but there are no sites open to visitors, so if you see anything it will only be in passing as you transfer between airport and ship.