Lead Adventures

www.lead-adventures.com

Why You'll Love It

It’s the ultimate fix for any traveler. The Galápagos Islands embody historic tropical beauty and exotic wildlife most only read about. This epic tour lets you preserve the unspoilt UNESCO World Heritage Site while you explore it—all while you live it up in 4-star hotels. Enjoy the best of both land and sea at the edge of the world.

This is it: one of the most remote corners of the globe where white sands and wildlife hint at the way things used to be. Help keep it that way during Leading Adventures’ perfectly curated package. Volunteer work provides an opportunity to make a difference, while relaxing in your luxe hotel brings pampered peace.

Make the voyage Charles Darwin did (but in swank style!). Slow and steady may have helped the Galápagos tortoise in the evolutionary race, but you’d better be quick to snatch up this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

– Evelyn, Bloomspot Staff Writer

Featured 10-day all-Inclusive Conservation Tour of the Galápagos Islands package:

Day 1: Arrival in Quito

Transfer from Quito airport to hotel.'

Day 2: San Cristobal Island (Interpretation Center)

Flight from Quito to Galápagos, arriving to San Cristobal Airport. Today with your local guide you will visit the Interpretation Center, which has a series of interactive exhibits about the history and biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands. Behind the Interpretation Center, you will follow trails that lead to beaches with excellent snorkeling spots to see sea lions, and turtles.

Day 3: San Cristobal Island Lobos Island (Kicker Rock and Puerto Grande)

Head to Lobos Island where you will snorkel with the local sea lion colony. Continue to the famous Leon Dormido (Kicker Rock) to watch the high-flying boobies and frigate birds. The main recreation here will be snorkeling and you will have the opportunity to swim with rays, sea lions, multicolored fish, Galapagos sharks, and much more according to the ocean currents. Continue on to Puerto Grande with its beautiful white sand beach to enjoy a rest and box lunch. Return to the hotel and lodging.

Day 4: San Cristobal Island and Santa Cruz Island (Charles Darwin Station and Tortuga Bay Beach)

Take a public speed boat to Santa Cruz Island in the morning (7AM), where most of the hotels and tourist accommodations are located. After arrival, visit the important Charles Darwin Research Station to watch some of the largest breeding centers for Galápagos tortoises and land iguanas. Here the guide will give a detailed explanation regarding the evolution of the Islands before lunch at the village. In the afternoon take a long but easy walk to one of the most beautiful white sand beaches of the islands, Tortuga Bay Beach. Return to the hotel and lodging.

Day 5: Santa Cruz Island (Highland volunteer work)

Visit the highlands of the island in the morning, to a town called Santa Rosa, where you will spend the day volunteering at the Reserve. The main objective of this Galápagos volunteer project is reforesting the land with native and endemic species that contribute to conservation of both flora and fauna on the islands. This innovative approach is believed to be the only true way to forge a sustainable future for the Galápagos. Return to the hotel and lodging.

Day 6: Floreana

Embark in a fast boat, departing from Puerto Ayora to Floreana, the most southern of the Galápagos Islands. Reach Puerto Velasco Ibarra and head for the highlands in a truck called a chiva. Visit the Scalesia Forest in the Floreana highlands, home to yellow warblers, Galápagos fly catchers and Darwin's medium tree finch that only lives on this Island. Then head to Asilo de la Paz, a visitor site that features fresh water wells and nearby caves used by the early settlers. You also will visit pirate caves and learn about some bizarre islander stories. Around 12:30PM you will return to Puerto Velasco to have lunch in a local restaurant. Return to the boat along the shoreline where you might see blue-footed boobies, swallowtail gulls, and frigate birds. In the afternoon you will go snorkeling, swimming through schools of fish, sea lions, turtles, and more. Return to Puerto Puerto Ayora.

Day 7: Santa Cruz and Isabela Island (Flamingos Lagoon)

Free morning to relax before lunch in Puerto Ayora. In the afternoon, a fast speedboat will take you to Isabela Island, one of the most beautiful islands in the Archipelago. After two to three hours boat ride, reach this corner of paradise where a local transfer will take you to the hotel. After checking in we will walk to see the Flamingos Lagoon. Return to the hotel and lodging.

Day 8: Sierra Negra Volcano (Tintoreras)

A guide will meet the group at the hotel and take you to one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world. The crater of this volcano called “Sierra Negra” is approximately seven kilometers in diameter. Enjoy a four-hour trekking tour. In the afternoon visit “Islote Tintoreras,” a large crevice with very clear, calm water in which white-tip sharks known as “tintoreras” come daily to rest on the bottom. Observe penguins, sea lions, and marine iguanas and go snorkeling with white-tip sharks and tropical fish. Afterwards you can enjoy the tranquil beaches of Isabela. Return and lodging.

Day 9: Isabela Island and Santa Cruz Island (Baltra and Quito)

Early departure via a small plane from Isabela to the Baltra Airport, where you will check in for your 30-min flight to Baltra Airport. Transfer from Quito airport to hotel for the night.

Day 10: Return to the airport for your flight home

Transfer to the airport for your international flight. Happy return home!

Itinerary is subject to change due to weather, National Park regulations, or notifications and unforeseeable circumstances.