Classic Safaris

Sample Classic Safari: Full Itinerary

At Galapagos Safari Camp we don’t expect our guests to fit around our schedules. Our goal is to craft tailor-made, life-changing itineraries that accommodate your needs, interests and dates. The following is a sample itinerary. Please contact one of our Safari Designers for more information on the wildlife tours, activities and experiences we offer, and to start crafting your own, bespoke Galapagos adventure.

Land Adventures on Santa Cruz Island

In addition to visiting uninhabited, neighbouring islands, our Classic Safari also offers a variety of private land tours and experiences on the island of Santa Cruz.

THE ISLAND OF SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz ranks as one of the most diverse in the archipelago. Rising up from the Pacific in the heart of the Galapagos, its Highlands — formed by volcanic upswelling a blink-of-an-eye ago in geological time — rise to over 800 metres (nearly 3,000 feet). This change in elevation creates a wonderful variety of ecosystems: the dry coast, the cooler and forested Highlands, and the transition zone between the two. This diversity of landscapes, of flora and fauna makes it a fascinating playground for our Safaris.

PRIVATE GALAPAGOS TOURS ON SANTA CRUZ

All our land tours on Santa Cruz are private (unless otherwise specified). You will have your own car and driver, and your own naturalist guide (it is not permitted for visitors to enter the National Park without an official guide).

Some of the land tours we offer include:

SANTA CRUZ: HIGHLANDS
– Los Gemelos (The Twin Craters); two colossal volcanic sinkholes
– Giant Tortoise Reserve
– Lava tunnels
(see sample itinerary)

SANTA CRUZ: EAST
– Cerro Mesa Reserve
– Garrapatero Beach
– Optional: biking, kayaking
(see sample itinerary)

SANTA CRUZ: SOUTH
– Tortuga Bay (45-minute walk to one of the world’s most spectacular beaches)
– Optional: Surf lesson, kayaking
– Puerto Ayora
– Charles Darwin Research Station

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCES:

We can further personalise your Safari by incorporating some of the following experiences into your tour:
– Artisanal fishing
– Art lessons
– Exploring the highlands on bike or on foot
– Surprise tea parties in lava tunnels
– Romantic picnics
– Scuba-diving
– Surfing
– Kayaking
– Visiting coffee or cacao farms, and learning about local life.

Please note that not all these tours and experiences are included in the sample itinerary (and starting rates). Your final quote will depend on how you personalise your Classic Safari, and the tours, activities and experiences you choose.

Please contact one of our Safari Designers to start planning your own Galapagos adventure.

Day Sea Excursions

In addition to exploring Santa Cruz Island, our Classic Safari also offers day cruises on a motor boat to uninhabited Galápagos Islands.

These sea safaris can either be fully private (with a chartered boat and your own private guide) or semi-private (on a shared boat and with a shared guide, or on a shared boat with your own private guide).

Our Classic Safaris usually include two days of sea adventures (visiting one uninhabited island per day, returning to the camp at the end of each day). However, you can add more days (and islands) to your Safari, depending on the number of days you have available and your personal needs and goals.

Each of the islands’ tours include a guided walk on dedicated trails, and a guided snorkel. Lunch is served onboard the boat as food is not permitted in the Galapagos National Park.

Our Classic Safari offers tours of the following uninhabited Galápagos Islands: North Seymour, Bartolomé, Plazas and Santa Fe. Please note the island/s you visit will be determined by the boats’ weekly schedules, routes and availability. We will confirm the islands you will visit once you get in touch.

NO TWO ISLANDS ARE THE SAME

Their volcanic origins mean that each island is different from the other: some uplifted from the ocean floor by titanic forces, others seemingly only recently frozen in time in mid-eruption. Even their vegetation is peculiar and contrasting, with pioneering plants clinging to the slopes of ash-laden hillsides, forests of ghostly-grey palo santo trees, carpets of bright scarlet sesuvium that seem dabbed to life by an Impressionist painter…

BARTOLOMÉ

Navigation time: 2 hours each way
Walking difficulty: Moderate-Hard

Bartolomé is one of the smallest islands in the archipelago, yet it has a big reputation. Climb the wooden walkway, across lava fields and between sputter cones, to the top of the hill for a wonderful reward: spectacular volcanic views towards the famous Pinnacle Rock and surrounding islands. Penguins are often spotted at the snorkeling site.

NORTH SEYMOUR

Navigation time: 1 hour each way
Walking difficulty: Easy

On your our stroll across the rocky landscapes of this small island, you will come across a stunning menagerie of creatures: sea lions, gulls, tropicbirds, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, land iguanas and a rookery of nesting frigate birds. The trail winds its way both through forest of palo santo, full of nesting frigates, and along the shoreline, where marine iguanas bask in the sun.

We also visit Bachas beach on this journey, a lovely stretch of white sand perfect for swimming.

SOUTH PLAZAS

Navigation time: 1 hour each way
Walking difficulty: Easy

As you disembark on South Plazas, you are greeted with the odd bark by a large colony of sea lions on the stone jetty. You might have to make your way round them to actually set foot on the island! Walking among prickly cactus and beds of bright scarlet succulent plants, land iguanas appear left and right. Reaching the wind-swept, dramatic cliffs, red-billed tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls and brown noddy terns glide on the currents as the waves crash below: a true Galapagos exploration. After the visit, there’s a chance to snorkel and swim in a nearby cove, hopefully meeting sea lions, turtles and myriad fish, and maybe even a white-tip reef shark or two.

SANTA FE

Navigation time: 1.5 hours each way
Walking difficulty: Easy

Santa Fe’s beautiful, sheltered bay is a prime site for snorkelling with sea lions, surgeonfish, damsels, parrotfish, stingrays, and white tip reef sharks. Composed of uplifted basaltic lava, Opuntia cacti dominate this rugged island, where you can observe land iguanas among the bushes, blue-footed boobies nesting amid their rocky nests, and hopefully Galapagos hawks, the archipelago’s top avian predator, that perches on the highest points, scanning their domain for their next meals.

Optional Extras

All our Safaris are tailor-made and are crafted according to your personal interests, needs and time available. The itinerary for our Classic Safari, as outlined in these pages, is simply a starting point. If you would like to personalise it further, your Safari Designer will be happy to make suggestions, depending on what you want to get out of your visit.

If you are celebrating a special birthday, anniversary or occasion we would be happy to help. Just let us know your goals and our Safari Designers will advise you accordingly.

We can also help with mainland tours and flights, as well as any Galapagos safari extensions.

Included:

• Private English-speaking naturalist guide during land excursions and transfers.
• Accommodation
• All meals and welcome drink
• Airport VIP services
• VIP Transfers & ground transportation
• Boat excursions with snorkeling on a shared basis (get in touch to organize a private guide or to charter the boat for a fully-private experience)
• Wetsuits and snorkeling equipment
• Activities and visits detailed in the itinerary

Not Included:

• Flights (all flights from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands can be arranged upon request)
• Galapagos National Park entrance fee (US $100 per adult/$50 per child under 12; subject to change)
• Visitor transit card (US $20 per person; subject to change)
• Beverages
• Laundry service
• Insurance (please check your travel insurance is valid in your country of origin prior to your journey)
• Gratuities