Galapagos Island Hopping Santa Cruz & San Cristobal

Today your flight will land at San Cristóbal airport. The staff will greet you at the airport before they transport you to your hotel where you can store your bags. Our first destination at arrival will be the Interpretation Center where we will discover the historical background of the Galapagos Islands. The tour will take us to Cerro Tijeretas which provides visitors with a natural observation point to see the entire island. The place receives its name from the frigates which show tail patterns that look like scissors.

Visitors should explore Cerro Tijeretas because it functions as a leading point of interest on the island. The English biologist Charles Robert Darwin used this location as his first arrival point during his explorations. A statue stands in his memory because of this. The path leads us to Punta Carola where we will discover the island's native plants and animals. We will finish the day with a snorkeling activity at Playa Mann. The transfer will return you to the hotel you chose which stays on San Cristóbal Island.

The scheduled day trip will take visitors to Kicker Rock which locals refer to as "The paradise for snorkeling". The journey starts at dawn when we join our bilingual guide who leads us onto the Galapagos cruise catamaran. We travel to the western section of San Cristobal Island where visitors can observe frigate birds alongside the distinctive marine iguanas. The luckiest visitors will get to see manta rays and dolphins during their visit. The first stop is at Puerto Grande or Manglesito or Cerro Brujo (depending on the day of the week). These locations provide excellent opportunities for snorkeling practice and beach relaxation. The uninhabited island serves as the initial location where you will encounter Galapagos marine animals.

The catamaran begins its journey to Kicker Rock after the group finishes their meal. The tuff cone shows two distinct peaks because of erosion. Visitors can select between snorkeling activities and scuba diving which needs prior arrangement. The area hosts numerous wild animals and snorkeling activities let visitors observe hammerhead sharks and sea lions and sea turtles.

The tour lasted about two hours before the catamaran brought us back to San Cristobal.

The group will board a speed boat after breakfast to sail toward Santa Cruz Island which requires about two hours of travel time. We arrive at Puerto Ayora. The journey will lead us to Santa Cruz highlands where we will tour a special giant tortoise sanctuary. The animals stay in their natural setting at this location.

After lunch we will visit the famous Charles Darwin Station that has an interpretation center of natural history of Galapagos.The Charles Darwin station functions as a worldwide research establishment which protects the Galapagos Islands through its international non-profit status. A transfer takes you back to Casa Natura Galapagos Lodge or similar.

After breakfast at Casa Natura Galapagos hotel we will board a boat to explore Santa Cruz Island´s bay. The tour runs for about three hours and thirty minutes. The main pier of Puerto Ayora serves as a unique location to observe multiple fish species which display various colors. We will explore Punta Estrada together with Sharks´Channel and Playa de los Perros and Grietas.

The visit will probably allow us to observe white tip Sharks and sea tortoises and marine iguanas and crabs and pelicans and various other marine birds. Our group will head back to the pier when the tour ends. The remaining time of the afternoon belongs to us. The accommodation will be at Casa Natura Galapagos Lodge or a comparable establishment.

After we finished breakfast at Casa Natura Galapagos Lodge we began our day trip. Our transfer service will take us to the pier where we will board the shared daily Galapagos tour boat which visits North Seymour and Plazas Island and Bartolome and Santa Fe islands based on availability. The afternoon transfer will take you to your hotel for check-in. The lodge provides overnight accommodations for guests who stay at Santa Cruz Island.

Today you have a transfer to the airport of Baltra to take the flight back.