The Galápagos Islands

Day 1: Our Galapagos Islands tour begins this evening with a briefing about our upcoming cruise among the islands made famous by Charles Darwin. Night in Quito.

Day 2: We’ll fly this morning to Baltra, but before noon we’ll be seeing our first island endemics, including Medium Ground-Finch around the Baltra airport, Galapagos Sea Lion, and many species of endemic plants. We’ll make an official stop in the interior of the island of Santa Cruz within the protected national park, as well as some visits to private ranches, before we check in to our comfortable hotel. Night on Santa Cruz.

Day 3: We’ll continue our birding in the highlands of Santa Cruz. One of our targets is the tiny Galapagos Rail, a species whose highland habitat is readily accessible only here. We’ll likely need more time to look for less common finches such as the Vegetarian Finch and the declining Large Tree-Finch. Later we’ll descend to the town of Puerto Ayora for some time in the shops for postcards and gifts. Before dinner we’ll board our boat. Night aboard the S/C Nemo III.

Days 4-9: Each of these days will feature a different island. Typically, we’ll arrive at our island of the day in the early morning, waking up to a new and exciting place. After a complete breakfast on board, we’ll depart in the Zodiacs for a short hike to view the island’s specialties. Depending on the length of our hike, we’ll either return to the boat for our daily snorkeling opportunity or head immediately to lunch and a siesta followed by an afternoon snorkeling option. We’ll motor to a different part of the same island or to a nearby island for an afternoon hike of a different nature.

Each of the islands has its own highlights, and here are brief descriptions of some we hope to visit, pending final approval of our itinerary.

Baltra is a low, flat island, once a U.S. military base and overrun with goats; it’s now goat-free, vegetation has rebounded tremendously, and native wildlife is again common. This is also the location of the larger of two main airports, where we begin our tour.

Santa Cruz, the second-largest of the islands, hosts the largest human settlement, Puerto Ayora, and is immediately south of Baltra, separated by a narrow channel. Our stay here will feature a visit to a Giant Tortoise sanctuary where wild tortoises still roam. We may also visit the Darwin Research Center to see the breeding program for all other races of the tortoise.

North Seymour is another low island, just to the north of Baltra, and is popular for the large colonies of ground-nesting Blue-footed Boobies and bush-nesting Magnificent Frigatebirds (with a few Great Frigatebirds for comparison).

San Cristóbal is home to its own species of mockingbird as well as several finch species.

Santa Fé is a small island that is home to its own endemic species of Land Iguana, as well as Galapagos Hawk and Common Cactus-Finch. The small bay where we anchor has easy snorkeling, with usually very calm waters and varied substrate.

Española will provide one of our most memorable visits, for this is where the colony of Waved Albatrosses is located. Galapagos Hawk, the shockingly inquisitive Española Mockingbird, Gray Warbler-Finch, and many other creatures are easily seen here as well.

Floreana is the only home for the Medium Tree-Finch and offers a good chance for American Flamingo, while the satellite islet of Campeón harbors the only population of Floreana Mockingbirds and provides some of the most exciting snorkeling in the islands.

Isabela is the largest island and has the most reliable populations of Brujo Flycatcher and an accessible, if small, colony of Galapagos Martins.

Fernandina is the westernmost and youngest island where lava flows dotted with the endemic Lava Cactus seem to have formed only days ago. The snorkeling here could include sighting Marine Iguanas grazing on the underwater algae beds.

Day 10: This morning we’ll awake in the harbor of Baltra, where we’ll say farewell to the Nemo III crew and transfer to the airport for the flight back to Quito.  Night in Quito.

Day 11: Our Galapagos Cruise concludes this morning in Quito.

2026 Narrative

Never has a week passed by so quickly as on our Galapagos Tour. Our cruise took us around the entire archipelago, and each day was full of amazing experiences and sightings. Our walk amongst the Waved Albatrosses on Española Island was the unforgettable highlight for most and well-timed – pairs were still courting, and at least one was already incubating an egg. Our first afternoon's walk on North Seymour also ranked highly, as it took us past Blue-footed Boobies that were just starting their nesting cycle, and we backtracked a bit to witness the comedy of a pair in their slow, deliberate courtship ritual. We saw all the possible endemic species of birds, from the handsome Galapagos Penguin to the scarce and beautiful Brujo Flycatcher (of which we saw more than ever before, including the first one on Santa Cruz Island in nearly 20 years). Many other species of birds received tour favorite votes: Galapagos Flycatcher was one, and we saw shockingly few – not more than five total, when on some previous tours we've seen five on each day. The trusty Elliot's Storm-Petrel could be counted on to be pattering behind the boat at any of our anchorages, while if one didn't get enough of the strange (and rather quiet) Swallow-tailed Gulls on our land excursions, they could also be following the boat like ghosts drifting along in the night sky. We tried hard for Galapagos Rail on Santa Cruz and totally dipped, so it was amazing to have one so quickly on Isabela Island. Who can forget those incredibly close American Flamingos, the frigatebirds that greeted us at the Itabaca canal, the Flightless Cormorant swimming below and surfacing inches from the snorkelers, noisy Red-billed Tropicbirds claiming the skies, and the unique Woodpecker Finch – both subspecies which may eventually be split. It was wonderful to see Galapagos Petrels so well at sea, but the experience of hearing them flying over their highland nesting colony at night, occasionally catching glimpses of them in the spotlight, was the only way to get to know their true character. On any tour to these islands, even on a birding tour, the whole of natural history is part of the experience, and so we spent time marveling at the masses of Marine Iguanas on Fernandina Island, got intimate with Galapagos Tortoises on Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal, and delighted in snorkeling with animated Galapagos Sea Lions, graceful Green Sea Turtles, and the ever-present Sally Lightfoot crabs. And those who gave up snorkeling one day had an amazing encounter from the kayak of the most graceful Spotted Eagle Ray.

Our flight to Baltra was right on time, and the first endemic anyone saw was a Santa Cruz Lava Lizard on the walkway from the jet to the terminal. We soon saw Medium Ground-Finches and even a Galapagos Land Iguana as we used the transportation system to make our way to Santa Cruz Island. Greeting us at the Itabaca Canal were the frigatebirds soaring overhead that would become a constant and welcome background during our entire week. At lunch we ogled the several amazing giant tortoises lumbering about, while getting acquainted with more ground-finches and the distinctive Woodpecker Finch. Smooth-billed Anis were conspicuous here, perching atop the tortoises and highlighted by a trio of very young fledglings begging from their parents. We also stopped to see a roosting American Barn Owl of the endemic subspecies. We learned a bit about the geology of the island by walking into a lava tunnel, then viewing the craters called Los Gemelos, where a female Brujo Flycatcher was an exciting find and evidence that conservation measures are helping the threatened population grow.

The first outing on our first full day in the Galapagos took place at 1:45 a.m., when a few of us gathered in the calm darkness of our hotel in the highlands to witness the nightly visits of the Galapagos Petrels to their breeding grounds in the Miconia-fern habitat. We first heard several pairs close by, issuing their eerie groans and cackles, and soon we saw several zoom by right over our heads in the spotlight. It was a magical moment. We spent much of the daylit morning at higher elevation looking for Galapagos Rail, and though conditions seemed perfect, we didn't hear one. On the way up, we saw a few Paint-billed Crakes right in the road, and a typically fearless Green Warbler-Finch foraged and then preened just a few feet away. We made one last stop on the island at the red cinder quarry road where we caught up with our only Vegetarian Finches, seen well, but not the most cooperative birds for those who wanted photos. Here we also finally found Galapagos Flycatcher, the only one for the day; a few years ago we would have seen five or ten by now, an ominous sign. At last, we were on the Nemo III, where we lunched and started motoring to our first official island walk on North Seymour. In just these last two hours of the day, we were in awe of the tameness and uniqueness of the wildlife here. Swallow-tailed Gulls didn't move an inch, though they were right next to the landing where we got off the panga. Blue-footed Boobies were evident in the first hundred yards of our walk, showing the slight difference in the eyes between male and female. A highlight of the whole week happened in our first 15 minutes when a pair united and began their methodical and comical courtship. With the El Niño already underway and forecasted to be very strong, these will have to be lucky boobies to have any nesting success. The frigatebirds were already well underway with their nesting, and a white, fluffy Great Frigatebird chick close to the trail was a highlight. We saw our first Lava Herons near the end of the walk, and while most of the Land Iguanas didn't seem to be doing much, it was quite unusual to see one of these vegetarians eating a grasshopper – the recent rains had produced an abundance of these protein snacks. Back on the Nemo III we were formally introduced to our crew of seven who would be taking care of us and the boat for the next week.

We awoke on the second day in the calm waters of Darwin Bay, surrounded by Genovesa Island, with the skies full of tropicbirds, frigatebirds, boobies, and gulls. Our morning outing was a walk in the uplands above Prince Philips Steps, where Red-footed Boobies tended their chicks in tree nests right along the trail. We uncovered a rarely seen Galapagos Centipede and then flushed a Short-eared Owl that was eating a storm-petrel it had apparently just caught out in the colony. Before long we were in sight of the amazing Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel colony, a fascinating sight to behold. Most of the world's storm-petrel species visit their breeding colonies in the safety of night, so it's a treat to see this rare spectacle in broad daylight. In the late morning, we snorkeled where some got to see a Hammerhead Shark swimming below, and the abundance of other fish was amazing. On the beach, we gingerly walked past Swallow-tailed Gulls, some with eggs, and others with adorable chicks. Genovesa Cactus-Finch, Genovesa Ground-Finch, and Gray Warbler-Finch were all new additions to the list on this walk, and we had excellent, close views of all three. We departed in time for some seawatching before the sun set, seeing a couple Band-rumped Storm-Petrels among the more common other two species, and we had our first sightings of magnificent Galapagos Petrels over the ocean, acting like a totally different animal from the ones we saw at night.

Our third day was divided between Isabela and Fernandina Islands, first with a panga ride where we could barely believe the abundance of Marine Iguanas and spied our first Flightless Cormorants. We then snorkeled for a bit in unusually warm waters – a sign that El Niño was already well underway here. It was a treat to see Flightless Cormorant doing its thing underwater, as well as elegant Green Sea Turtles and abundant fish. Before lunch we motored south to a known breeding site for Galapagos Martin, and we arrived to see an adult male fly off over the waves until he disappeared. But further searching revealed that he had left three birds behind, apparently all juveniles, perched on a ledge in the low cliffs. After motoring across the Beagle Channel, we disembarked onto Punta Espinosa on Fernandina, along the way spying some Galapagos Penguins swimming where foraging pelicans indicated there was food. Seeing their heads poke out of the water would have to suffice for now. Once we were on land, even more Marine Iguanas greeted us. Some hatchling iguanas were apparently just emerging from the nests in the sand, as we got to see a Galapagos Hawk that had just caught one and was feeding on it. Poking around at critters in the sand, a couple of us saw a tiny, dark silverfish, which turned out to be an endemic species, and later, turning over a small dead squid in the wet sand revealed scavenging Pacific Mole Crabs. We had super close views of an adult Lava Heron acting invisible in the dark lava, and in a deep crevice in the lava flows we watched a Fernandina Racer hunting for lizards. Abundant Galapagos Shearwaters of both dark- and light-winged types, with a smattering of Galapagos Petrels, highlighted our motoring southward through the Beagle Channel into the evening.

We arrived just on time after a night of headwinds and currents at the port of Villamil on Isabela's southern coast. Again, we had to do with Galapagos Penguins only swimming as we disembarked on the island, though these were much closer and allowed for some photographs. We were soon on our land-based excursion in a chiva headed to some lagoons, where we were stopped by our first Common Cactus-Finch singing from a powerline right in town. It was close to our destination, where we were stunned to find several American Flamingos next to the boardwalk, utterly unaffected by our presence a few feet away. White-cheeked Pintails, Common Gallinules, and Black-necked Stilts rounded out the water birds before we headed to the highlands in our rented chiva. A male Brujo Flycatcher was on the bathroom building as we arrived at El Cura just below the mountain fog line, and at Jairo's suggestion we gave Galapagos Rail a quick attempt in ferny understory of the invasive guava forest just behind there. To our surprise, a pair chattered back immediately, and one was curious enough to poke its head out and dash across the path twice. We got our steps in on the hike up to the crater rim of Volcán Sierra Negra, but the views of the volcanic marvel were blocked by the fog. During the hike, we tallied a record number of Brujo Flycatchers (and not a single Galapagos Flycatcher) and enjoyed watching a very young Woodpecker Finch being cared for by a parent in the middle of the trail. Once back off the mountain, we had a peek at a beach where we added our only Hudsonian Whimbrel of the tour as well as Semipalmated Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, and a distant Wandering Tattler. In the harbor, we relocated the Galapagos Penguins, some of which had hauled up onto rocks, allowing close approach and many photos. Nearby, a Great Blue Heron of the endemic subspecies emerged from the understory of a mangrove with a stick and flew only a short way to present it to its mate atop a nearby mangrove. We were back on the boat in time for lunch and a full afternoon of seawatching along an underwater escarpment. Near shore we motored past a huge flock of Blue-footed Boobies resting on the water, surely the group we had seen diving en masse from a great distance while still anchored in the harbor. There weren't huge numbers of other sea birds, but activity was nearly constant, and we had marvelous views of many Galapagos Petrels as well as our second Band-rumped Storm-Petrel and only Sooty Shearwaters of the tour.

Our fourth full day was devoted to the remote island of Floreana with its odd human history. Our only second sighting of Galapagos Flycatchers was here, and once we reached Asilo de la Paz in the highlands, we wasted no time in spotting the single-island endemic Medium Tree-Finch. We saw the last few captive giant tortoises before what will hopefully be a successful program to reintroduce the genetically approximate endemic form to the wider island. After boating to the northeastern part of Floreana, we had a wet landing at Punta Cormorant where a single Galapagos Penguin greeted us. A few American Flamingos and a single Semipalmated Plover were at the shallow lagoon, while in the surf of the white sand beach we only glimpsed a couple of the Diamond Stingrays. On the short hike we had our best views of Galapagos Flycatchers here, hopping on the ground after insects, as well as a pair of Dark-billed Cuckoos. After motoring on the Nemo III for just a bit more, we approached Champion Islet and soon were looking at the mega-rare Floreana Mockingbirds that we hope will soon be repopulating the main island after the removal of cats and rats. The snorkeling around Champion was brilliant, and the lack of a current to push us around the island and lack of a chill to the water were further signs of the odd happenings in the ocean. At least for now, the fish were still abundant, as we saw the amazing Stone Scorpionfish here. The sea lions were a blast, playful and fun to watch. Some snorkelers were lucky to see a Blue-footed Booby dive right next to us. The forecast for a rougher-than-usual ocean meant we stayed anchored for dinner, but most got a good night's sleep now that we were used to the ship.

Another beautiful morning greeted us, this time off a gorgeous white beach on the eastern end of Española Island. We started with a walk down the beach, practically mobbed by a family of noisy young Española Mockingbirds, and we nearly had to beat away the Small Ground-Finches there were so many. Sifting through them, we finally spotted a pair of Española Ground-Finches with their huge bills. After our beach walk, we had two snorkeling opportunities, and once again the warmth of the water was noticeable compared to previous years. Black-nosed Butterflyfish and a half-buried Diamond Stingray were highlights on the first, and the White-tipped Reef Shark and super playful sea lions (one of the participants was brushed up against by one) were memorable sightings as we snorkeled along Gardner Islet. The most challenging walk of the tour was saved for the afternoon as we walked the loop trail at Punta Suárez. It was a thrill getting up close to so many Waved Albatrosses – not to mention those nearly constantly flying over and pairs performing their courtship/pair-bonding rituals. The hike also featured many Nazca Boobies, Red-billed Tropicbirds, a Galapagos Hawk, Gray Warbler-Finch, and a very young Española Ground-Finch begging for food from the middle of the trail.

Our last full day in the Galapagos was yet different again, seeing us back in something resembling civilization in the morning and ending in pristine wilderness on one of the most untouched islands. On San Cristóbal we disembarked to see a Lava Heron right on the docks. We then made quick work of the endemic subspecies of Woodpecker Finch at the cemetery, followed by a quick stop in the foggy highlands where we saw the endemic subspecies of Gray Warbler-Finch (which is greener than some of the Green Warbler-Finch subspecies). We got close and personal with the giant tortoises at the breeding center, seeing young tortoises of all ages. This is also where we had great views of many San Cristobal Mockingbirds, our fourth and final species of this group. In the late afternoon we arrived at Barrington Bay on Santa Fe, an island still so pristine (i.e., free of introduced rats) it has endemic scorpions and rice rats – and we got to see one of the former. Snorkeling was absolutely fantastic here, with two kinds of butterflyfish, a massive school of Black-striped Salemas, the long hoped-for Chameleon Wrasse, and a Spotted Eagle Ray flying gracefully through the water. The latter was even seen by the kayakers who also had great views of a Wandering Tattler. Upon arriving on shore, we had to barge our way past the sea lions to put our shoes back on. The enormous prickly pear trees here were worth a hug, and though we failed to find the endemic land iguanas (perhaps the lush rains created too much grass for them to hide in), we did spy a Santa Cruz Racer, and some saw it almost catch a lizard. We also got very intimate with the Gray Warbler-Finch here, so different from the ones we saw earlier in the day.

Our very last morning was a bit different – a panga ride among mangroves of Caleta Tortuga Negra at sunrise, looking at young sharks and sea turtles in the water below, as well as the "wing" tips of a cownose ray on the surface. Exiting the lagoon, we enjoyed watching Brown Noddies perching on the backs of feeding Brown Pelicans, hoping to steal a morsel from their catch. Soon it was farewell to the amazing crew of the Nemo III and to Jairo, and we were off back to what we now realize is the unreal world of our mainland homes.

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