Inspiring Itineraries
Small Ship Sailing for the Galapagos Islands
Ecuador
Itinerary
Darwin’s discoveries in the Galapagos had a profound impact on the way we understand the world. From Ecuador’s northern highlands to a yacht cruise among these notable islands—adventure, culture, wildlife, and discovery awaits you.
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INCLUDED HIGHLIGHTS:
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UNESCO World Heritage Site, Galapagos Islands
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One night pre-cruise hotel stay at the riverfront Wyndham Guayaquil
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Six-night Galapagos cruise aboard small cruising vessel
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Set foot on seven islands and islets
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Charles Darwin Research Center
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Nesting birds and wildlife in their natural habitat
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View marine life by snorkel, panga, and glass-bottom boat
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Certified guides escort small groups of 12
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Roundtrip air between Guayaquil and Galapagos
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Alcoholic beverages
Sample Itinerary
Day 1 – Guayaquil / Arrival
Welcome to Ecuador! Begin your journey in this port city known as the gateway to the Pacific. Your first stop is Wyndham Guayaquil, voted the #1 Hotel in Guayaquil on TripAdvisor and where you’ll stay the night. This dazzling riverside hotel is a short walk to the vibrant Malecon 2000 boardwalk as well as historic Santa Ana Hill and its famous lighthouse. Explore the city sights on your own, relax at the rooftop pool, and get a good night’s rest before your adventure.
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Day 2 – Guayaquil / Isla Baltra – Embarkation / Isla Seymour Norte
Up and at ‘em. Get an early start and travel to the legendary Galapagos Islands—UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Guayaquil, fly to Isla Baltra where your captain and crew welcome you aboard Yacht La Pinta. As Charles Darwin certainly was in 1835, you’ll be awed by the unique beauty of the islands as you take your first exploratory steps on Isla Seymour Norte—home to Blue-footed boobies and Magnificent Frigatebirds. Formed by volcanic uplift, the small island of scruffy vegetation is ideal nesting terrain. Get an up-close view of these birds’ quirky characteristics by hike and panga ride.
Day 3 – Isla Isabela / Isla Fernandina
Explore Punta Vicente Roca, a marine site of impressive geological formations, by panga—your guide helps with decoding the visible clues of the islands’ fiery beginnings. Beyond the geology, spy winged residents including Blue-footed boobies and flightless cormorants. The wildly rocky coast with a partially sunken cave provides phenomenal conditions for a menagerie of fish and green sea turtles. If conditions allow, don your mask, fins, and snorkel and dive in for a close-up view! Later, stretch your legs on a guided walk experiencing one of the most pristine islands in the Galapagos, Isla Fernandina. The island’s active volcano erupted as recently as 2009. Thousands of bright land iguanas reside here, and it’s also a favorite haunt of Galapagos penguins.
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Day 4 – Isla Isabela
Large in landmass and young at 1 million years old, Isla Isabela supports abundant wildlife and sea life. An Urbina Bay shore walk reveals large, colorful land iguanas and perhaps giant tortoises. Crossing from Urbina Bay to Tagus Cove, scan the water for whales and dolphins that frequent Bolivar Channel from one of La Pinta’s spacious decks. At Tagus Cove—an otherworldly landscape of eroded tuff cones—there’s a chance to snorkel, kayak, or ride a panga before hiking the backside of Darwin Crater to a saltwater lake. There’ll be excellent opportunities for viewing penguins, Galapagos Hawks, cormorants, petrified rain (bits of lava that cooled quickly after contacting water), and old signatures from pirates and whalers etched into the rock.
Day 5 – Isla Rabida / Isla Santa Cruz
Isla Rabida’s unusual red beach is a favorite sunbathing spot for sea lions and marine iguanas. Go eye-to-eye with Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies, Yellow Warblers, several species of Darwin’s Finches, and pelicans. The warm maroon-colored beach also makes a great jumping in spot for from-the-beach snorkeling. Or keep your eyes above the waterline, inspecting marine life from the glass-bottom boat. You’ll have a birds-eye view from Isla Santa Cruz hiking Cerro Dragon—or, Dragon Hill—and enjoy a well-earned panorama of the western islands, the bay below you, and possibly even lounging land iguanas.
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Day 6 – Isla Santa Cruz
Today, it’s all about the magnificent giant tortoise. Touring the Charles Darwin Research Station, you’ll witness the exceptional conservation program where baby tortoises, “galapaguitos,” are reared in protective captivity until they are old enough to safely repatriate back to their native areas. Embrace Galapagos conservation by learning about threats that still endanger this fragile ecosystem. After a lingering poolside lunch at the Finch Bay Eco Hotel (bring your swimsuit just in case), explore the misty, forested highlands and see the lumbering and charming tortoises in their natural habitat. You’ll also have a chance to walk inside the island’s famed lava tubes for a geological exploration of these remarkable volcanic channels.
DAY 7 – Isla Floreana
Your day will be chock-full of adventure, with opportunities to snorkel, hike, kayak, skiff, ride the glass-bottom boat, or simply relax on the beach. Send a note home from Post Office Bay, dropping your postcard in Isla Floreana’s famous, historic barrel mailbox. Then take in the island’s geologic history with a panga ride or kayak investigation of its maze of volcanic channels. A stop at Baroness Viewpoint provides the perfect vantage for a photo-op. A tale of two beaches, walk along the green olivine beach of Punta Cormorant to a brackish lagoon known to be a flamingo hideout, then on to a white-sand beach where green sea turtles come ashore to rest at night.
DAY 8 – Isla Baltra / Guayaquil – Disembarkation
Your adventure of a lifetime aboard La Pinta concludes back on Isla Baltra. From here, transfer to the airport for your flight to Guayaquil—where you’ll await your connecting flight home, or if you’ve opted for our Machu Picchu extension, your flight to Lima, Peru.
Discover Wyoming
Discover Wyoming’s wild side with your curious buckaroos in the dynamic-duo National Parks of Grand Teton and Yellowstone on our Grand Teton Family Vacation.From the craggy peaks of the Tetons to the whimsical mosaic of geothermal activity in Yellowstone, this all-inclusive, action-packed family vacation is the perfect blend of adventure and education. Kayak beneath towering mountains, bike through spectacular valleys animated with wildlife and wildflowers and create unforgettable memories rafting the Snake River. Days are bookended with the best in western hospitality at iconic park properties and picturesque cabins as our expert guides fill the moments with Austin’s signature touch of inspired, thoughtful service and endless daily delights that make this a family vacation you and your Junior Rangers will never forget with this Grand Teton Family Vacation Package.
Explore
On our Grand Teton Family Vacation, shooting geysers, soaring mountains and alpine lakes are the perfect backdrop to this six-day family adventure exploring the best of the wild, wild west. Our expert guides introduce you to one of the most fascinating destinations in the world on this intimate, custom journey into the picture-perfect scenes of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Explore Upper Geyser Basin and watch as Old Faithful, Yellowstone’s most famous thermal phenomenon erupts
Keep an eye out for a giant bull moose, whose antlers can reach up to six-feet across
Pedal winding bike paths under the shadows of Grand Teton, Middle Teton, Teewinot, Nez Perce and Mt. Owen, the five peaks of the Cathedral Group in Grand Teton National Park
Raft Wyoming’s finest whitewater through the scenic Snake River Canyon
Stare down into the depths of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River as you stand on the edge soaking up the colorful, postcard-perfect scene in front of you
Kayak the gentle waters of Jackson Lake to a backdrop of the jagged Teton range
Gorillas and Uganda
11 Days | Small group journeys 16 passengers or less
Itinerary
DAY 1 Arrive Entebbe, Uganda
DAY 2 Murchison Falls National Park | The Nile’s Jewel
DAY 3 Murchison Falls National Park | Nile Safari
DAY 4 Kibale National Park | Bunyaruguru Crater Walk
DAY 5 Kibale National Park | Forest of Chimpanzees
DAYS 6-7 Queen Elizabeth National Park | Nature Anew
DAY 8 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | Mist-Shrouded Mountains
DAYS 9-10 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | Gorilla Encounters in the Wild
DAY 11 Depart Entebbe
Explore
Explore the “Pearl of Africa” and discover Uganda’s wild treasures, from the banks of the Nile to the deepest reaches of the rainforest ​
Cruise up the Nile River to the misty base of Murchison Falls, spotting wildlife on the banks as you float past ​
Trek the lush, tropical trails of Kibale National Park in search of chimpanzees
Set out on game drives
in the wilds of
Queen Elizabeth National Park, keeping watch for
tree-climbing lions ​
