- Transfer: Transfer from Hotel to Isabela Airport
- Excursion: Arrival Baltra - Kayaking to Santa Cruz Island
- Excursion: Los Gemelos Craters
- Excursion: Giant Tortoise Reserve - Santa Cruz Highlands
- Accommodation:
Galapagos Magic
- Meals: B, L, D
Pick-up from the hotel lobby at 08:00am.
Transfer to Isabela Airport for the flight to Baltra.
Arrival Baltra - Kayaking to Santa Cruz Island
On arrival in Baltra, you’ll enter through a special VIP lounge, where there will be time to change clothes, apply suncream, and grab a cool drink, before transferring to the Itabaca Channel to explore its spectacular turquoise waters.
You will have a chance to kayak, snorkel and stand-up paddleboard (SUP), as well as encounter some of the most famous Galapagos wildlife such as blue-footed boobies, sea lions, brown pelicans, a variety of herons and white-tipped reef sharks. Glide through beautiful red mangrove forests and along lava rock cliffs on water so clear we can see the marine life in the shallows. A support boat will escort you throughout to ensure safety and to provide water, snacks, and towels between activities.
Technical Details:
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Kayak: 1.5-2 hours depending on fauna activity and skills of kayakers
Means of Transportation: boat, kayak (single and double kayaks available along with life jackets), stand up paddleboard and private transportation to Galapagos Magic.
From the Itabaca Channel, your guide will take you for a visit to Los Gemelos (the twin) craters. Observe the two large craters that were once underground magma chambers. When the magma chambers caved in they left two huge impressive looking craters.
Continue up to the Santa Cruz highlands to a private reserve that borders the National Park, where you can see the famous Giant Tortoises roaming in the wild. Watch as the tortoises wallow in muddy puddles and amble slowly through the scalesia forests, keeping your eyes peeled for Darwin finches and vermilion flycatchers too. Lunch is included at the reserve for you.
Los Gemelos Craters
Continue to Los Gemelos (the twins) this morning. Observe the two large craters that were once underground magma chambers. When the magma chambers caved in they left two huge impressive looking craters.
Giant Tortoise Reserve - Santa Cruz Highlands
After lunch, continue to your exclusive giant tortoise reserve where your tented camp is located. Perched high on a hillside overlooking the ocean, the Magic Galapagos Tented Camp will be your home for the next three nights. The sounds of nature will serenade you in the evenings, and the Milky Way will be your night light. You’ll be able to feast your eyes on the mountains and forests surrounding the Camp and enjoy the peace of having the entire hillside to yourselves, with the exception of seasonal resident giant tortoises. Watching the colourful sunset from Magic’s western perch is the perfect segue into evening. Dinners are sumptuous three course affairs, prepared by expert chefs in an open-air kitchen in the main lodge. A favourite post-dinner activity is a short walk to the reserve’s natural lava tubes, for a night cap in the one-of-a-kind ‘Lava Lounge!’ It’s the perfect spot to relax around the fire and share stories from the day’s adventures. (This service is on a private basis.)
Introducing Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz is in the Central Islands and is the second biggest Island after Isabela, but the most populated with around 15,000 residents, most of whom live in the town of Puerto Ayora. The Island offers a wide variety of vegetation, including pit craters, Scalesia Forest, cacti and ferns. The rocky coastline is a magnet for marine life, such as sea turtles, sharks and rays. Whilst, the lush highlands are home to roaming giant tortoises. The Island is also home to the Charles Darwin Research Station, which is where scientific research and conservation are continued.