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Baltra · Galapagos · Ecuador
M/Y Galapagos Solaris: 7D/6N (Route A)
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From $6,573.99 per person
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The Experience
What your day looks like
Welcome aboard Motor Yacht Solaris! This beautiful and modern yacht comprises comfort and relaxation into one. There’s a special and unique feature that can’t be underestimated- this Galapagos cruise is 100% solo traveler-friendly! You can forget about single supplement headaches and join one of our 5 main deck cabins! Furthermore, our trained crew & cruise director, assisted by our naturalist guide, will be ready to serve your every need, making your stay as comfortable as possible. Solaris Cabins Specifications: Main deck (6 cabins) : 5 cabins with a single bed & 1 cabin with a queen bed + single Upper deck (5 Suites / Cabins): 3 cabins with a queen bed + single bed 2 cabins queen bed + one double sofa bed
At a Glance
The experience, in brief
- Stay fit & refreshed and fully enjoy all activities (included in cruise price!)
- Have a more intimate nature experience
- An expert naturalist guide who brings nature even more to life
- Personal attention from our welcoming staff
Your Itinerary
Your day, step by step
Day 1
Baltra
Boating at Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). Day 1- Tuesday AM – Arrival at Baltra Airport Upon arrival at Baltra airport, you will pass through an airport inspection point to ensure that no foreign plants or animals are introduced to the islands, as well as to pay the park entrance fee of USD 200 (unless it has been prepaid). A guide will meet you, help you collect your luggage, and escort you on a short bus ride to the harbour. Here you will climb aboard the yacht Solaris. After greeting the crew and the captain, your cabins will be assigned to you and then you will enjoy your first lunch aboard.
Continued
Baltra
Eco Tour at Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). PM – Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz) These two small beaches are found to the west of Turtle Cove. Their sand is made of decomposed coral, which makes it white and soft, making it a favourite nesting site for sea turtles. There is a small brackish water lagoon behind one of the beaches, where occasionally it is possible to observe flamingos and other coastal birds, such as black-necked stilts and whimbrels. The other beach is longer, but it has two old barges that were abandoned during the Second World War when the USA used Baltra Island as a strategic point to protect the Panama Channel.
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Baltra
Accommodation
Day 2
Baltra
Eco Tour at Isabela Island (Galapagos). Day 2 - Wednsday AM - Whitetip Reef Shark Channel (Isabela) Whitetip Reef Shark Channel (Tintoreras in spanish) consists of several small islets off the coast of Puerto Villamil and is one of the most emblematic visitor’s sites of the Galapagos. Its impressive concentration of Galapagos wildlife can be admired easily during the tour From a viewpoint, you can see herons on mangrove branches whilst Galapagos penguins and sea lions can be spotted on the land. Whitetip reef sharks can be found in the tidal channels, and their abundance is what gives these islets their Spanish name. Another highlight is the breeding colony with uncountable numbers of marine iguanas!
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Baltra
Eco Tour at Isabela Island (Galapagos). PM - Wetlands and Tortoise Breeding Centre (Isabela) After lunch aboard, you will visit the local tortoise breeding centre, where you can see hundreds of giant Galapagos tortoises of all sizes. The vulnerable hatchlings are not gigantic at all, even smaller than the size of your hand! This project, just outside Puerto Villamil, was created to rescue the endangered populations of Isabela’s southernmost volcanoes. Also, you might have the chance to see American flamingos. At the end of the afternoon, you will have some free time to explore the village and/or its beach.
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Baltra
Accommodation
Day 3
Baltra
Eco Tour at Isabela Island (Galapagos). Day 3 - Thursday AM – Moreno Point (Isabela) Moreno Point is located on the north coast of Isabela Island, between the volcanos Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul. The trail runs along a solidified pahoehoe lava flow into a complex of coastal lagoons. Its main attractions are several species of birds, which are found around the lakes and mangrove forests.
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Baltra
Eco Tour at Fernandina Island. PM - Mangle Point (Fernandina), Tagus Cove (Isabela) You will enter the Bolivar Channel and navigate towards Tagus Cove. On the way, you will see how explosive eruptions have blown out a part of the outer rims of both tuff cones, and created their characteristic horseshoe shapes and Tagus Cove. Sailors used to write the names of their vessels on the eastern cliffs of this place. A tour along the cliffs in a dinghy will give the visitors a good chance to see the Galapagos penguin, the flightless cormorant and other sea birds. From the landing dock, it is about a 30-minute hike along the trail up to the top of the cliff from where you can view Darwin Lake; an uplifted ultra saline lake saltier than the sea. You can also see severalvolcanoes from this location. Look carefully at the graffiti on the surrounding cliffs of the cove! They were written by pirates, whalers and buccaneers in past centuries.
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Baltra
Accommodation
Day 4
Baltra
Eco Tour at Fernandina Island. AM - Espinoza Point (Fernandina) Fernandina is the third-largest island in the archipelago and has a single visitor site: Punta Espinoza, located at the northeastern tip of the island. Marine iguanas conglomerate in larger groups than on any other island. They bask around in the sand, swim near the shore and sometimes block the way at the landing dock. Among the unique species found here, is the flightless cormorant. This bird had to adjust its way of survival and perfect its skills of finding food in the ocean. Their wings, tails and feet progressively adapted for swimming. To see these birds is to witness evolution happening right in front of you.
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Baltra
Eco Tour at Isabela Island (Galapagos). PM - Vicente Roca Point (Isabela) Whilst having lunch, the yacht will cross the Bolivar Channel for the last time to Vicente Roca Point, just at the mouth of Isabela’s seahorse shape. While entering a dark cave below a spectacular arch, the roaring echoes of the waves will accompany you. Just around the corner, the collapsed amphitheatre of Ecuador Volcano offers another impressive view. The calmer waters of the coves are well protected against the ocean swell and are a fairly cold but great place for snorkelling amongst various species of shark, penguins, pufferfish and even seahorses!
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Baltra
Accommodation
Day 5
Baltra
Eco Tour at Santiago Island (Galápagos). Day 5 - Saturday AM - Espumilla Beach, Bucaneer Cove (Santiago) Espumilla Beach is a visitor’s site at the northern end of James Bay, on the western coast of Santiago. This beach has been revived as an important breeding site for turtles, as it is no longer suffering from digging wild pigs. The turtles return year after year to bury their eggs into the cinnamon-coloured sand dunes. The beach ridge hides mangroves with two picturesque lagoons. The colony of American flamingos and aquatic birds used to be its main attraction, but after the climate phenomenon of El Niño, strong sedimentation altered the brackish water environment and it no longer contains their food. During the climb of a hill, you will be rewarded with a beautiful overview of the transitions from sea into beach into mangrove into dry palo santo forest.
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Baltra
Eco Tour at Santiago Island (Galápagos). PM - Egas Port (Santiago) At lunchtime, you will navigate south to Egas Port, with its famous fur seal grottos, where you will enjoy another, very different guided walk along the coastline. Its masterfully sculptured coastline of black basalts and polished multi-coloured ash layers forms a photogenic scene with collapsed lava tunnels, natural arches, caves and blowholes such as “Darwin’s toilet”. In a grotto directly below a spectacular rock arch at the end of the beach, a colony of sea lions occupies the shade. Hundreds of sally lightfoot crabs seem even brighter orange against the black rocks.
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Baltra
Sightseeing at Galapagos Islands. Accommodation
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Baltra
Accommodation...
Day 6
Baltra
Eco Tour at Galapagos Islands. Day 6 - Sunday AM - Rabida After lunch and a “wet landing” on the remarkable red beach of Rabida, there are two short guided hikes. Oxidised iron particles give the rocks and sand their rusty colour. The beach wall holds a shallow green-fringed lagoon. This oasis is the most fertile place on the otherwise arid islet, which is overgrown with leaf-dropping palo santo trees. The salty pool attracts all kinds of aquatic birds, like pintails and sometimes American flamingos. Between the evergreen foliage of the surrounding mangrove bushes, many species of songbirds hide and breed. One of the most outstanding attractions is the major breeding colony of brown pelicans; the only ones in the world that plunge-dive.
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Baltra
Eco Tour at Chinese Hat Island Galapagos. PM - Chinese Hat Chinese Hat is a 52 m/170 ft high volcanic cone, forming an islet off the rocky coast of Santiago, where a small colony of Galapagos penguins has settled. Because its primordial fire has been extinguished recently, this is an excellent place to learn more about volcanism, lava bombs and lava tunnels. On the beach, you can also find curious pillow-type lavas with coral heads on top! These spheres had a submarine origin before being lifted above sea level. Beaches of white coral sand grow, and holes in the eroding lava fields are filled up with lava sand, which enables rooting. Galapagos sea lions and countless marine iguanas contribute to fertilisation. This all together creates more favourable options for newcomers, like saltbush and the discolouring sesuvium carpet.
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Baltra
Accommodation.
Day 7
Baltra
Eco Tour at Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). Day 7 - Monday AM - Charles Darwin Research Station (Santa Cruz) The dinghies will bring you to the touristic pier of Puerto Ayora, from where you will be brought to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park Service, from which biological research and indispensable conservation management of this unique but vulnerable archipelago are directed. You will be taken on an educational stroll where your most memorable visit will be that of the successful breeding centre and the enclosure of the Galapagos giant tortoises. Transfer to Baltra airport
Before You Go
What to know before booking
Included
Lodging on board in a cabin with private facilities All excursions as mentioned in the itinerary (itinerary subject to change) with English speaking naturalist guide Shared shuttle transfer to Quito or Guayaquil airport *only departure transfer (included only if the Galapagos flight has been booked through us on our scheduled departure cruise dates) All transfers in Galapagos (airport-yacht-airport transfers are only guaranteed if the flight has been booked through us) Snorkeling gear (masks, flippers, and snorkel)
Not Included
Roundtrip flight to Galapagos Islands Galapagos National Park entrance fee (USD 200 pp, subject to change) Transit Control Card (USD 20 pp, subject to change) Airport transfers in Galapagos (only included if the Galapagos flight has been booked through us on the scheduled cruise dates. * If your arrival/departure is different than our scheduled cruise nights, the shuttle service is not included) Wetsuit rental Soft and alcoholic drinks Tips Travel insurance and other items of personal nature
Meeting & Pickup
Pickup from Baltra Airport.
Planning Notes
Hotel pickup offered: No Confirmation: Manual By Business
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