8-Nights Ecuador Galapagos Adventure Cruising on Western Loop from $9,365

MT Sobek

OFFER ID 1680445

Follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin on this small-group adventure through the enchanted islands of the Galapagos. Take in the natural wonders and rich wildlife on Santa Cruz, Isabela, Fernandina, and Santiago. The western islands are more volcanically active, studded with craters, and a rippled lava landscape, as well as stunning beaches. Hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking under the guidance of MT Sobek's dedicated naturalist guide gets you amazingly close to the wildlife both underwater and on land. After each action-filled day, return to your intimate 16-passenger private catamaran to rest and re-energize.

Highlights:

Marvel at the incredible diversity of species and habitats visiting 9 landing sites in 6 days
Explore an array of pristine islands, from volcanic Isabela to wildlife-rich Fernandina, accompanied by our expert naturalist guides
Behold black lava landscapes teeming with marine iguanas, and swim with sea lions, turtles, and penguins

Important Trip Details:
5 days of swimming, snorkeling, and easy walking and hiking on terrain that is varied and uneven, plus one day of touring in Quito.

Minimum Age: 8

8 nights from $9,365 per person

Itinerary

Click here for Full Itinerary Details

Itinerary Details

MT Sobek: Ecuador Galapagos Adventure Cruising on EcoGalaxy Western Loop

Day 1 Arrive in Quito
1-hour private van transfer
Welcome to the historic city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. An MT Sobek representative will meet you outside customs at the airport and escort you to your hotel. After settling in at the hotel, the rest of the day is free to unwind, take advantage of the hotel's pool and spa services or begin your exploration of this dynamic city. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Accommodation: Swissôtel Quito

Day 2 Tour Quito’s Old Town
1-2 hours/1 mile of walking in Quito's Historic Center
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before setting out on a half-day guided tour of colonial Quito. The city's UNESCO-listed old town contains the best examples of Colonial Baroque architecture in South America! After lunch, you are free to explore more of the old town, return to the hotel, or shop for handicrafts made by local artisans. Gather in the hotel at 6:30 pm for a briefing with your fellow travelers and MT Sobek representative, who will discuss tomorrow's flight to the Galapagos Islands and the adventure ahead. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Accommodation: Swissôtel Quito
(B, L)

Day 3 Fly to the Galapagos Islands & See Giant Tortoises in the Wild
2-hour flight transfer and 1-hour private vehicle transfer
1.5-2 hours/1 mile of easy walking
Rise for breakfast and an early transfer flight from Quito to Baltra Island in the Galapagos. After meeting your naturalist guide, take a short transfer from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island. Here a private vehicle awaits to take you to the lush highlands of Santa Cruz for a special opportunity to see giant tortoises in their wild and natural habitat. The Galapagos Islands are named after these magnificent, ancient creatures and the experience with them is magical. Having gotten to know the islands' endearing namesake, transfer to Puerto Ayora this afternoon and board your private catamaran. Enjoy a welcome dinner onboard.
Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
(B, L, D)

Day 4 Discover Flightless Cormorants at Isabela’s Elizabeth Bay
AM 2 hours/1.5 miles of moderate hiking, Zodiac cruise, and snorkeling; PM Zodiac cruise
In the morning, disembark at Moreno Point on the west coast of Isabela Island. As you glide along the striking rocky shores by Zodiac, begin to watch for the abundant birdlife that makes this island a birdwatcher's paradise! Once on land, follow a scenic path through lava rocks leading to mangroves and tide pools, where green sea turtles and white-tip sharks can be spotted. Then snorkel in search of sea turtles, diving cormorants, and even penguins. In the afternoon, explore the sheltered beauty of Elizabeth Bay, surrounded by large mangroves and rippled lava fields. Take a Zodiac cruise to explore many channels, pools and coves teeming with life. This is one of the best locations in the islands to see Galapagos penguins. Flightless cormorants also nest in the area and blue-footed boobies and pelicans often fish in these shallow and rich waters. Rays and sea turtles are also abundant. Return to the boat for cocktail hour and dinner.
Accommodation: EcoGalaxy
(B, L, D)

Day 5 Swim With Penguins at Isabela’s Urbina Bay & Tagus Cove
AM 1.5-2 hours/1 mile of easy walking plus snorkeling; PM 1.5-2 hours/2 miles of moderate walking plus panga cruise or kayak, and snorkeling
After breakfast, make a wet landing to explore Urbina Bay, on the southeast side of Isabela. Volcanic activity in the 1950s uplifted the seabed, remarkably exposing corals and invertebrates in its strata. Follow your guide on the trail to look for Galapagos land iguanas, Galapagos hawks, finches, and (mostly between January and June) giant tortoises. Snorkel from the beach to see sea turtles, cormorants, penguins, and an abundance of colorful fish. In the afternoon, look for whales and dolphins as you navigate north along Isabela's coast toward Tagus Cove. Plunge into the sheltered waters, a great place to snorkel with penguins and plentiful fish. Head inland on a guided walk to see inscriptions left by whalers in the 1800's and stunning saltwater Darwin Lake, After the walk, cruise by Zodiac or paddle by kayak to look for penguins, cormorants, marine iguanas, and the endemic Galapagos martin, one of the most endangered species on the island.

(B, L, D)

Day 6 Snorkel with Sea Turtles & Marine Iguanas at Pristine Fernandina
AM 2-2.5 hours/1.5 miles of moderate hiking plus snorkeling; PM 1 hour/0.6 miles of easy hiking
Awake at Fernandina, the archipelago's youngest island and a true highlight of the journey. Step ashore at Punta Espinosa into a dramatic volcanic landscape where hundreds of marine iguanas—the largest colony in the Galapagos—bask in the sun. Sea lion pups splash in tidal pools, flightless cormorants dry their stubby wings, and Galapagos hawks perch in mangroves, scanning for prey. Snorkel among sea turtles and marine iguanas, with the rare chance of spotting a cormorant underwater as it chases fish through the reef. In the afternoon, land at Albemarle Point on the remote northern tip of Isabela Island, a site seldom visited by other groups. Walk across stark lava fields among some of the archipelago's largest marine iguanas, as well as Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and shorebirds. See the remains of a former US radar base from World War II. If tides allow, finish with a Zodiac cruise in search of penguins, sharks, sea turtles, and rays along the mangroves.

(B, L, D)

Day 7 Hike, Snorkel, & Kayak at Santiago Island
AM 2-2.5 hours/1.5 miles of easy walking plus snorkeling; PM 1.5-2 hours/1.4 miles of easy hiking plus snorkeling and kayaking
Step onto the dark, volcanic sands of Santiago's Puerto Egas after a wet landing and follow the rugged shoreline to tide pools where sponges, hermit crabs, and fish dwell—including the world's only four-eyed blenny. Sea lions bask on lava rocks alongside marine iguanas and shorebirds, and a colony of Galapagos fur seals frequent a grotto at the trail's end. Snorkel from the beach to see fish, sea turtles, and reef sharks glide over the rocky bottom, often joined by curious sea lions. This afternoon, make another wet landing on Santiago's sandy Espumilla Beach. Walk along the coastal lagoon framed by mangroves and native dry forest, home to raptors and a great diversity of finches. Then set out by Zodiac or kayak to explore historic Buccaneer Cove, once a 17th- and 18th-century pirate hideout. Snorkel among angelfish, parrotfish, and snappers while spotting reef sharks, turtles, and playful sea lions below cliffs and volcanic cones in one of the Galapagos' most scenic bays.

(B, L, D)

Day 8 Return to Quito
2-hour flight transfer and 5-minute transfer
AM 1-1.5 hours/1 mile of easy hiking
Wake up early for one last excursion in the islands, exploring one of two remarkable sites—Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz, where flamingos gather at a saltwater lagoon, or Daphne Major, home to nesting seabirds and groundbreaking finch evolution research. Snap some final photos before returning to the ship for breakfast and preparing to disembark at Baltra for your flight back to Quito. An MT Sobek representative will greet you at Quito airport and provide assistance to your nearby hotel.
Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport
(B)

Day 9 Depart Quito
Use the complimentary airport shuttle to transfer to the airport in time for your outbound flight, or opt to stay on in Quito to join us for one of our extensions in Ecuador or Peru!
Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport
(B)

Featured Destinations

Isla Santiago

Also known as San Salvador or James, Santiago is the fifth-largest and one of the most visited of the Galapagos Islands. It is uninhabited, and there was a failed attempt at colonizing it in the 1930s. There are three visitor sites, and the two on the western coast of the island are Puerto Egas and Playa Espumilla.

Puerto Egas, on James Bay, offers a black-sand landing beach with impressive wind-carved, tuff-stone layers. The relatively flat, black-lava shoreline is broken up by pools, caves and promenades, where hundreds of marine iguanas sun themselves, seek mates and slither into the sea. Their black skin camouflages them among the lava rocks.

Playa Espumilla is a nesting area for sea turtles and, when the lagoon is filled, a place to see white-cheeked pintail ducks and flamingos. The estimated flamingo population on the Galapagos is around 500-1,000. These animals are an endemic subspecies of the flamingos commonly found in the Caribbean region.

Dozens of bright red-orange Sally Lightfoot crabs, among the only people-shy creatures on the islands, frolic in the tide pools and scurry on the rocks. The area also has a colony of fur seals, which are endemic to the islands but closely related to fur seals in Antarctica. The snorkeling is good along the rocks, where it's possible to see colorful fish, moray eels and sharks.

At the east end of the island is Sullivan's Bay (across from Bartolome Island). A volcano spewed a stream of lava there in 1897, and it still reaches to the sea. Visitors can follow a marked trail over the lava to see fascinating untouched volcanic formations such as pahoehoe lava. Only a few plants have taken hold there, including an unusually shaped cactus and some carpetweed.

Sombrero Chino (Chinese Hat) is a popular snorkeling spot 656 ft/200 m off the coast. These beautiful waters are a playground for sea lions, sharks, penguins and manta rays. A series of seven diving sites offer divers the chance to get up close to the best of Galapagos' marine life.

Isla Fernandina

Puerto Ayora

Isla Baltra

Isla Isabela

The largest of the islands, Isabela has the Galapagos' tallest peak—Volcano Wolf—at 5,487 ft/1,646 m. The island resembles a sea horse when seen on a map. Also known as Albemarle, the island was formed when six volcanoes erupted and melded together. About 2,000 people reside there, mostly on the southern tip of the island in Puerto Villamil. Few cruise ships visit the town, but they do stop regularly at several park sites elsewhere on the island.

Tagus Cove on the western side, across from Fernandina Island, was a favorite spot of pirates and whalers, who scrawled the names of their ships on the surrounding cliffs. Visitors can hike from the bay up a steep hill to Darwin's Lake, the cone of an old volcano that's full of green sulfur and saltwater. Those who continue partway up the base of Volcano Darwin can take in panoramic views of nearby islands. Galapagos penguins and the world's only flightless cormorants are often visible along the shore. Three types of finches that Darwin collected on his visit to Isabela are also present.

Other sites on the west coast that are often visited by cruise ships include Urvina Bay, with giant tortoises, iguanas, flightless cormorants and pelicans; Elizabeth Bay, an aquatic mangrove forest that pangas sometimes explore (with motors off) in search of green turtles, rays and sea birds that inhabit its lagoons and channels; and Punta Moreno, which offers the chance to see a variety of birds, including great blue herons and flamingos.

To see the island's other sites, longer stays are required. Overnight visitors staying at Puerto Villamil can take a bus to the base of Volcano Sierra Negra and then walk or ride horses to its rim for wonderful views. Volcano Alcedo, in the center of the island, used to be the centerpiece of a four-hour hike, but a massive campaign to eradicate feral goats has put a moratorium on this excursion.

The town of Puerto Villamil has a pleasant beach, with a dozen or more cafes, shops and hotels located right on the beach. Nearby is Lover's Beach, a good place to view sea birds. Las Tintoreras is a great location to watch resting whitetip reef sharks, large marine iguanas, rays and Galapagos penguins.

Galapagos Islands

Quito

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges

11/19/2026 - 11/27/2026

from $9,365 per person

02/11/2027 - 02/19/2027

from $9,365 per person

03/25/2027 - 04/02/2027

from $9,365 per person

07/15/2027 - 07/23/2027

from $9,365 per person

11/18/2027 - 11/26/2027

from $9,365 per person

* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.

Prices Start At

from $9,365 per person

Length

8 Nights

Air City

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Vacation Rating

Deluxe

Remarks

Prices subject to availability and change without notice. Some restrictions may apply.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID

1680445

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8-Nights Ecuador Galapagos Adventure Cruising on Western Loop from $9,365

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