Best of Santa Cruz – 7 Days / 6 Nights
Santa Cruz Island with its capital Puerto Ayora is the touristic center of the Galapagos Islands. It’s the starting point of various day tours bringing you to the most emblematic places in the archipelago. Discover the unique flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands above and under the water surface with a mixture of dive and land tours and make the most out of your one week stay on the islands.
There is always more to explore, but our ‘Best of Santa Cruz’ package will give you the highest chance to fall in love with local nature.
Price:
From $ 1950.00 per person*
*Minimum package price based on 6 nights in an economy accommodation with 2 travelers in a double or twin standard room, incl. taxes.
Important Information:
- The order of the dive/land tours can vary upon your dive experience, our itinerary and current availability
- Your flight IN must arrive until 1:00 pm to Baltra airport, so to have enough time for the visit of the highlands (approx. 4 hours; the National Park closes at 5:00 pm)
Day 1:
- Pick up Baltra airport
- private transfer In
- highland visit (incl. naturalist guide (bilingual Spanish/English), full transportation and hot lunch at the farm for the giant tortoises)
- After the tour: Gear fitting at the dive center and drop off at the hotel, Puerto Ayora
Details:
Your naturalist guide knows the history of the WWII Baltra air base. After a brief crossing of the Itabaca Channel, continue to the Santa Cruz Highlands with your guide in a chartered vehicle.
First stop: Los Gemelos. These collapsed twin craters were formed when the island was still an active volcano. This area is one of the few where the endemic Scalesia forest is almost intact. Some Finch species and the Galapagos dove are here.
Second stop: Rancho Primicias or Butterfly Farm, where we see the giant tortoise in their natural habitat, the highlands of the island. Tortoises wander around the farms bordering on the National Park Tortoise Reserve. We also see occasionally the endemic Pintail Duck and Gallinules.
Third stop: Lava tunnels; experience a moment of total darkness. Lava tunnels form at the heart of giant lava flows and show us the violence of the magma as if frozen in time.
Day 2 + 3:
- Dive Days
Details:
Full day dive tours incl. 2 dives per day, guide (max. 5 divers/guide, max. 10 divers on board), full dive equipment, transportation (dive center <> sites), hot lunch, snacks and towels. The sites depend on our itinerary, your dive experience and the current availability.
Day 4:
- Full day land tour to an uninhabited island
Details:
Select one of the 4 land tours offered from Santa Cruz: Bartolome, Santa Fe, Seymour or Plazas. The tour includes a naturalist guide, transportation (From/to Puerto Ayora), lunch on board, snacks and water, snorkel equipment and towels
Day 5:
- Dive Day
Details:
Full day dive tours incl. 2 dives per day, guide (max. 5 divers/guide, max. 10 divers on board), full dive equipment, transportation (dive center <> sites), hot lunch, snacks and towels. The sites depend on our itinerary, your dive experience and the current availability.
Day 6:
- Full day land tour to an uninhabited island
Select a second island you’d like to visit: Bartolome, Santa Fe, Seymour or Plazas. The tour includes a naturalist guide, transportation (From/to Puerto Ayora), lunch on board, snacks and water, snorkel equipment and towels.
Day 7:
- Pick up from the Hotel and transfer out to Baltra airport.
- Accommodation in Puerto Ayora incl. breakfast (*except Casa de Mathias – no breakfast offered)
- 3 dive days including 6 dives and dive equipment
- Visit of the Santa Cruz highlands
- 2 land/snorkeling tours to uninhabited islands
- Naturalist Guide (English and Spanish speaking) for the land/snorkeling tours
- Snorkeling Equipment (Mask, snorkel, fins) for snorkeling tours
- Snacks, Lunches and Beverages as described in the itinerary
- Transfers from/to airport on Baltra Island
- Meals not mentioned in the itinerary
- Tips
- Wetsuit for snorkeling tours
Most operators still have them onboard and if you would like to you can rent them for around $5.00 per person
Although most things are included in our tours we would like to give you some advice on what to bring to your Galapagos vacation.
- Sun Protection (Sun cream and a cap or hat) – This is really expensive on the islands
- Wind-proof jacket or sweatshirt
- Light hiking boots / sport shoes
- Refillable water bottle
- Swimsuit
For sure, you can also bring your own dive equipment if you want to. Please note that our regs are YOKE system. So, maybe you would need to bring an adapter if you use the DIN system.
If you are just interested in this land tour, just fill out the little box to the right (on mobile below) and click on “Enquire now“. If you are interested in other land tours as well as in diving, then please fill out the following reservations form. This will help us to directly design a first offer for you.