Samba Galapagos Cruise

On arrival at Baltra Airport all visitors pay their entrance fee to the Galapagos National Park and get their hand luggage checked by the Quarantine system. You will then be met by the Samba’s naturalist guide, who will assist you with your luggage collection and accompany you on a short bus ride to the harbor to board the Samba.

After a light lunch the Samba will navigate for 25 minutes to Las Bachas. These white sand beaches are located on the northern shore of Santa Cruz Island and they are the most important nesting site for the green Pacific sea turtles of the Galapagos. Named Las Bachas after the American military occupation on Baltra during the Second World War, the place is a peaceful and beautiful introduction to the Enchanted Islands. On the shore is easy to encounter marine iguanas, Sally light-foot crabs, Blue-footed boobies diving and, in a nearby lagoon, we often find grater flamingos, Black-necked stilts and other shore birds. Swim or snorkel from the beach. (Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 2 (Wednesday): Genovesa (Tower) Island: Darwin’s Bay & Prince Philip’s Steps

After 6 to 7 hours of navigation from Santa Cruz you will wake up to the beautiful cacophony of one of the largest tropical sea bird colony on the planet. The cliff tops are decorated with frigate birds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, tropic birds and many other pelagic animals. Darwin Bay is the home of many nesting sea birds. Following a wet landing and with the early morning light you will blend in with the red-footed boobies displaying for potential mates as they collect nesting material.

The great frigate birds inflate their gulag sacks hoping to attract a female while others play their favorite game: piracy. Darwin’s finches, Galapagos doves and mocking birds stroll the ground to find seeds and insects. The red mangroves, cactus and saltbushes contrast with the blue sky and the dark basaltic walls.

Following lunch you will do a dry landing to climb Prince Philip’s Steps. The steep ascend takes you 100 feet above sea level, to be welcomed by the elegant silhouette of red billed tropic bird and the aerobatic Galapagos shearwater, both interact with the precipice on fast approaches. The lava rock trail takes through the endemic dwarf incense tree forest, to find more red-footed “lancers” nesting and many of their gannet-like relatives, the Nazcas, loudly claiming the floor as their residence. The Palo Santo forest is dormant most of the year, to awaken in the rainy season and contaminate the air with a refreshing aroma.

As you exit the forest you may need to catch your breath at the sight of thousands of storm petrels flying erratically beyond the lava flows. This is the perfect scenario for the island predator to make a successful kill. The short-eared owl, known elsewhere around the world as a nocturnal predator, in Genovesa hunts in bright daylight. More cat than owl, the bird waits patiently outside lava tunnels and crevasses to capture the stormy petrels as they leave their houses after feeding their young.

Snorkeling on Tower offers a view of a wide variety of tropical fish. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 3 (Thursday): Marchena Island: Punta Meja & Playa Negra

All boats will travel back south after sailing to Tower; the Samba is the only one heading west-northwest. The Galapagos National Park Service has granted the Samba the chance of using Marchena’s magical shorelines to snorkel, dinghy ride and kayak. The endless and untouched lava flows here are met by the murmur and surge of the Pacific swells and musical argument of sea lions. Punta Mejía is one of the best sites in the Archipelago to snorkel. The calm and clear deep-blue water of the northwest coast, and the dark, hostile landscape give the sensation of witnessing the beginning of our planet and its underwater world. Apart from great fish diversity, rays, reef sharks and sea turtles are often seen while snorkeling.

Navigating southwest for 45 minutes to Playa Negra is always an exciting experience. More than once has this adventure seen bottle-nosed dolphins, other cetaceans or feeding frenzies. After an early afternoon snorkel around recently formed lava grotto where marine iguanas feed, you will start a 5- to 6-hour sail to the west. As the yacht gets further from the island the sea floor changes dramatically, and the cruise enters deep water; an oceanic drop-off. The Cromwell current, which arrives from the west from the very profound waters, brings richness to the surface and generates a superlative upwelling. As a result, there are positive effects throughout the marine food chain and the Samba has a good record of sighting cetaceans and other ocean wanderers. Whales or dolphins are never a guarantee, but the crew will do its best to find them. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 4 (Friday): Isabela Island: Albemarle & Punta Vicente Roca

At Punta Albemarle, human history has left its footprint on this small corner of the Galapagos. Punta Albemarle, the northernmost point of Isabela, was an important U.S. radar station to prevent any Japanese attempt of destroying the Panama Channel. A small and deteriorated building is a reminder of the boredom and routine that rusted the mind of the juvenile navy officers. The soldiers were in charge of the three-week shifts where they never saw any action.

Nevertheless, the wildlife gives the best example of constant struggle for survival, a fight were only the fittest continue. The recent lava flows are the nesting ground of the only flightless cormorant in the world and the basking terrain of the largest marine iguanas of Galapagos. Because not many boats visit this site, the shy cormorant builds its bulky nest with seaweed , showing total indifference to human presence. As the morning advances the iguanas give a show of adaptation as they wander into the sea to feed on green and red algae. With this fantastic setting you can only be reminded that the only constant of the Islands is change.

Punta Vicente Roca offers an overwhelming diversity of geological formations. Located on the southwest end of Ecuador Volcano only a few miles south of latitude 0°, the area is an outstanding example on how the Islands were formed and how the forces of change have transformed the landscape and shaped the wildlife. Vicente Roca is the home of tuff cones and lava dikes and is fertile ground for erosion. You look at the dramatic structures from the dinghies, as you also enjoy watching the Galapagos penguins, brown noddies, Blue-footed boobies and other marine life. When the waters are calm enough the snorkeling is fascinating. The walls of the tuff cones are full of colorful invertebrates and rich algae blooming give you a great chance of watching numerous sea turtles feeding. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 5 (Saturday): Fernandina Island: Punta Espinoza & Isabela Island: Urbina Bay

Only 30,000-100,000 years old, Fernandina is the youngest island of the Archipelago. This immature shield volcano is less than an instant in the geological time scale. Not even your wildest imagination can give you a better setting to experience the start of life of an island. The whole Island is cover with lava. However, at Punta Espinoza the shoreline is teeming with life, with reptiles, birds and mammals all coexisting, singing and mating.

It is a living museum with piles of marine iguanas, playful sea lions, hard-working flightless cormorants, dwarf penguins, busy Sally light-foot crabs and much more. Don’t forget to look around because Galapagos hawk is always on the hunt. The site is a true cradle of evolution. Snorkeling with turtles, iguanas, cormorants and plenty of fish is the best way to refresh after the lava walk.

The west islands are the youngest and most active of the Archipelago. Located in the center of Isabela Island, Alcedo Volcano is a reminder of the historic volatility of these islands. On the west shore line of Alcedo lays Urbina Bay. The landmass of the inlet was uplifted in 1954, creating nearly a mile of shoreline where many coral reef extensions were exposed to air as the upheaval rose from the seabed.

The brand new land became a perfect nesting terrain of the land iguana. The land iguanas of Isabela are the largest in the Galapagos and in Urbina the colorful population offers a great example of their growing potential. The impressive yellow, orange/brown iguanas roam the low lands looking for flowers, fruits, leaves and shoots of their favorite plants. Also, when the rains arrive is possible to see giant tortoises sharing the land with the other primitive looking reptile. Urbina is a reminder of Jurassic times. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 6 (Sunday): Isabela Island: Elizabeth Bay and Punta Moreno

Isabela Island constitutes almost half of the entire surface of the Archipelago. It is nearly 100 miles long and offers a remarkable diversity of habitats. Shaped like a seahorse and with volcanoes over 5,000 feet above sea level, it is also the place of birth of vast mangrove extensions. Elizabeth Bay is the only place of the Earth where old tropical mangrove forests and penguins can be conjugated on the same sentence. The ecosystem is also the residence of spotted eagle rays, sea turtles and a nursery for fish and marine invertebrates. With the outboards off and using only our oars for speed, you enjoy this serene array of life.

When you land on Punta Moreno you understand why the Spanish Bishop who discovered the Islands said, “It was as if God had decided to rain stones.” When he first set foot on a lava field he struggled to find fresh water and in desperation was reduced to chew on cactus pats to quench his thirst. More than three centuries later a young naturalist named Charles Darwin saw beyond the lava. Darwin was amazed by the colonization of plants and the start of life over this terrain. He thought this process could easily compare to the origin of life in our planet. The mystery of mysteries…. The pioneer cactus growing over the country of lava is contrasted with stunning oasis. Where lava tunnel roofs have collapse, brackish water accumulates to give life to greater flamingoes, moorhens, black-necked stilts and Galapagos Martins. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 7 (Monday): Floreana Island: Highlands & La Loberia

Floreana Island (Charles) is home to barely more than 100 Galapagean inhabitants. The first island settled, Floreana offers a unique view into the history and lore of the enchanted islands.

Floreana was colonized by Ecuadorians in 1832. Under the assignment of General José de Villamil, Ignacio Hernandez took possession of this island in this archipelago in the name of the brand new Republic of Ecuador. The name “Floreana” pays tribute to Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador, under whose government the islands were acquired.

You travel up to the highlands of Floreana while your naturalist guide fills you in on the history of the island. You walk through Scalesia woodland to the Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum), an artisan spring that attracted pirates, whalers and later settlers to Floreana. This is one of the very few year round sources of fresh water in the Galapagos. Nearby is the cave of pirates where the first settlers lived, perched at the top of the island. You stop to take in this birds-eye view of the island.
By now you may have realized that anywhere sea lions gather is called La Loberia. This afternoon you take to the beach for the opportunity to snorkel with the frolicking sea lions. Parts of the path leading up to this point can be rocky and it is helpful to have a sturdy shoe. La Loberia is also a good place to spot sea turtles swimming by and marine iguanas basking in the sun. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 8 (Tuesday): Santa Cruz Island: Highlands & Charles Darwin Research Station -or- Baltra Airport

If you are not joining the Samba for 15 days, before you go to the airport you will stop at the Highlands of Santa Cruz. At 1,800 feet the greenery offers the opportunity to admire the remnant of a Galapagos mature forest. The Daisy trees of the genus Scalesia decorate a couple of extraordinary geological formations. Known as “Los Gemelos,” this collapsed crater and its surroundings are the home of many Darwin’s finches, mocking birds, vermillion flycatchers and a wonderful diversity of indigenous plants. It is important to leave the boat early in the morning to have a pleasant visit. Breakfast will be served at 6:00 a.m.

Departing visitors going to Baltra Airport and those who are staying on the Samba for a second week will go together in a bus to Los Gemelos. Departing guests visit the craters and clients staying on board will have a full morning around the Highlands to see lava tubes and giant tortoises in their natural habitat. If you are remaining on board have lunch on the Samba. (Breakfast)

A transfer guide will meet all arriving guests from Baltra Airport.

After to settling into your cabins on board the Samba and having a snack, you will land for the afternoon stopover at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here you will learn how the magic is done behind the scenes. This NGO celebrates 50 years of scientific work important to the conservation status and the restoration of the Galapagos. An important partner in the duty of preservation of this pristine archipelago is the National Park Service and they run the tortoise breeding center. (Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 2 (Wednesday): Floreana Island: Punta Cormorant & Champion / Post Office Bay & Baroness Lookout

Following a four-hour navigation from Puerto Ayora your group will do a wet landing on a volcanic olivine beach. Punta Cormorant lays on the northern shore of Floreana and is the house of greater flamingos and sea turtles. On one side, the point is partially flooded with a brackish lagoon where flamingos nest and feed. Whimbrels, herons and stilts are other common shore and migratory birds of the wetlands. On the other side sea turtles use every corner of a white sand beach to deliver their eggs. You often see stingrays and reef sharks from the shore and if you are lucky turtles ending basking.

Around mid-morning the group takes a dinghy ride and snorkels at Champion Islet. This small piece of land is one of two places were the Floreana mocking bird survives after its extinction on the big Island. While trying to find the rare bird from a dinghy, you will enjoy a beautiful landscape full of fairy tale cactus and terracotta rock formations. Soon sea lions will invite you to enjoy the water. The snorkeling around the island is extraordinary, lots of fish, rays, sharks and the playfulness of the Galapagos sea lions.

Adventure, survival, mystery and murder are the main ingredients for the next stop. Post Office Bay has left a legacy of pirates, whalers, scientific expeditions and drama. After a wet landing you walk a short distance to be part of the most important Galapagos tradition. Later, you will kayak or ride a dinghy to the west. You will go through a small set of islets with a sea lion colony, boobies and mangroves. Finally, following your ride you will land at the Baroness lookout. On top of this eroded spatter cone you will embrace the vivid obscurity of the human history of “Las Encantadas.” (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 3 (Thursday): Espanola Island (Hood): Punta Suarez & Gardner Bay & Gardner Islet

Hood is the oldest Galapagos Island, the Queen. Her Majesty has travel 100 miles away from the volcanic hotspot; she sets an example of splendor and wisdom. When landing on its western tip, on Punta Suárez, it is difficult to digest the beauty and the overwhelming amount of life. It takes a few minutes to understand that you are not dreaming and that the marine iguanas are really covered with fiery colors, sea lions leisurely wander around you, blue-footed boobies and Sally light-foot crabs coat the rocks with their intense grace. The long walk leads you the finest illustration of ancient sea bird colony. The endless cliff shaped by strong wave action and the force of the wind is the home of the only tropical albatross of the Earth. This mythical elegant glider shares the precipice with many others sea birds like the tropicbirds, the Sallow-tailed gull, and the Nazca booby.

Depending on weather conditions, either at the end of the morning or early in the afternoon, you will snorkel or kayak around Gardner Island. Its calm waters and attractive landscape give you a great experience above and below water. Located on the north coast of Española, Gardner Bay has tranquil white sand beach. The fine grains of sand make perfect terrain for a soft walk and a relaxing late in the afternoon. You won’t be alone, as sea lions and Hood mocking birds will keep you company. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 4 (Friday): San Cristobal Island (Chatham): Isla Lobos & Kicker Rock & Punta Pitt

You will wake up to the barking of Galapagos sea lions, animals after which the Island was named. After a dry landing on Isla Lobos, you begin a walk on rocky terrain. To your surprise, you’ll come across Frigate birds nesting on this small flat Island. With their magenta and green iridescent feathers, they decorate the saltbushes. The island is also the nesting ground of blue-footed boobies. Don’t miss the chance of swimming with sea lions; few sea creatures are as playful as these marine mammals.

Before lunch you navigate by a dramatic tuff cone formation, Kicker Rock. The eroded structure has vertical walls of over 450 feet and has a great numbers of sea birds nesting and resting on it. After circumnavigating the rock and admiring its magnitude, you will jump into the water to swim with Galapagos sharks, sea turtles, and eagle rays and explore drop-offs full of colorful fish and invertebrates.

On Punta Pitt the group has a wet landing late in the afternoon to climb a tuff cone and enjoy the sunset. This point is closest to mainland South America. Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, frigate birds and storm petrel nest in the area. The ochre-color beach is perfect for a relaxing plunge after the walk. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 5 (Saturday): Santa Fe Island: Barrington Bay & South Plazas Island

The bay looks as if artists ornamented it. Barrington Bay is one of the most picturesque inlets of all visitor sites of the Galapagos. The white sand on the seabed reflects the light to turn the calm waters turquoise. A small forest of gigantic prickly pear cactus grows on a peninsula that keeps the bay sheltered. These are suitable conditions for the large sea lion colony found here. Santa Fe is an ancient extinct volcano and it has been isolated from other island long enough to have an endemic land dragon. Paler in color than its relatives, the Barrington terrestrial iguana has a primitive morphology. Galapagos Hawks, mocking birds, finches and endemic rice rats are company to yellowish monster. The snorkeling won’t disappoint you.

A two-hour navigation north will take the group to South Plaza. The dry landing takes you to a brilliant combination of life and colors. Land iguanas wander through bright-red carpet weed, Swallow-tailed gulls nest on overhanging cliffs and red-billed tropicbirds and shearwaters fly with dancing displays. Mind the pirates of the sky; they will strike if you drop your guard. This 13 acres of beauty is one of the best spots in the archipelago to see land iguanas and swallow-tailed gulls, both indigenous to the Galapagos. There are iguana nests scattered over the hills. The sheer cliffs of the southern shore are a perfect bird habitat, making it an unparalleled bird observatory for especially swallow-tailed gulls, Audubon shearwaters, and red-billed tropicbirds.

With enough time and good weather, you will swim or snorkel in Punta Carrion — a great way to end an active day! (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 6 (Sunday): Santiago Island: Sullivan Bay & Bartolome Island

The genesis of the islands is easy to recognize at Sullivan Bay. The coiled shiny structures of the pahoehoe lava appear as if they were formed yesterday. Located on the east shores of James Island, the 132-year-old lava flow has intact driblet cones. Older cinder cones were flooded by the rivers of lava and are a great example of aging igneous rocks. The contrast of colors and shapes of the basalt make for an out-of-this-world landscape. You’ll feel like you are walking on Mars. Bartolome Island offers an explosive volcanic landscape. Get ready to climb above 270 feet to admire the dramatic spatter cones and the view of Pinnacle Rock that everyone wants. Later, take a walk on magical golden beaches where sea turtles nest (December to March). Don’t forget to make time to swim near penguins, sharks and lava tubes. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 7 (Monday): Rabida Island & Santiago Island: James Bay

Galapagos offers a diversity of geological formations without boundaries. The island of Rábida has lavas rich in iron and after millions of years of exposure to air they have turned red. The rusted volcanic material has eroded to form a beautiful crimson sand beach, lovely for a walk. The protected shore provides excellent conditions for a Galapagos sea lions nursery and brown pelicans use the nearby saltbushes as a resting and nesting area. Hawks and mocking birds are common visitors of the lowlands. Furthermore, you will find that snorkeling of the beach can be very exciting as sharks, rays and many colorful fish are often visible.

Subsequent to a two-hour sail northwest the group hits the beach with a wet landing at Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay. The magical shorelines of the west of James Island are a combination of tuff cone, lava flows and organic sand. The rocky coast with a very gentle slope is used by a great number of shore birds and reptiles. Oystercatchers, whimbrels, sanderlings, turnstones, tattlers and other waders are mixed with marine iguanas and bright painted crabs as they feed in this rich littoral zone. For a grand finale, you visit large, partially collapsed lava tunnels that are shelters of the Galapagos fur sea lions. The snorkeling is some of the finest in the archipelago. Sea turtles feeding, parrot fishes, damsel fishes, white-tipped reef sharks and many more. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

DAY 8 (Tuesday): North Seymour Island & Baltra Airport

The visit to North Seymour is the best way to say goodbye to the Galapagos. Following a dry landing at sunrise, you will walk amongst the largest blue-footed booby colony of the Islands. During the breeding season you will enjoy their dancing and singing to find a mate. Not far from the dancers are nesting Great and Magnificent frigate birds. The males inflate their pouches to attract the ladies that fly above them. Swallow-tailed gulls and tropicbirds decorate the large basaltic walls of the island.

You will be back on board for breakfast at 8:00 and get ready to check-out at 9:00. It is always a good idea to do most of your packing the previous night so you can have a pleasant last early morning visit and a relaxed breakfast. (Breakfast)

* This is the normal itinerary approved by the Galapagos National Park. We usually visit the above visitors’ sites. The time spent at each place will depend on the variety of wildlife present, weather conditions, etc. and decided by the guide and captain on board.