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Galapagos aboard Sea Star Journey 10 Days A+B

First Class - Cruise
Includes:
  • Transport
  • Sight Seeing
  • Food

The Galapagos Sea Star Journey has a capacity of up to 16 passengers, featuring seven spacious Galapagos Suites – Matrimonial (approx. 25,2 m) and one Sea Star Suite (approx. 35,2 m) equipped with panoramic windows to enjoy the wonderful landscapes of the islands. These come with a private bathroom, hot/cold water, air conditioning (with independent controls), a minibar and TV. Twin beds (or one faux queen bed) and connected suites are available for families.

Local and International dishes are served in the cozy atmosphere of the dining room. The yacht offers a large solarium with shaded and uncovered areas, two Jacuzzis and comfortable sun loungers. Social areas include a Saloon, mini-library and video library as well as a play zone for kids (during family departures). Snorkeling equipment and kayaks are available too without any extra charge.

Galapagos Sea Star Journey complies with local and international safety regulations.

DAY

PLACE

TUE

AM: Flight to San Cristobal Airport
PM: Chino Port, San Cristobal Island

WED

AM: Gardner Bay, Española Island 
PM: Suarez Point, Española Island

THU

AM: Cormorant Point, Floreana Island
PM: Post Office Bay, Floreana Island

FRI

AM: Santa Fe Island
PM: Plazas Island

SAT

AM: North Seymour Island
PM: Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz Island 

SUN

AM: Mosquera Islet 
PM: Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz Island

MON

AM: Black Turtle Cove, Santa Cruz Island
PM: Chinese Hat, Santiago Island

TUE

AM: Darwin Bay, Genovesa Island
PM: El Barranco, Genovesa Island

WED

AM: Bartolome Island
PM: Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island

THU

AM: Highlands, Santa Cruz Island
       Transfer to Baltra aiport



ITINERARY DAY BY DAY:

Day 1 

AM:  SAN CRISTOBAL
Upon arrival at San Cristobal airport, visitors must go through an inspection in order to verify that no foreign plants or animals are being introduced to the islands.  An entrance fee of $100 (unless it has been prepaid) must be paid to the Galapagos National Park in order to conserve the islands. A representative of our M/Y Galápagos Se Star Journey, will meet you right outside an, help collect your luggage, and escort your bus ride to the harbor.

PM: CHINO PORT AND BREEDING CENTER, SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND
In the afternoon, you will visit Puerto Chino. It is rife with huge cactus over the trail like trees. Once you get on the beach, you will enjoy its surroundings with it wildlife. Sea lions share the beach with people so its common see the puppies playing and swimming. Enjoy the deep blue waters with the waves and tide, occasionally there is wildlife to see, especially tortoises.

After, you will visit the Breeding Center Jacinto Gordillo, also known as the “Galapaguera” is a good place to observe Galapagos tortoises in its natural habitat.

San Cristobal island has endemic species such as: the Mockingbird  Nesomimus melanotis, lava lizard (Microlophus bivittatus), Chatham Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus leei) and the tortoises. All of these species can be observed in this place, the beach is really big and it works as a nesting zone for marine tortoises.

Day 2 

AM: GARDNER BAY, ESPAÑOLA ISLAND
Located on the north-eastern coast of Hood, Gardner Bay provides an excellent beach for relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and the opportunity to observe sea lions. Here we can also observe sharks in the crystal clear ocean waters.

PM: SUAREZ POINT, ESPAÑOLA ISLAND
This rocky land spot sustains one of the most impressive and varied colonies of sea birds in the Galapagos. Along its southern shore, high cliffs rise up from the sea affording the visitor spectacular views of soaring birds and of the blow whole where water spouts up to 50-75 feet into the air according to the intensity of the surf.

Day 3 

AM: CORMORANT POINT, FLOREANA ISLAND
This site offers probably the best Flamingo lagoon in the Galapagos; it is also one of the largest in the islands. It’s now between two tuff lava cones that give the area a special atmosphere. There are various species of shorebirds to observe besides flamingos; the most frequent are common stilts, white-checked pintail ducks and other migratory birds. It is very interesting to see the two distinct beaches: “The Green Beach” (due to its high percentage of olivine crystals in the sand) and the “Flour Sand Beach” which is made up of coral. 

PM: POST OFFICE BAY & BARONESS LOOKOUT, FLOREANA ISLAND
Historically, this site is the location of a wooden barrel placed here in the 18th century by the crew of a whaling ship.  Marines as well as tourist used it as a post office. The idea is to carry letters or postcards to their destination by hand. Apart from being the Post Office Barrel, this site was the landing area for some of the first colonists. We will continue to the north of the island and will ascent to an elevated slope to enjoy a beautiful vista at the Baroness Lookout. It is said that Baroness Eloisa von Wagner loved this place and spent several hours watching the horizon. If you walk around 30 minutes, you can see the ruins of her House. From this lookout, the landscape covers the coastline from the Enderby islet to Post Office Bay, as well as Cerro Pajas, the pool of flamingos and wide forest of Palo Santo. 

Day 4 

AM : SANTA FE ISLAND
Located in the southeastern part of the Galapagos, this island was formed from an uplift instead than a volcanic origin, this is why is mostly flat. There are some theories which assure this could be the oldest island in the Archipielago. Santa Fe is the home of a number of endemic species like the Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos snake, Galapagos mockingbird, rice rats and one of the two species of lands Iguanas of the islands. After disembarkation in the beautiful and clear waters you will be in contact with one of the many sea lion colonies.  You can see many salt bushes along the trail as well giant Pickly pear cactus, gigantism is a characteristic of oceanic islands. There are great possibilities of snorkeling with playful sea lions and tropical fishes.

PM: PLAZAS ISLAND
Plazas is located at the east of Santa Cruz Island, and forms part of two islands known as Islas Plazas. Despite its small size, you can see some of the most interesting and outstanding species of the Galapagos. The Plazas land iguanas are smaller than its relatives found at other islands. Throughout the island are several hybrid iguanas, a result of crossing a male marine iguana and a female land iguana, they are unique, recognizable at first glance by their black/gray color, with a land iguana’s crest, but face and tail of the marine iguana. The big population of iguanas is due to the presence of  tunas, their favorite food.  You can see Swallow Tailed Gulls nesting along the cliffs with other sea bids as: Audubon shearwaters, red-billed tropicbirds, frigate birds and brown pelicans.

Day 5 

AM: NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND
Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island and so is generally flat and strewn with boulders. There are good nesting sites here for a large population of magnificent frigate birds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open areas and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges.
Despite the tremendous surf that can pound the outer shore, you can see sea lions haul out onto the beach or surfing.
Watch your step, as the boobies don’t worry much about where they nest, and you might just step on one.  Also, you can see in the trees male frigate birds trying to attract the attention of the ladies by inflating their bright red skin flaps.
They sometimes fly in the air to call more attention to themselves. There’s a circular path that takes you through the island to a beautiful, rocky shore where the waves crash a silvery-blue. 

PM: BACHAS BEACH, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
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 favorite nesting site for sea turtles.  Behind one of the beaches there is a small brackish water lagoon, where occasionally 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, they were abandoned during the Second World War. It happened when the USA used Baltra Island as a strategically point to protect the Panama Channel.

Day 6 

AM:  MOSQUERA ISLET
The Mosquera Islet is located between Baltra and North Seymour Islands and it was formed by a geological uplift, in its narrowest width reaches 160 meters approximately. This islet has one of the largest populations of sea lions, visitors can also observe several species of shorebirds. If you are lucky you can also see dolphins and orcas around this islet.  

PM: DRAGON HILL, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
The visitor site at Dragon Hill has been open for visits on 1993. This site is located in northwestern Santa Cruz Island. It consists of a trail that lead to a hyper-saline lagoon behind the beach.  Here you can see flamingos, pintail ducks and other species of birds. This site has been re populated with land iguanas from Seymour, Isabela and Santa Cruz islands. There is a short walk to the Hill, which offers a beautiful view of the bay.

Day 7 

AM: BLACK TURTLE COVE, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
This little cove is located at the northern side of Santa Cruz Island. This is a red mangrove lagoon very calm and quiet which made an ideal place as nursery for many sharks and rays. Its crystal waters permits to observe large groups of white-tip reef, black tipped reef and hammer heads sharks, schools of golden rays and spotted eagle rays.  To visit this place, you have to use panga or kayak, due to, there are no landing sites. You can see sea turtles and sometimes they are in the mangrove waters. If you are lucky, you can also see Pelicans and Herons.

PM: CHINESE HAT, SANTIAGO ISLAND
This is a small islet (1 sq km) located just off the southeastern tip of Santiago Island. It is a recent volcanic cone, it shapes is like a Chinese hat when seen from the north side. On the west, you can see lava formations, formed under the sea and raised upward, this is why coral heads can be found on the lava. This is an excellent visit for interpretation of geological features such as lava tubes and lava flows. The landscape is full of sea lions colonies, marine iguanas, and Galapagos penguins.

Day 8 

AM: DARWIN BAY, GENOVESA ISLAND
This bay has origin when the crater of this island collapsed below sea level. The wet landing is on a beautiful white coral sandy beach. This is a favorite island for birdwatchers: red footed-booby, masked boobies, wandering tattlers, lava gulls, whimbrels Yellow-crowned, black-crowned and lava herons, with and yellow warblers can be seen in the area.
Continuing on the trail, visitors climb gradually to the edge of the cliff seeing Red-Foots nesting in the Mangrove trees below. Bird watching includes sightings of Sharp-Beaked Finches, Large Cactus and Ground Finches, Galapagos Doves and Swallow-Tailed Gulls. Reaching the end the trail at the cliff’s edge offers an incredible view of the island and the many birds living there.

PM: EL BARRANCO, GENOVESA ISLAND
El Barranco is located in the southern part of Darwin Bay and it is also known as Prince Philip’s Steps. Passengers will climb to a plateau that is part of the stretch of land that surrounds Darwin Bay on its eastern side. There is a big population of Masked boobies and Red-Footed boobies in the tree; Storm petrels and Short-eared Owls have found in Genovesa lava flows the ideal place for nesting.

Day 9 

AM: BARTOLOME ISLAND
Bartolomé Island is situated across Sullivan Bay. It has an altitude of 114 meters, from where we can observe one of the most beautiful sceneries of the Galapagos Islands such as: Volcanic cones, lunar-like craters, lava fields, and the famous Toba formed pinnacle eroded by the sea. There is very little vegetation on this island.
It has two breathtaking beaches where marine turtles exist and at the base of the pinnacle, as well as a very small colony of Galapagos penguins. 

PM: SULLIVAN BAY, SANTIAGO ISLAND
Santiago, also called James, or San Salvador Island, is located in the west central part of the Galapagos archipelago. It is the fourth largest island in the archipelago (following Isabela, Fernandina and Santa Cruz). Along with some of the large western volcanoes of Isabela and Fernandina, Santiago is also volcanically active. There are many young flows and cones to see, particularly along the south, west, and east coasts. These may even be seen from the summit of Darwin Volcano and from space. A number of historic eruptions was reported over the last 2 centuries. Santiago actually consists of two coalesced volcanoes: a typical shield volcano on the northwest end and a low, linear fissure volcano on the southeast end.

Day 10 

AM: HIGHLANDS, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
The trail to the highlands leaves from Bellavista and passes through the agricultural zone, near the National Park boundary, the Miconia Zone, and then goes to the Fern and Sedge zone.  With clear weather (unpredictable) this area affords beautiful scenes of rolling hills and extinct volcanic cones covered with grass and lush greenery all year round.

After this activity, you will go to the Baltra airport for your flight back to the mainland.

Important: Itineraries are unlikely to change significantly but are subject to change. Weather, wildlife breeding, safety concerns, instructions from the Galapagos National Park, specific abilities and interests of passengers as well as operational matters may cause your guide or captain to change the time or nature of visits. Your guide and captain will always endeavor to select the best itinerary within these limits.

Class:

Boutique Yacht (Superior first class)

Capacity:

16 Passengers / Cabins: 8

Length overall:

42 m / Beam: 9 m

Year of construction:

2011 in Guayaquil / Hull: Monohull of marine steel

Speed:

12 knots / Ship registry: Guayaquil – Ecuador

Deadweight:

450 tons / Gross Tonnage: 480 tons

Operated by:

Latin Trails / Fuel Capacity: 6.000 gallons

Port Registry :

Guayaquil / Machinery (Engines): 2 Caterpillar 340 HP

Generators:

Perkins 114 cabe A / Water maker: 2000 gallons per day

Water:

10000 gallons capacity

Communication System:

Satellite phone

Tender:

2 Zodiacs CARIBE C-16 / Radar: 1 Radar Furuno 38.4 Km, 1 Radar Furuno 57.6 Km

Life Rafts:

2 Zodiacs for 10 and 25 people    

Radio:

Several consoles HF-VHF-UHF, Nactex, Distrex and handheld units

Navigation Equipment:

1 Satellite compass, 2 magnetic Compasses, Tracking equipment.

Security equipment:

Smoke detectors, sprinklers throughout the vessel, automatic CO2 tank for kitchen and engine room

Details

Cost Includes:
  • All transfers in Galapagos: Airport-Yacht-Airport
  • Accommodation in double cabins
  • Three meals a day, drinking water, tea or coffe
  • Excursions in the islands with English Speaking Nature Guide
  • Snorkelling Equipment
Cost Excludes:
  • Galapagos National Park Tax: USD 100.00 to be paid in cash in Galapagos
  • Galapagos Transit Card: USD 20.00 per person
  • Soft drinks and alcoholics beverages
  • Tips