Galapagos with Plazas Island

You are met by an our representative at the airport in Quito and provide transfers at Grand Hotel Alameda Mercure or similar in Quito. + Buffet Breakfast.

After breakfast, we will travel around the colonial section of Quito and admire architectural monuments, la Basilica church, Independence Square, with the Presidential Palace and the colonial Churches. Visit the toy workshop, you will find wooden toys, like spin toys. Visit the Api Real store, they produces products such as soaps, creams and shampoos, based on honey and its merger with essential oils and extracts 100% natural. Quesadillas, delicious dessert, typical of Quito, you will learn the secret recipe. Drive up to the “Middle of the World City” (entrance included) where the monument that divides the Northern from the Southern Hemisphere will be visited. It was built during the XVII century when a French Expedition defined the precise location of the equatorial line. The “Intiñan Museum”, known as the Equinox solar Museum, can also be visited. Overnight at Alameda Mercure in Quito + Buffet Breakfast.

Early in the morning you will have a transfer to the Quito airport for your flight to the Galapagos (not included). When you arrive at the Galapagos island you will be greeted by a tourist guide to take you to Santa Cruz. You will check into the hotel and eat lunch. After you will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and its interpretive center. The Research Station has been instrumental in stabilizing the ecosystem and preserving the natural wonders the islands offer. Here we will have the great opportunity to see and explore this famous place.

After breakfast you will depart for North Seymour Island. Quite a small island in terms of land mass, Isla Seymour is definitely worth visiting. To explore the island, follow a circular trail roughly 2 km long leading inland and along the rocky coast that will take you through some of the biggest sea bird breeding colonies in the entire Galapagos. Here you will find birds nesting, mating and rearing their chicks all year round. Blue-footed Boobies and Frigatebirds are the main attractions here. Since most of the wildlife and birds in the Galapagos Islands are quite fearless, it is possible for visitors to get an up close view of the nests of many of the birds here, including the lovely Swallow-tailed Gulls and bright Yellow Warblers. Lunch at a local restaurant. Location & Geography: North Seymour island is located immediately north of Baltra Island, less than an hour from the Ithabaca canal. The small, flat island was formed by seismic geographical uplifting. Terrestrial Wildlife: Nesting Blue-Footed Boobies and Frigatebirds, Colonies of California Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, Land Iguanas, Swallow-tailed Gulls, Red-billed tropic birds and Nazca Boobies Marine Wildlife: Galapagos Sharks, White-tip Sharks, Large Rays, Pelagic and Reef Fish Overnight in Galapagos.

At 7 a.m., a bus will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the dock at Itabaca Canal where you’ll board the boat that will take you to Plazas Islands. After navigating two hours, and just upon landing, we can see one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the archipelago. A few meters beyond the landing dock, a group of land iguanas are always observed. The trail then leads to the other side of the island, which is very small and rectangular. We walk along a cliff, where you can observe land iguanas, some marine iguanas, and birds – such as blue-footed and masked boobies, nesting swallow-tailed gulls, Galapagos’ shear waters and tropic birds – on the cliff or soaring above it. As well, frigate birds and pelicans often fly over the bluff. Despite its small size, this is home to a large number of species and is famous for its extraordinary flora. This island is very popular with domestic and foreign visitors because of its attractive, beautiful thorn trees, cacti and of course the large colony of Galapagos land iguanas. Depending on the season, the vegetation changes color from intense green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season! Dinner in local restaurant and overnight at Hotel in Santa Cruz + American Breakfast.

Breakfast in the Hotel, transfer to the Baltra’s airport approx at 08:00 a.m., Flight Galapagos to Quito or Guayaquil.

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