This famous archipelago straddles the equator 600 miles (1000 km) off the coast of Ecuador, and it is home to 24 endemic bird species. It is not just the hope for a few lifers that draws birders here, but the chance to get up-close and personal with wild animals that are still unafraid of humans; you can feel as if you are a participant in nature rather than just a spectator. The stark volcanic scenery is beautiful in its own right and some visitors find themselves returning again and again.

The Galapagos Islands are a photographer’s dream, and millions of photographs have been taken of nesting Waved Albatrosses, dancing boobies, displaying frigatebirds, and even the drab but fascinating finches endemic to the islands. We will explore these amazing islands from a medium-sized motor yacht which holds 16 passengers in comfort. All cabins have private bath and air conditioning. Plenty of food and juice are provided during the family-style meals, and snorkel gear is available. This itinerary is highly likely to change based on the very strict and ever-changing national park regulations. While we do our utmost to get the best itinerary possible and maximize the number of endemics seen, we will not know the exact itinerary until two weeks prior to the tour.

Day 1: Arrival in Quito. You arrive in Quito and are transferred to a hotel for the night.

Day 2: Baltra and Bachas. We begin our tour with a two-hour flight to the island of Baltra. After completing entry formalities, and meeting our local guide, we have a short transfer to the yacht, and we may even see Lava Gull, White-vented Storm-Petrel, and Brown Noddy even before getting on board. After lunch, it’s a short crossing over to Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island, where we’ll have our first taste of the Galapagos wildlife. Nearby scrub has Small and Medium Ground-Finches, and a series of lagoons often have a small colony of American Flamingos. This is one of the few almost reliable sites for the Galapagos Martin, and we hope to see it here right off the bat.

Day 3: Santa Cruz. We take a short trip by bus to the higher elevations of Santa Cruz Island, stopping at various sites for Galapagos Rail, Paint-billed Crake, Giant Tortoise, and some great sinkholes. The climate becomes more humid the higher we climb, and we’ll take a walk through a wet Scalesia forest, which is a very cool experience in itself. Here we’ll be looking for many of the scarcer Darwin’s finches, such as Woodpecker Finch, Vegetarian Finch, and Large Tree-Finch. After we have nailed these endemics, we shall return to the Charles Darwin station, where the more hard-core can try to photograph the finches around the buildings while others enjoy having fun with the tortoises or buying souvenirs. In the evening we set sail for San Cristobal.

Day 4: San Cristobal and Española. The coastal area of San Cristobal does not have the beauty of areas visited later on the trip, but the scrub does have the endemic San Cristobal Mockingbird. Once we find it, we’ll return to the boat and then head off to Española. Usually a fearless flock of Hood Mockingbirds is waiting for us as we land, scampering curiously around our feet, that compete with Large Cactus-Finches that regularly come bounding comically across the sand towards us. There is often also a pair of Galapagos Hawks looking on nearby. This day should also bring us our first majestic Waved Albatrosses gliding effortlessly alongside our yacht, as we cruise between islands.

Day 5: Floreana. This island was devastated by settlers and introduced predators in the 1800’s, but luckily the two endemics managed to survive. Medium Tree-Finch is found only in the higher elevations of the island, and we’ll hire the only bus on the island to take us up there. Once that one’s in the bag, we’ll head back to the yacht and cruise over to Champion Islet. This is one of the two tiny islands that support the last sixty or so Charles Mockingbirds left on the planet. While it is prohibited to land on the islands, we can take skiffs along the shore and get great views of the mockers. There should be time for some snorkelling a the Devil’s crown, then after dinner we cruise over to the large island of Isabela.

Day 6: Isabela. Waking early, the more intrepid birders might want to get up-close and personal with Galapagos Penguins by going swimming with them. Along with the penguins are the seriously funky looking Flightless Cormorants, and even more bizarre marine iguanas chomping away at the seaweed below. Later we will head over to Punta Moreno, where the fresh lava flows are yet to be colonized by plants, giving the area an eerie lunar feel. In the afternoon, we cruise north through the Bolívar Channel, which offers some of the best pelagic and whale watching of the trip.

Day 7: Fernandina. Mangrove Finch has begun very difficult to see in recent years, since it’s last stronghold at Black Turtle Beach on Isabela has now been closed to visitors. However, our November 2008 tour had what now appears to be the first documented record of Mangrove Finch from Fernandina since the early 1970′s, and we saw it again on our 2009 trip. We’ll still need a lot of luck, though, as it is a critically endangered species.. We’ll also search small brackish pools for flamingos, ducks, and a good chance of Galapagos Martin cruising overhead. In the afternoon we set sail for Genovesa, the longest crossing of the trip.

Day 8: Genovesa. Genovesa is simply fantastic. Huge numbers of seabirds nest on the island, including Great Frigatebird, Swallow-tailed Gull, Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, and three species of booby: Nazca, Red-footed, and Blue-footed. This is a great place to see some of the harder finches like Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch and Large Cactus-Finch, as well as Galapagos Hawk and the dark endemic subspecies of Short-eared Owl.

Day 9: North Seymour. We have a long journey back from Genovesa, but we shall arrive at North Seymour before we wake up. This is our best chance for land iguanas, and there are breeding colonies of Magnificent Frigatebird and Blue-footed Booby. Later we return to Baltra for our flight back to Quito.

Day 10: End of tour. You depart on morning international flights or join another Ecuador tour.

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TRIP CONSIDERATIONS

CLIMATE: Warm and overcast, occasionally sunny and hot. Water temperature can be surprisingly cool during this season.

DIFFICULTY: Fairly easy. Most trails are flat, but a few are a bit steep. The terrain is rough and rocky. It is necessary to transfer from the yacht to shore with small boats called pangas to reach many landing sites, and some of the landings are “wet” landings, where you have to wade from the panga onto the beach.

ACCOMMODATION: We have charted the Fragata yacht for the 2012 tour. Cabins are very comfortable and  have A/C and private bath. Single rooms cannot be guaranteed on the yacht without paying for an extra berth. If space is available at the time the tour runs, we will give out single rooms. The single supplement for the two nights in the hotel in Quito is $70 (2010 rate).