This famous archipelago straddles the equator 600 miles (1000 km) off the coast of Ecuador, and it is home to 26 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 rolls of film have been spent on 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. Please note that this itinerary is subject to change based on national park regulations.

Day 1: 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. Here we’ll be met by the crew of the yacht, which will be our home for the next week. After boarding, we steam to a nearby beach where Small and Medium Ground-Finches can be seen in the scrub. A nearby lagoon often has a small colony of Greater Flamingos. This is one of the few almost reliable sites for the Galapagos Martin, and we hope to see it here and relieve the pressure at some of the other sites.

Day 3: Santa Cruz. We take a short trip by bus to the higher elevations of Santa Cruz Island, visiting Media Luna 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 finches we still need, such as Woodpecker Finch and Vegetarian 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. 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, where the highlight has to be the wonderful Waved Albatross, which nests only here and on Isla de la Plata off the Ecuadorian coast. This island is also the home of the Hood Mockingbird, a bird so tame it will sometimes land on people.

Day 5: Floreana. We’ll approach Floreana Island around dawn, passing close to Champion and Gardner Islets. These tiny islands support the last populations of the critically-endangered Charles Mockingbird, which was extirpated from Floreana by introduced predators. After enjoying views of the mockingbird, we head higher up on the island to try for another rare endemic, Medium Tree-Finch. After dinner we cruise over to the main island of Santa Cruz.

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.

Day 7: Fernandina. Punta Espinoza is one of the last strongholds of the Mangrove Finch. This bird is critically endangered and is now restricted to only a few small patches of mangrove. In the afternoon we will head for Genovesa, giving us a great opportunity to look for some rare pelagics.

Day 8: Genovesa. Genovesa is simply fantastic. Huge numbers of seabirds nest on the island, including Magnificent Frigatebird, Swallow-tailed Gull, Red-billed Tropicbird, 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 an 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 area is very good for land iguanas and we’ll spend quite a lot of time watching them, and the Common Cactus-Finches feeding on Opuntia  flowers and fruits. This is one of the few places where, with a little luck, you can get a photograph of a bird on the back of a reptile. Later we return to Baltra for our flight back to Quito.

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

TOUR INFO:

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 with a Zodiac to reach many landing sites, and some of the landings are "wet" landings, where you have to wade from the Zodiac onto the beach.

ACCOMMODATION: Cabins are small, but have A/C and private bath. Some cabins have bunk beds, others have normal beds. 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 $60.