Galapagos Explorer II

One of the best and most beautiful cruise ships operated on the Galapagos Island. Galapagos Explorer II offers you a great variety of possibilities and activities. You are cordially invited to the daily lectures about the unique archipelago de Galapagos, rent one of the various reference books or videos about the islands and inform yourself about them in quiet minute in your suite. Enjoy life music in the bar or dancing in the lounge. Get spoiled by the chef de cuisine with Ecuadorian and international delicacies. Individual menu wishes will be fulfilled and for all meals you have free toss-up. Independent from the category of suite you choose, you will be surrendered by the luxury of Galapagos Explorer II. The suites feature queen size beds or 2 single beds. Each of the 50 suites has an ample private bathroom with shower, wardrobe, TV with video and minibar. All are lovely decorated to feel like home.  

Technical facts and specifications

Type	First Class Superior Vessel
Year of Construction	1990
Length	89.35 Meters
Speed	17 knots
Capacity	up to 105 passengers
Crew	6 naturalist tour guides

Itinerary Overview

Saturday:	Santa Cruz Island – Cerro Dragon
Sunday:	Bartolome Island / Santiago Island – Puerto Egas
Monday:	Fernandina Island – Espinoza Point /Isabela Island – Vicente Roca Point
Tuesday:	North Seymour Island/ Santa Cruz Island – Highlands
Wednesday:	San Cristobal Island
Thursday:	Española Island – Suarez Point - Gardner Bay
Friday:	Santa Cruz Island – Charles Darwin Station / Rabida Island
Saturday:	Santa Cruz Island – Las Bachas / return flight

Detailed Itinerary

Saturday: Flight to Galapagos - Baltra / Santa Cruz Island - Cerro Dragon
Morning arrival on Baltra Island where you firstly will pay the national park entrance fee before you be met by your guide and be transferred to the dock to board the boat. Here you will start your cruise with your first excursion on Santa Cruz Island. You will visit Cerro Dragon. This mountain is an excellent spot for observing land lizards, wading birds and Darwin´s finks. -/L/D

Sunday: Bartolomé Island / Santiago Island - Egas Port
Arriving at Bartolomé you will ascend to a lookout point from where you can admire the spectacular panorama of the Sullivan Bay and the famous needle shaped rock, the so called Pinnacle Rock. The beaches at the foot of the Pinnacle Rock boast some fine snorkeling spots from which you can discover the marvelous underwater world with a good chance to encounter penguins or the softly gliding turtles. Then you will land at Santiago Island, also known as James, or San Salvador Island, which is the fourth largest island in the archipelago. The influences of the former salt mine workers and their imported animals are still alive on the island. The last tries to populate Santiago Island were given up fourty years ago. Visit the dark sand beach with a lot of marine iguanas at Egas Port after a wet landing. After a short walk of about 2 km along the coast you will reach the cliffy lava coast with natural pools where sea lions take a bath and herons and other sea birds are as well local. Additionally, you can encounter a small group of sea lions. The surrounding area is good for spotting and observing colonies of sea lions, red sally light-foot crabs, lava iguanas, Galapagos buzzards and lava herons. B/L/D

Monday: Fernandina Island - Espinoza Point / Isabela Island - Vicente Roca Point
In the morning you will visit Fernandina Island which is not only the westernmost but also the youngest and the pristinest island found in Galapagos. In 2005 the last eruption of the volcano La Cumbre created huge fields of lava. Espinoza Point, one of Fernandina’s visit points, is situated within a fascinating lava scenery with lava-cactuses and on the surface of the lava growing mangroves. Besides this unique scenery you will come in contact with numerous animals here. The highlights are sea lions, penguins, the flightless cormorant (especially in spring and summer) and one of the biggest iguana colonies of Galapagos. Do not miss a snorkeling trip, in it you will have the possibility to explore the beautiful underwater world. This afternoon will lead you to the largest island of the archipelago, Isabela Island. With a surface of 4588 sq.km the isle engages more than the half of the land area of whole Galapagos. Located at the ‘mouth’ of the head of the sea horse, which forms the northern part of the Isabela, is Vicente Roca Point, an interesting rock formation. Here the remnants of an ancient volcano form two turquoise coves with a bay well protected from the ocean swells. With good luck you can observe penguins in the deep blue sea. Masked and blue-footed boobies and pelicans sit perched along the point and the sheer cliffs, while flightless cormorants inhabit the shoreline. B/L/D

Tuesday: North Seymour Island / Santa Cruz Island - Highlands
After a dry landing, you will have a short walk along the coast of the northernmost island of Seymour. Guests will encounter swallow tailed gulls, sea lions and cliff crabs. This site is also known for being a major nesting colony of blue footed boobies, and the largest colony of the magnificent frigate bird, different species to the great frigate bird. You can also spot both endemic species of iguanas, the marine iguanas and land iguanas. You will enjoy this relaxing hike around the nesting sites. In the afternoon you will visit the highlands of Santa Cruz. In the lush landscape there is a welcome contrast to the arid scenery of the smaller, lower islands. On your way you will cross the different zones of vegetation, from the dry lower region full of cactuses to the woods of scalesia in the highlands. Points of interest are the famed lava tunnels, a fun and geologically informative visit. During a visit of a hacienda in the highlands you can observe the Galapágos giant tortoises in their natural habitat. B/L/D

Wednesday: Choice between Loberia Beach, Lobos Island, Lagoon of Junco or San Cristóba Interpretation Center - Cerro Brujo
After a short walk you will arrive at a small white beach, called La Lobería. On its shore you can not only encounter a lot of sea birds, so for example the frigate or blue footed booby, but also the local sea lion colonies and marine iguanas. The beach is a perfect place for fascinating landscape pictures because of the unusual colour of the plants as they near the beach.
Or you can visit Lobos Island, which is located in front of San Cristobal Island. It is a seasonal nesting location for the blue footed booby and frigate birds. You also should enjoy swimming and snorkelling with sea lions in this calm bay. 
The El Junco Lagoon is located in the highlands. It is the only resource of fresh water on the whole island. Here you can observe various birds like frigate birds or Darwin finks.
Or, you can visit the interpretation center. The center will give you a good impression of the history of the Galapagos Islands.
In the afternoon you will visit Cerro Brujo. This fascinating lava landscape is located on the northeast coast of San Cristobal. At the rocks you can observe boobies, sea gulls and some pelicans. The protected bay is very popular by young ocean turtles and rays and there a excellent swimming and snorkeling possibilities. B/L/D

Thursday: Española Island - Suarez Point – Gardner Bay
Española is the southernmost and oldest island of the Galapagos archipelago. Because of its isolated position you can explore a lot of endemic wildlife. In the morning you will have an excursion to Point Suarez which is one of the most outstanding wildlife areas of the archipelago, with a long list of species found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches. In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there are the curious and bold Española Island mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and Galapagos hawks. Several types of reptiles, including the marine iguana and the oversized lava lizard, are unique to this island. When heavy swells are running, Suarez Point is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air. The walkabout on a stony path is about 2km (duration about 3 hours). Gardner Bay is on the eastern shore with turquoise shot coloured water and a magnificent beach. Around the small islets nearby, snorkelers will find lots of fish and sometimes turtles and sharks. The bay is also frequented by a transient colony of sea lions which like to swim with you. Birds, like the endemic Hood-Mockingbird and different species of Darwin finches, are omnipresent. B/L/D

Friday: Santa Cruz Island - Charles Darwin Station / Rábida Island
Today you anchor at the harbour of Puerto Ayora on Island Santa Cruz. Beside its rank as homestay for sea lions and pelicans, the marina is a popular starting point for round-the-world-yachtsman. The island itself has come to be both touristic and scientific center of the archipelago. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park offices are based on Santa Cruz Island. The station encompasses an information centre, a museum, a library and the tortoise breeding station as well. Here you will have an opportunity to visit some of the best scientists of the Galapagos. Park rangers and park managers among others, who make huge efforts to preserve this Unesco World Heritage Site, conduct the conservation of the islands. In the  tortoise breeding and rearing centre you can encounter tortoises of different subspecies, which are prepared for reintroduction to their natural habitats. The most popular inhabitant of this island is probably Lonesome George. He is the only survivor of his specific turtle species. In the past all approaches to find a partner for him failed. But in July 2008 the scientists found a carved nest wit nine eggs from a female tortoise. Three of them could be saved and now accordingly to strict instructions they are incubated syntheticly. In the afternoon you will make an excursion to the small volcano Rábida Island with its dark red beach. A small path there leads you to the little lagoon, which is often visited by flamingos. On your way to this lagoon you will pass nesting pelicans and other sea birds. The beach of Rábida Island is considered as one of the most beautiful places to go snorkeling. Because of a huge richness of fishes you can also observe a lot of sea lions there. B/L/D

Saturday: Santa Cruz Island - Las Bachas Beach / Baltra - flight back to mainland
In the morning you will visit the long sandy “Las Bachas Beach”. Here you will encounter sea lions, herons and marine iguanas and with good luck penguins.  You also have the opportunity to swim offshore of this soft white sand beach. Snorkelling enthusiasts can explore the fascinating underwater world as well. Afterwards you will be escorted to the airport of Baltra Island and from there you will fly back to Ecuador mainland. B

B: Breakfast / L: Lunch / D: Dinner

Prices per Person for 2010

Type of cabin deck	CRUISE "A” 3 NIGHTS / 4 DAYS	CRUISE "B" 4 NIGHTS / 5 DAYS	CRUISE "C" 7 NIGHTS / 8 DAYS
	Wednesday to Saturday	Saturday to Wednesday	Wed to Wed/Sat to Sat
Renaissance Suite Explorer/ Erickson	USD 2,095.-	USD 2,795.-	USD 4,590.-
De Luxe Suite Erickson	USD 1,965.-	USD 2,615.-	USD 4,300.-
Premium Suite Marco Polo	USD 1,700.-	USD 2,270.-	USD 3,720.-
Classic Suite Magellan/Columbus	USD 1,545.-	USD 2,060.-	USD 3,385.-
Fuel surcharge per person:	USD 78 .-	USD 104 .-	USD 182 .-

Single cabins on request + depends on availability
Discount for children under 12 years: 50 %
Discount for children under 12 years on Christmas and New Year: 75 %

Included in the price: All transfers in Galapagos, 8 days cruise on board of the GALAPAGOS EXPLORER in double accommodation with all facilities, english speaking naturalist guide, purified water free to drink.

Not included in the price: flights mainland to/from Galapagos (e.g. Quito – Galapagos – Quito USD 420.- per person), entrance fee to Galapagos National Park USD 100.- per person, migration card USD 10.- per person, beverages, tips, personal items, insurance.

NB Itinerary is subject to change without previous notice, due to weather conditions, operational matters, National Park Authorities advise, or Captain´s decision for passengers security

NET RATE FOR THE FLIGHT TICKETS TO GALAPAGOS
ROUTE	ADT	CHD
Quito - Galápagos - Quito	420.00	216.00
Quito - Galápagos - Guayaquil	396.00	205.00
Guayaquil - Galápagos - Guayaquil	369.00	195.00