Ecuador & Galápagos Islands: Integrity Expedition
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Why You Should Go
UNESCO declared the Galápagos’ 19 islands and surrounding marine reserve as a “living museum and showcase of evolution.” Situated on the convergence of three ocean currents, the Galápagos plays host to an affluence of marine life. Its continuous seismic and volcanic activity is an exciting study that not only illustrates how the islands were created but that it is ever-changing. The meeting of such unique environmental conditions for an isolated archipelago has lead to the highest levels of endemism (species found nowhere else) on the planet. Please note, some exploration hikes can be arduous, for example, the hike up Prince Philip’s Steps on Genovesa Island. To explore this site, one of the boats we recommend is the Integrity.
What sets the 16-passenger Integrity apart from every other yacht or catamaran in the Galápagos is its earned experience. In its 10 years, the Integrity has never missed a day of service and arguably has some of the most prestigious naturalist guides in all of the Galápagos. For more information on the Integrity, click here to read our scouting trip blog post! There are other luxury vessels we recommend for visiting the Galápagos, which you can read more about here.
Best Travel Time: Spring Summer Fall Winter
The Galápagos is great to travel year-round, but for a more in-depth weather guide, you can visit our blog here.
*All of our comprehensive private tour itineraries are inclusive of all luxury accommodations, private guide/driver throughout, daily meals as specified, INTERNAL flights/rail /private transfers as needed, & all taxes/service fees.
Sample Itinerary
8 Days
Each private luxury tour is custom to the wishes of each client. This itinerary is a sample. Partnering with our long-established relationship with United Airlines, our sister company, TRAVNET, may provide competitive Polaris/Business Class international airfare, along with mileage points conversion.
Day 1
Fly to Guayaquil + Arrive Guayaquil
Through our sister company, premium air provider TRAVNET, we may assist with your international airfare, as well as with mileage points conversion.
Upon arrival in Guayaquil, you will be privately transferred to the Hotel del Parque for your overnight stay.
Accommodations: Hotel del Parque
Day 2
Fly Guayaquil/Baltra Island + Board the M/Y Integrity
Following breakfast, you will be privately transferred to the airport for your flight to Baltra Island.
Upon arrival in Baltra, you will take a short ferry to Santa Cruz Island, where you will see its famed giant tortoises and visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. Following your short tour, you will be transferred to the dock for boarding and a safety briefing on the Integrity.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 3
Española Island & Punta Suarez National Park
Today, you will land on the white sand beaches of Española Island, where sea lions lounge, marine turtles nest, and the curious Española mockingbirds follow your every footstep. This is a great spot for snorkeling through the clear waters before continuing on to Punta Suarez National Park with a beautiful vista featuring the famous El Soplador, a seaward blowhole that shoots water some 75 feet in the air.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 4
Punta Pitt & Cerro Brujo, San Cristobal Island
Punta Pitt is one of the few places on Earth where it is possible to see all three kinds of boobies: Nazca, blue-footed, and red-footed; and two species of frigates.
Your next stopover will be Cerro Brujo, located on the north coast of San Cristóbal Island and offering a fantastic landscape. After an afternoon panga ride, you will have the chance to snorkel and see an amazing array of sea life at Kicker Rock, including manta rays, sea turtles, and sharks. Non-snorkelers may enjoy a close cruise around dramatic Kicker Rock.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 5
Santa Fé & South Plaza Island
Today you will disembark on the white sand beaches of Santa Fé, met by sea lions, and walk into a giant Opuntia cactus grove, where endemic land iguanas reside. You may follow this with snorkeling or kayaking to fin rays, urchins, eels, and fish of all types.
Your day will end at South Plaza Island. Being a smaller island, you will notice more interactions between terrestrial and marine animals. A carpet of succulents serves as groundcover for a grove of luminescent, green prickly-pear cacti. Yellow-grey land iguanas sit beneath, waiting patiently for pears to drop. Along the coastline, one finds frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, and shearwaters gliding in the thermal air currents that form along the cliffs of this small but amazing island.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 6
Genovesa Island
Your first stop today will be at Darwin Beach, formed by the rim of a sunken crater. The highlight of this site is the incredible abundance of red-footed boobies, great frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, and yellow-crowned night herons. A panga ride to the eastern cliffs of Darwin Bay is the next activity. Here, you will explore the massive colonies of red-footed and Nazca boobies, and thereafter, walk through the extraordinary Palo Santo Forest, where petrels dart about and short-eared owls prey.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 7
Santiago & Bartolomé Island
This morning, you will first visit a young lava flow, formed in the second half of the 19th-century. The lava contrasts the black pahoehoe flow against the reddish-yellow tuff cones for a stunning sight.
Later, you will visit arguably the most recognized landmark in Galápagos, Pinnacle Rock. Here, you will have the greatest opportunity to swim alongside Galápagos penguins while snorkeling!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The M/Y Integrity
Day 8
Fly Baltra/Guayaquil/Home
After breakfast on board the Integrity, you will disembark at Baltra Island, where you will be transferred to the airport departure VIP lounge and checked-in for your return flight to Guayaquil and subsequently, home.
Meals: Breakfast
Hotels
Opened in January of 2017, this historical, 44-room, luxury, boutique hotel is our new favorite property in Guayaquil! This hotel is located in the lush Guayaquil Historical Park in the upscale Samborondón area of the city. Hotel del Parque offers a surreal and calming oasis from the noisy city center. Originally conceived in 1891, the building served as a homeless shelter for the elderly and disabled. The rooms are spacious, including extra-large bedrooms with modern bathrooms. Among the amenities is the amazing restaurant, Casa Julian, which overlooks the hazy Daule River. The hotel offers an outstanding spa service, located in the chapel’s bell tower, with spectacular 360° views over the gardens.
Hotel del Parque
Opened in January of 2017, this historical, 44-room, luxury, boutique hotel is our new favorite property in Guayaquil! This hotel is located in the lush Guayaquil Historical Park in the upscale Samborondón area of the city. Hotel del Parque offers a surreal and calming oasis from the noisy city center. Originally conceived in 1891, the building served as a homeless shelter for the elderly and disabled. The rooms are spacious, including extra-large bedrooms with modern bathrooms. Among the amenities is the amazing restaurant, Casa Julian, which overlooks the hazy Daule River. The hotel offers an outstanding spa service, located in the chapel’s bell tower, with spectacular 360° views over the gardens.
The Integrity has a capacity of 16 passengers with 10 crew members and one naturalist guide. There are a total of six 150 sq. foot staterooms on the Main Deck, one fixed-twin stateroom, and a 350 sq. foot Owner’s Suite. The standard staterooms offer plenty of space along with double windows, providing a scenic backdrop during your Galápagos exploration. A writing desk, small lounge, storage cabinet, and a full-sized shower make this feel like a fully functioning hotel room. The Owner’s Suite takes up the bow of the main deck, covering its entire width. For those desiring ultimate privacy and luxury, this does the job. Each room includes a TV, individual climate control, private en-suite bathrooms, and large double windows.
For rest and relaxation, passengers have a partially covered sun deck lounge with a 360-degree bar for their choice of view. There is also a platform at the bow of the boat, which is the recommended spot for watching dolphins surf the bow waves. At nighttime, you can search for bioluminescent life in the water at the viewing platform!
For more information, read our full blog post here.
The M/Y Integrity
The Integrity has a capacity of 16 passengers with 10 crew members and one naturalist guide. There are a total of six 150 sq. foot staterooms on the Main Deck, one fixed-twin stateroom, and a 350 sq. foot Owner’s Suite. The standard staterooms offer plenty of space along with double windows, providing a scenic backdrop during your Galápagos exploration. A writing desk, small lounge, storage cabinet, and a full-sized shower make this feel like a fully functioning hotel room. The Owner’s Suite takes up the bow of the main deck, covering its entire width. For those desiring ultimate privacy and luxury, this does the job. Each room includes a TV, individual climate control, private en-suite bathrooms, and large double windows.
For rest and relaxation, passengers have a partially covered sun deck lounge with a 360-degree bar for their choice of view. There is also a platform at the bow of the boat, which is the recommended spot for watching dolphins surf the bow waves. At nighttime, you can search for bioluminescent life in the water at the viewing platform!
For more information, read our full blog post here.
Request Custom Itinerary
Location
Overview
| Temperature |
|---|
| Highs: Low 70’s |
| Lows: High 50’s |
| Area |
|---|
| 272,045 SQ KM |
| 105,037 SQ MILES |
| Capital |
|---|
| Quito |
| Population |
|---|
| 16.5 Million |
| Language |
|---|
| Spanish & indigenous languages |
| Currency |
|---|
| US Dollar |
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