Day 01: Quito, Ecuador
Arrive Quito and transfer to your hotel for overnight. Dann Carlton HotelDay 02: Quito
Half-day city tour of Quito. This morning's sightseeing demonstrates some of the reasons why Ecuador's capital has earned its honor as a world cultural site. Marvel at the city’s ornate churches, cathedrals and baroque architecture, and experience a long history of local culture in Quito’s “Old Town” and in the San Francisco Church and Monastery. Rich in art treasures, fine woodcarvings and an altar of gold leaf, the church is an historical icon dedicated to Quito’s patron saint. Continue on to Panecillo Hill topped with a statue of Quito’s ‘Winged Virgin’ visible from almost anywhere in the city. You are welcomed by spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and the city below before culminating your tour with a visit to the Equatorial monument - an irresistible opportunity to straddle both hemispheres. Return to your hotel and enjoy the afternoon at leisure. Dann Carlton Hotel (B,L)
Day 03: Quito - Galapagos National Park
Transfer to the Quito airport to board your flight* to Baltra. Arrive Baltra where you are met by cruise staff and transferred to your cruise vessel - home for the seven-night cruise that forms the heart of your itinerary. The Galapagos, located approximately 600 miles off of Ecuador's Pacific coast, is a fascinating archipelago consisting of 13 large islands, 6 smaller ones and over 40 islets. Formed approximately four to five million years ago by underwater volcanoes that erupted and rose above the ocean's surface, the islands were made world-famous when Charles Darwin visited in 1835 and later wrote his famed "The Origin of the Species." Settle in, enjoy an introductory briefing and become acquainted with the ship, its crew and passengers. Overnight on board (B,L,D)Day 04 - 09: Galapagos National Park
Weather, water and wildlife conditions affect actual day-to-day itineraries, but visits are planned for the main islands and their landmarks, such as: Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé Island; Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island; Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez on Española; the volcanoes of Isabela Island; Prince Philip's Steps on Genovesa; and the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. Typical landings are by pangas (rubber boats) which carry you to island beaches where you can wander among the Galapagos' unique species. Here, visitors are objects of curiosity rather than fear. See sunbathing sea lions playing tag between surf and sand...skittering Sally Lightfoot crabs...tangles of marine iguanas...penguins, finches, pelicans, frigate birds, terns...boobies overhead and literally underfoot...the glint in the eye of a century-old tortoise. As you sail the blue waters between islands, there is time to relax, reflect and confer with your naturalist-guide about the sights you have seen and the sights yet to come. Overnight on board (B,L,D)Day 10: Baltra - Quito
Disembarkation and transfer to Baltra airport for your return flight* to Quito. Arrive Quito and transfer to your hotel for check-in and overnight. Dann Carlton(B)Day 11: Quito - Depart
Transfer to Quito International Airport to board your homebound flight. (B)
*Flights are not included in Land-cruise price.
