Today we were able to sleep a little more, because our flight from Guayaquil to the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands just started at 12 o’clock. The flight with LAN Airlines to San Cristobal took about 2 hours.
Table of contents
Entry to Galapagos
At the airport in Guayaquil we had to pay 10 USD each for a Transit Control Card. Every tourist who wants to go to the Galapagos Islands has to pay for it. Our entire luggage was scanned (mainly for fruits and other things that may not be imported to Galapagos) and sealed – and then we were allowed to check in.
The Galapagos Islands are an equator archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of 13 larger and more than 100 smaller islands. 97 of the country and 99 of the surrounding waters is under strict nature conservation and the extraordinary flora and fauna of the islands are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Entering the Galapagos Islands is strictly regulated, so when we arrived at the airport in San Cristobal we each had to pay a national park fee of 100 USD.
Our tour program “8 Days Galapagos Island Hopping”
To see as many of the different Galapagos islands as possible, we have booked an 8-day island hopping tour through the Agency Shine Galapagos. According to the tour operator, the tour program for the next few days looked like this:
Day 2 – After breakfast (7.30 am) you are going to do a bay tour, you have the opportunity to visit: Leon Dormido (It consists of a rock with in the form of an obelisk that emerges from the sea, good place to practice snorkel and dive). Lunch on the boat. Puerto Grande (The bay surrounded by mangrove forests; its waters are quiet and suitable for swimming. From the beach you can see hermit crabs, lava gulls, pelicans and blue-footed boobies feeding). Or Manglesito beach. Dinner, accommodation.
Day 3 – After breakfast (6.30am) you take a speed boat to Santa Cruz. Lunch. Afterwards you will visit the Highlands of Santa Cruz to see giant tortoises in the natural life. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 4 – After breakfast (7.30 am) you take a speed boat in order to travel to Isla Floreana ,we will visit the highlands, the freshwater springs and cultures of the zone. After lunch you visit the beach LOBERIAS where you can snorkel and enjoy the presence of sea lions and iguanas. Or Santa Fe Island, you can make snorkel to see: sea leons, marine turtles, sharks. After de lunch you visit Escondida Beach. 3:30 p.m. Back to Santa Cruz, dinner, accommodation.
Day 5 – Isla North Seymour.- Small island similar of Baltra, It has a vegetation characteristic of the arid zones of the islands. Hosts the largest breeding colony of the magnificent Frigate. So we can observe the blue footed boobies and migratories birds. Or Isla Bartolome.- It has spectacular landscapes. Among its main highlights: a sand dune and the Pinacle Rock, bays and beach with turquoise waters. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 6 – Breakfast (07:30 am). Visit the Charles Darwin Scientific Station. After de Lunch you take a speed boat to Isabela Island. Here we visit the Poza de Flamingos. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 7 – Breakfast (07:30). Hiking to VOLCAN SIERRA NEGRA (the 2nd largest and most active volcano in the world, last eruption on 22nd octobre in 2005)), and VOLCAN CHICO, where you get a snack. After lunch You take a boat to ISLA TINTORERA where you can observe penguins, sharks, sea lions, and colorful fish. So get the chance to snorkel at the beach. Return to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 8 – Return to Santa Cruz. Visit Los Gemelos (It is a place on the island where to find the Scalesia forest, endemic plans to this area). Transfer out to Baltra airport.
Arrival in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
San Cristobal is the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands and has an area of 558 km2. The highest point of San Cristobal is an extinct, heavily eroded volcano, which is 730 meters high.
After we got our luggage at the airport, we were picked up by an agency employee and taken to our first accommodation Royal Bambu Inn in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
The location is good. The harbour promenade can be reached in a few minutes on foot and can be observed endlessly. We had a twin room on the upper floor. After dragging the heavy suitcases up, you would actually need a cooling down. Unfortunately, the room does not offer this, because the air conditioning has hardly cooled at all, so sleeping has been difficult. The room was very spartan – for two nights, which we booked here as part of a tour, but ok. But we wouldn’t have stayed longer.
The beach “La Loberia” on San Cristobal
After lunch we visited with our guide the beach “La Loberia” at San Cristobal, where we first walked a bit along the coast.
Marine Iguanas on San Cristobal
Here you will find mainly the dark sea lizards (Marine leguanes), which sunbathe everywhere on the rugged volcanic rocks.
Blue-footed bollfish & sea lions on San Cristobal
On the cliffs we could see for the first time the blue-footed bollels typical of Galapagos. At the end we were snorkeling a little on the beach and watched the sea lions, who also like to take the benches 🙂
At about eight we had dinner at a nearby restaurant in San Cristobal and watched the final of the Superbowl 🙂
Unsere Reiseberichte von Ecuador & den Galapagos-Inseln
Unsere 10 Tage auf den Galapagos-Inseln zählen auf jeden Fall zu einem der Highlights unserer Weltreise. Die grandiose Nataur und die faszinierende Tierwelt hat uns unglaublich gut gefallen. Egal ob San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabella, Floreana oder North Seymour - jede Insel ist komplett einzigartig und es gibt immer etwas neues zu entdecken.» Insel San Cristobal: Einreise nach Galapagos & die Tierwelt von San Cristobal
» Insel San Cristobal: Schnorcheln am Kicker Rock
» Insel Santa Cruz: Puerto Ayora & die Schildkröten auf der El Chato Ranch
» Insel Floreana: Tagesausflug auf die Insel Floreana
» Insel North Seymour: Tagesausflug auf die Insel North Seymour
» Insel Santa Cruz: Auflug zum Bachas Beach
» Insel Santa Cruz: Die Charles Darwin Station & Überfahrt nach Isabella
» Insel Isabella: Die Vulkanlandschaft des Sierra Negra
» Insel Isabella: Ausflug zur Isla Tintorera & Schnorcheln mit Seelöwen
» Insel Isabella: Schnorcheln an den Los Tuneles
» Insel Santa Cruz: Leguane & Babyhaie in der Tortuga Bay
» Insel Santa Cruz: Tauchen an den Gordon Rocks
» Quito: Die Sehenswürdigkeiten der Hauptstadt