Early morning departure from London Heathrow by Iberia to Madrid (2 hours 20 minutes) continuing by non-stop flight to Quito (11 hours). On arrival in the afternoon, you will be met and transferred to the Hilton Colon.

Morning sightseeing of Quito and the Equatorial Monument. Quito’s colonial quarter is one of the largest and best preserved of South America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your walk starts at the Independence Plaza, flanked by the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, the Municipal Building and the Archbishop’s Palace. Visit the temple of La Compañía de Jesús and its awesome gilded interior. Continue on to the Monastery of San Francisco, one of the great religious buildings of the New World; its impressive façade and atrium that lead to its Baroque interior influenced by Moorish style, with the winged Virgin of Quito at its main altar. Afterwards continue to the Equatorial Monument, 25 kilometres north of Quito, which marks the exact Middle of the World, latitude 0º, where you can stand with a foot on each hemisphere. Visit the Ethnographic Museum inside the monument, which shows the different Native American groups living in Ecuador. Beside the monument there is a colonial-style town, complete with main square, church, post office, bullring, cafeterias, restaurants and many gift shops with postcards and souvenirs. The afternoon is free.

Free. Optional excursions can be booked locally.

Fly to the Galapagos Islands (3 hours) and embark on the M/V Eclipse. The captain and his crew will welcome you aboard and demonstrate the safety procedures. Afternoon visit to the white sand beach of Las Bachas on Santa Cruz Island, a major nesting site for sea turtles. On shore, see marine iguanas and flamingos in the lagoon.

In the morning visit James Island and its black sand beaches at Puerto Egas and Buccaneer Cove; the island is good for spotting finches, doves and hawks and also seeing fur seals. The afternoon is spent at Bartolome, a small island with beautiful white sandy beaches, green mangroves and a colony of penguins.

Morning visit to Dragon Hill on the northern side of Santa Cruz Island where it is possible to see land iguanas, Darwin finches and yellow warblers. Vegetation here includes Palo Santo trees and cacti. Afternoon visit to the small island of Rabida, noted for its unusual reddish beaches. A wet landing is made here and you can take a short walk to a lagoon where we should see flamingoes and pelicans.

The morning is spent at Fernandina Island, where flightless cormorants, sea lions and marine iguanas can be seen. Later, sail to Isabela Island, visiting Tagus Cove. A hike to Darwin Lagoon offers superb views of Darwin and Wolf volcanoes.

Spend further time on Isabela Island visiting Elizabeth Bay taking a panga ride through mangroves to see rays, turtles and sea lions.

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. Here you can see the famous giant Galapagos tortoises that are bred here. In the afternoon visit the highlands where you may see these endangered creatures in the wild.

Today, visit Hood Island. Gardner Bay has a great beach, frequented by a transient colony of sea lions and is a major nesting site for marine turtles. On the western tip of the island is located the only nesting site in the islands of the huge waved albatross (sighted from April to December). At Punta Suarez see many species of seabirds. The brilliantly coloured marine iguana also inhabit this island.

Black Turtle Cove, is a fitting finale to the cruise. This beautiful marine site is a maze of salt-water inlets surrounded by three different species of mangrove and home to sea turtles, rays and sharks. Later, fly to Guayaquil. Overnight at the Hilton Colon.

Late morning transfer to the airport. Depart by LAN Airlines non-stop flight to Madrid (11 hours).

Arrive at Madrid, continuing by Iberia flight to London Heathrow (2 hours 20 minutes).