Depart from London Heathrow this morning by British Airways flight to Miami (9 hours 45 minutes). Continue from Miami by American Airlines flight to Quito (4 hours). On arrival in Quito, you will be transferred to the Grand Hotel Mercure Quito. Stay here 3 nights.

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.

The day is free. Optional excursions can be booked locally.

Morning flight to San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos (3 hours with a stop en route at Guayaquil). On arrival you will be met by a representative from the boat operator and transferred to your boat. Please note that on arrival at San Cristobal you will be required to pay the Galapagos National Park Entry Fee which is currently $100 per person. After a welcome briefing and safety drill, set sail for Playa Ochoa, where you can have your first snorkelling opportunity, or swim with a small colony of sea lions. Behind the beach, there is a tidal lagoon where you can sometimes see the rare Chatham mockingbird. At sunset, your boat cruises around Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), a vertical tuff cone formation that abruptly juts up almost 150 metres out of the ocean. On the cliffs, you can see blue-footed boobies, masked boobies and magnificent frigate birds.

The entire day is spent on Tower Island (Genovesa), considered to be one of the most spectacular Islands in the Galapagos for bird species. Land in the morning at Prince Philip’s Steps. Red-footed boobies nest here in Palo Santo trees and Nazca (formerly masked) boobies nest near the trail. In an open lava field, you can find storm petrels in large numbers. If you are lucky, you may see the elusive short-eared owl. After lunch, sea kayaks are available to paddle along the shoreline. Look for the beautiful red-billed tropic bird usually seen in a crevice. Snorkelling is offered along the inner rim of the volcanic crater. Land on Darwin Bay, a coral sand beach where swallow-tailed and lava gulls gather near the tide pools. Enter a forest of Optuntia cactus and mangroves where colonies of great frigate birds nest. The males inflate their red-throated pouches to attract females as they fly overhead. The trail leads through a rich inter tidal zone where we find a wide diversity of animal life. You can also swim with sea lions.

This morning, visit Las Bachas, Spanish for “barges”. There is a long stretch of a soft white-sand beach and interior lagoons where you will find the Greater Flamingo. There is also a wonderful chance to snorkel here from the beach. Disembark in the afternoon on North Seymour, a small geological uplift. After a dry landing, follow a trail that leads to swallow-tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies and the endemic land iguanas. Visit the largest colony of magnificent frigate birds found in Galapagos. Strolling along the beach, you may see sea lions body surfing in the northern swells.

On Isabela Island in the morning, visit Tagus Cove. Isabela is the largest island on the archipelago formed when 6 volcanoes flowed together. On your walk, you will discover a salt-water lagoon, a scenic overlook with a spectacular view of the ocean, lava fields and volcanic formations. Graffiti dating back to the 1800's is written on the rocky cliffs. Explore the Cove in ‘pangas’ or sea kayaks to find Galapagos penguins, boobies, pelicans and other seabirds. After lunch, cross the Bolivar Canal to Fernandina Island, the youngest island. On this sailing, be on the look out for whales and dolphins riding the bow wave. Disembark at Punta Espinoza. Hundreds of marine iguanas, the largest colony in Galapagos, bask in the sun along the rugged shoreline. Observe sea lion harems with resident bulls carefully guarding their territory. Flightless Cormorants build their nest on the point and Galapagos Hawks fly overhead. Recent lava flows formed by an active volcano stretch their way around the coast. A snorkel here provides opportunities to see many sea turtles.

This morning, stroll along the shore at Puerto Egas, Santiago Island (James) looking for octopus, starfish and other sea life caught in the tide pools. At low tide, you may see marine iguanas as they feed on exposed green algae. Watch for great blue herons, lava herons, American oystercatchers and yellow-crowned night herons. Your walk ends at the grottos, deep pools of clear water where we encounter fur sea lions once on the verge of extinction. Before returning to the yacht, there may be time for snorkelling. Sail to Bartolome, a young Island that is inhospitable to most plants and animals. After a dry landing, climb 30 minutes up steps leading to the summit of a once-active volcano. Along the way, pause to marvel at lava bombs, spatter cones and cinder cones. From the top of the wooden stairs, gaze out across the island for a panoramic view of the island and "Pinnacle Rock", an eroded tuff cone. Down below, crystal-clear water is an invitation to snorkel with schools of tropical fish and Galapagos Penguins. On the other side of the Island, encounter sea turtles and white-tipped sharks.

At the Charles Darwin Research Station on the island of Santa Cruz, visit all three tortoise corals and the breeding centre with new hatchlings and miniature tortoises not yet ready to be repatriated. Scientists from all over the globe work at the station and conduct biological research from anatomy to zoology. After lunch on board, travel by bus to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. The scenery gradually changes through all seven vegetation zones found in Galapagos. From June to January, you can find giant tortoises on a private farm in the highlands. Visit Los Gemelos, (“The Twins”), a pair of large pit craters where you can find the bright red male vermilion flycatcher. Also stop at "the tunnels", the largest lava tubes found in Galapagos. Stroll through the town of Puerto Ayora (population: 15,000) the largest town in the Galapagos.

This morning, you land at Gardner Bay, Espanola Island (Hood). Walking along a sandy beach you will find large colonies of sea lions. There is no trail to follow so this is a chance to explore, and you may find a Galapagos Hawk, Darwin’s Finches or Hood Mockingbird. Swim with sea lions from the beach. There’s an excellent snorkelling site off Gardner Islet with a colourful diversity of sea life near Tortuga Rock with caves covered with invertebrates. This afternoon, disembark at Punta Suarez, where you can see the highest rate of endemic species in Galapagos. Sea lions noisily greet clients when landing on their beach. From April to November, the waved albatross, found only on Espanola, perform their wild mating ritual. Colonies of blue-footed boobies engage in “sky-pointing” to show off for potential mates. Nazca (formerly masked) boobies busily care for their young. Stunning swallow-tailed gulls are the only nocturnal gulls in the world. Red-billed tropicbirds take shelter under the cliffs. You will also find Darwin’s Finches, Galapagos Doves and Galapagos Hawks. Observe a unique species of marine iguana identified with traces of red and green colourings. Colourful Sally light-foot crabs crawl along the shoreline near to the famous "blowhole".

This morning, your boat drops anchor in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island where you disembark. Visit the Interpretation Centre opened in 1999 where you will gain a more complete understanding of the natural and human history of the Islands. Afterwards, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Guayaquil on the mainland. On arrival, transfer to the Oro Verde Hotel for 1 night.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport. Fly on American Airlines to Miami (4 hours). From Miami, continue by British Airways overnight flight to London.

Morning arrival at Heathrow.