Beach and Bay Tour

Depending on the tide, departure will either be from our own dock or the main dock in Puerto Ayora. Our shaded speedboat will comfortably whisk you in roughly 10 minutes to "La Loberia" Island, named after its large colony of sea lions. You will have the chance to snorkel with these frolicking creatures, a great opportunity for photos if you have underwater housing for your camera.

Keep an eye out for sea turtles and try not to be so distracted by the playful sea lions that you forgot about the great variety of colorful fish.

Next we will travel over to Tortuga Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches on Santa Cruz Island with powdery white sand and calm turquoise water. On the way through the bay, you may see sea turtles, Galapagos sharks, reef rays, pelicans, blue footed boobies and herons in the mangrove forest lining the bay's side as well as other Galapagos marine birds.

We will disembark for a quick walk to observe marine iguana colonies sunning and sneezing the salt from their recent outings at sea. The 'long' walk (10 minutes) back to Tortuga Bay is through a cactus forest above a carpet of crimson Sesuvium ground covering. It is a stunning array of colors against the beautiful blue skies, the black volcanic rock, the white sand and the emerald green or deep blue sea. Just remember to keep an eye on the path so you don't step on a marine iguana as they are very abundant in this area.

By the time you get back, we will have your box lunch laid out so that you can enjoy eating in the sun or under the shade of our umbrellas or one of the trees that line the beach. No doubt you will have many Galapagos ground finches nearby hoping to pick up crumbs from your lunch. As tempting as it is, please do not feed the finches. Outside food products may disturb their digestive tracks or cause other harm.

After lunch, enjoy a swim in this peaceful bay or just relax awhile.
Next we will go to Punta Estrada where we will sail through the Canal de Amor (Tunnel of Love). Many endemic birds nest or rest in the cavernous walls providing wonderful up close and personal photo opportunities with blue footed boobies, pelicans, lava herons, frigates and more. We will disembark for a short, rocky walk where you will probably need to step around the sleeping sea lions to walk out on the dock above volcanic rocks dotted with bright orange/red sally lightfoot crabs before heading over to a viewing platform to observe resting white tipped reef sharks in abundance. If you wish (and/or weather/visibility permits), we will bring the boat around to the Canal entrance where you can snorkel with the sharks. Eagle rays have also been known to visit this canal.

Minimum 2 passengers

You will need: