Galápagos – West and Central Islands aboard the Reina Silvia Voyager

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

The adventure begins today. Feel free to explore, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Your G Representative will review the details of your tour.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Head to Santa Cruz’s verdant highlands. This is a perfect place to hike through the grounds and see giant tortoises in their natural environment, before savouring an included lunch.

Visit Fausto Llerena Breeding Center a great place to observe many species of tortoises. Brought back from the brink of extinction, see the famous Galápagos tortoise up close – a corral houses adult tortoises, and a nursery cares for the young until around age three when their shells have hardened. This area also houses the Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific organization initiated in 1964, which works to preserve the Galápagos' ecosystem through the conservation efforts of scientists, researchers, and volunteers. While the offices themselves are not open to visitors, the research station provides a study location for international scientists and environmental education for the local community.

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

Visit Punta Cormorant, the only landing site on Floreana Island, and discover two amazingly different beaches: one with green sand, coloured by olivine crystals, and another with white sand particles known as 'Flour Beach'. Spend the afternoon observing flamingos and other shore birds feeding in the lagoon. Spot penguins and marine iguanas at the water’s edge.

Jump on in and get up close and personal with the playful sea lion colony that reside in the waters off this tiny island. Keep an eye out for sea lions, sea turtles, rays and colourful reef fish swimming by.

Visit Post Office Bay and learn about its unique history. In the late 18th century, English whaling vessels placed a barrel here to be used as a post office. Today, the box is used mainly by tourists, who may drop off and pick up unstamped letters to be carried to far destinations. Continue the tradition – leave a letter and take one to deliver (be sure it makes it to the correct location)!

Explore a lava cave inhabited by ancient pirates who were among the first settlers on the island, keep an eye out for giant tortoises on the way as this area is part of a repopulation program for the species. Enjoy a beautiful viewpoint at the top of the hill looking out over the nearby islands.

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

Head out by panga to explore, keeping an eye out for wildlife hiding among the mangroves. Search for marine turtles, rays, and flightless cormorants in the sheltered waters. Also spot blue-footed boobies, penguins, and pelicans feeding on the abundant marine life.

Visit Punta Moreno and explore its interesting landscape, which is home to black lava flows and a unique system of brackish lagoons that draw in a wide range of wildlife. Spot Darwin’s finches, Galápagos doves, penguins, and more! Be sure to bring your camera for shots of the island’s amazing scenery. Punta Moreno boasts a panoramic viewpoint of three of Isabela’s imposing volcanoes: Alcedo, Sierra Negra, and Cerro Azul.

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

Visit Urbina Bay for a unique walk among a massive marine reef that was raised out of the water in 1950 during an uplift. See “sculptures” of dried coral and other ocean formations while touring the area on foot. Urbina Bay also offers great opportunities to see land iguanas that have astonishingly yellow skin, flightless cormorants, land tortoises as well as marine turtles and rays.

Tour a number of different trails at this not-to-be-missed landing site that’s home to some of the largest colonies of marine iguanas and sea birds. Follow the path along the beach and across lava flows for a unique opportunity to explore one of the least-visited areas of the Galápagos.

One of the best snorkelling sites in the islands, here get a glimpse of marine iguanas grazing underwater, sea lions, sea turtles, rays, puffer fish and dolphins.

Visit Tagus Cove, an Isabela Island anchorage site that was popular among whalers and pirates. Tour the area on foot for spectacular views of Darwin Lake (a spherical saltwater crater), the bay, and Darwin and Wolf volcanoes. Upon landing, take the wooden stairway to the trail entrance, and follow the trail through a dry vegetation zone. Opt to continue on an ascent to a promontory made up of spatter cones (small volcanic cones) or explore the area by dinghy.

Grab a mask and snorkel and witness schools of tropical fish as you navigate through the calm waters. If you're lucky, spot rockfish, sharks and seahorses.

Kayak on the calm waters of Tagus Bay, and catch some sun as you explore the surrounding area.

Snorkel at one of the Galápagos’ most desirable snorkelling sites. Enjoy the protection of nearby coves while discovering the rich array of marine life that is attracted to the upwelling of cold water currents near Punta Vicente Roca. Keep an eye out for penguins, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, sea lions. sea turtles, rays and puffer fish.

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

Get up close and personal with the local marine life, sea lions and many marine birds, during this snorkel excursion through the beautiful waters of Buccaneer Cove.

Explore the spectacular shoreline of Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay. Spot a great number of shore birds and reptiles – the beach area is home to a plethora of wildlife.

Grab a snorkel and jump into the water right off the beach to explore Puerto Egas' interesting underwater world. Keep your eyes peeled for rays, turtles, and reef sharks while snorkelling. After, visit the large tidal pool area – marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs are everywhere.

Puerto Egas, also known as James Bay, is where you will begin a hike on a dry trail leading you to tide pools rich in sea life, where you will see Marine Iguanas, Sally Light Foot Crabs, and the shy but adorable Galapagos Fur seals. While making the short trek, be looking for the Galapagos Hawk and one of his favorite meals the Lava Lizard. Upon returning you will find Egas Port a great place to snorkel off the beach. Attractions: Fur Seals, Galapagos Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, Sally Light-foot crabs, tidal pools, reef sharks, turtles, rays Activities: Snorkeling, hiking Landing: wet This attractive site is dominated by Pan de Azucar (Sugarloaf hill) and the black-sand beach is bounded by low tuff cliffs sculpted by wind and sea. Sea lions cool off under the roof of a natural arch at the western end of the beach, where marine iguanas and sally lighfoot crabs roam the rocks. Puerto Egas is the archipelago's best site for Galapagos fur seals, which co-inhabit the rock platforms with Galapagos sea lions, large marine iguanas and Sallylightfoot Crabsyellow-crowned night herons. Productive rock pools picked over by lava herons, American oystercatchers and other waders. Arid-zone vegetation supports Darwins Finches, Galapagos hawks and abundant Galapagos doves. Blue footed boobies and occasional Galapagos penguins roost on rocky point with good fish watching in the clear water. Playa Espumilla's lagoon is excellent for waders, many Galapagos sea lions and nesting green sea turltes at Buccaneer Cove. Grab a snorkel and jump into the water right off the beach and keep your eyes peeled for rays, turtles, and reefsharks along the waters edge With a large tidal pool area marine iguanas and sally lightfoot crabs are everywhere.

Explore the old pirate gathering area known as Buccaneer Cove, surrounded with cliffs and a bevy of wildlife to watch for.

The Reina Silvia Voyager is just as elevated as the name implies. This modern catamaran offers increased stability when cruising the waters of the Galápagos Islands. Enjoy the view from the spacious sun deck, Jacuzzi, or private balconies (available with most cabins).

Head to Bachas Beach where the sand is made of decomposed coral, making it soft and white, and a favourite site for nesting sea turtles. Spot abundant Sally Lightfoot crabs on the lava rocks along the water's edge -- these crabs will eat anything they can get their claws on! Trek to see a wide range of wildlife, including flamingos, hermit crabs, black necked stilts, and marine iguanas.

Go snorkelling or swimming right off the white sand beach of Las Bachas. Spot all sorts of marine wildlife in its shallow waters and tidal pools. Bachas is also one of the most important beaches for the green turtle as a nesting site.

Las Bachas, actually are two white sand beaches separated by an outcropping of lava rocks. One faces north and the other faces west. The name Las Bachas has its origin in the English word “Barges”. The reason for that is that at the end of WWII the American forces, before leaving, sunk several of these barges with lots of materials that were not to be taken back. A few of these drifted partially submerged and ended on several places, two of these barges ended up at this particular beach and as locals could not pronounce the word correctly, it was transformed into Bachas, and their remains can be clearly seen on low tide most of the time. Las Bachas is considered one of the most important sites in the Galápagos for the Pacific Green Sea Turtle as nesting site. It is quite interesting during their nesting season to see the tracks they leave on the sand as they come in and out from their labour. Several steps behind the beach there are some brackish water lagoons, where several waders or lagoon birds can be seen, like flamingoes, lava gulls, wandering tattlers, plovers, black neck stilts, sandpipers, great blue herons and such, as well as marine iguanas basking in the sun at the edge of the lagoon. At the beach also we can see marine iguanas, sally lightfoot crabs, hermit crabs and also it is common to see small sharks right at the edge of the water. At this site it is also possible to swim and snorkel from the beach.

Take your time exploring the underwater world along North Seymour's beach. Be greeted by large schools of tropical fish and sea lions, and keep an eye out for sea turtles and reef sharks.

Have an amazing wildlife experience visiting North Seymour Island – this island is teeming with life! Follow trails to see all the action (you may need to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana while walking). Depending on the season, see blue-footed booby nests where mating pairs perform their courtship dance. Head to a rocky shore to see flocks of pelicans having lunch in a dive bomb feeding frenzy, then turn inland to a large nesting site of magnificent frigatebirds. These huge, dark acrobats have two-metre (6.5 ft) wingspans, and males, with their puffed-up scarlet throat sacks, sit precariously perched in low bushes to watch over their equally large chicks.