Finch Bay Hotel

Today is a sample itinerary that includes the most popular excursions on offer. This day is completely customizable.

AM: Your day begins at Baltra Island. Upon arrival, guests are met by the hotel naturalist guides and accompanied directly to the yacht. North Seymour was uplifted from the ocean floor by past seismic events, and its origins as a seabed give the island its low, flat profile. Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline, where swallow-tailed gulls sit among the ledges and rocks. This island is teeming with life! You might have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana; blue-footed booby nests sit beside the trail where mating pairs perform their courtship dance. This is a walking excursion and involves uneven rocky terrain. Lunch is served onboard the yacht Sea Lion.

PM: After the visit, the yacht sails to the Itabaca Channel, from where we cross by bus faster over Santa Cruz Island to reach the south shore (42 km by bus is shorter and faster than 50 km by boat), where the Finch Bay Hotel is located. Enjoy your evening at the hotel, get familiar with your surroundings and enjoy your first delicious dinner at the property.

Today is a sample itinerary that includes the most popular excursions on offer. This day is completely customizable.

AM: After breakfast, our guests will leave Academy Bay to the lush highlands of Santa Cruz Island. From there a short drive across the farming area will lead us to El Manzanillo. Manzanillo is on the natural path tortoises take every year as they migrate to higher moist locations during the garúa season (June-September), or when they descend to the warmer lowlands during the wet season. Year-round, tortoises can be seen grazing on the surrounding vegetation or wallowing in muddy banks or a small red-colored pond (impressively colored by surface red pondweeds). Lunch will be served in the cooler highlands, with the stunning views of Santa Cruz Island.

PM: After lunch, we visit a small farm, where coffee, sugar cane, and cocoa beans are grown, harvested, and prepared – all organic and sustainable. We have the chance to taste the products while learning about the artisanal way to burn island spirits! We then return to the hotel to enjoy its pool, beach or ask for suggestions for activities. 

Today is a sample itinerary that includes the most popular excursions on offer. This day is completely customizable.

AM: Tortuga Bay is located southwest of Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island. Its name means “turtle”, and the island received this moniker because it is sea turtles' favorite place to lay their eggs. The stunning white sand beach is considered by many the most beautiful in the Galapagos archipelago. The beach is reached via a marked and cobbled two-kilometer path that starts at the west end of Charles Binford Street; guests must sign in and out at the National Park control point at the beginning of the path. There is excellent bird-watching along the path, with plenty of Darwin’s finches and other sea birds. And for active visitors, it is a great place to kayak or snorkel.

PM: The headquarters of the Galapagos National Park Service and The Charles Darwin Research Station are located side by side on the outskirts of Puerto Ayora. There is an interpretation center open to the public and also one may view the tortoise rearing program. Those guests who do not have the opportunity to explore the highlands of Santa Cruz and see tortoises in their natural habitat will have the chance to see tortoises here. And for those who have already seen them in the wild, a visit to the Centre will expand their knowledge of this unique, iconic Galapagos animal.

Today is a sample itinerary that includes the most popular excursions on offer. This day is completely customizable.

AM: After breakfast, we leave the Finch Bay Hotel and on the way to Baltra, stop at the Twin Pit Craters, great geological depressions of volcanic material, formed by a long process of slow sinking of the ground, where exceptional Scalesia trees, ferns, mosses, and orchids can be seen in the surroundings. Then, overland transfer to the airport in Baltra to take the flight back to the continent.