Day 2 – Lima to Cuzco, Private City Tour

In the morning you will just need to walk back across the street to check in for your flight to Cuzco. Upon arrival in Cuzco, you'll be met at the airport by your guide and driver and escorted to your Cuzco hotel.

During your tour of Cuzco, the capital of the Incan Empire, you'll visit Sacsayhuaman, an immense Incan complex with impressive stonework; Koricancha, one of the most important Incan temples (the walls were once actually coated in gold!); and Cuzco's Cathedral where you'll learn about the Cuzco School of Art.

Day 3 – Private Sacred Valley Tour

Your Sacred Valley Tour will include visits to the Inca circular terraces of Moray, the salt mines at Maras, and the ruins and village of Ollantaytambo.

Departing from Ollantaytambo, enjoy a scenic ride through the Sacred Valley to the town of Machu Picchu.

Day 4 – Private Machu Picchu Tour

Uncover the secrets of Machu Picchu during a guided tour of this Incan citadel. You'll visit the most important parts of the ruins to learn how and why they were constructed. After the tour, you'll have time to further explore the ruins or sit back and enjoy the magic of Machu Picchu.

Hike to the top of Huayna Picchu for a bird's eye view of the ruins. The steep path takes about an hour and a half to ascend.

Departing from Machu Picchu Pueblo, enjoy a scenic train ride to Ollantaytambo. Upon arrival at the train station you will be met and transferred to your Cuzco hotel.

Day 5 – Lima City Tour & Departure

You will be picked up from your hotel and driven to the Cuzco airport for your flight to Lima.

Upon arrival in Lima, you will be met at the airport by your driver and guide for your Private City Tour. Key sights include Lima's Colonial center and the cliff top Miraflores district. At the end of your tour you will be returned to the airport in time to check in for your international departing flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Upon arrival in Guayaquil, your driver will meet you at the airport and take you to your overnight accomodations.

Day 6 – Santa Cruz

Morning breakfast at the hotel and your driver will transport you to the airport for your flight to the Galapagos Islands. Arriving on Baltra Island, we hop in a bus for a short trip to the Itabaca Channel. Here we take a short ferry ride across the channel to Santa Cruz Island and head south by bus to the Aventura Lodge in Puerto Ayora. We check in, meet our guides and have lunch. Then there is a choice of two activities for the afternoon.

You may want to visit Garrapatero Beach accessed by a half hour bus ride and short walk. The white sand beach is home to a variety of wildlife living along the shore and in the surrounding mangrove trees. This is an island paradise where you see Galapagos mockingbirds, oystercatchers, high-flying frigate birds and marine iguanas.

Or you may prefer to take one of the lodge's bikes and ride about 10 minutes along the waterfront of Puerto Ayora to reach the entrance to the path that leads to Tortuga beach. After signing in with the National Park Service, you walk about a mile and a half on a beautifully-built trail of paving stones. Along the way you pass through an arid forest including a variety of trees, finches and other birds along with fast-moving lava lizards. The fresh ocean air provides welcome rejuvenation after your travels and the sight of this long, silky-sand beach with gently-breaking surf is sure to erase any tension you brought with you. Take off your shoes and amble along the beach, accompanied by a marine iguana perhaps. Towards the end of this mile-long beach is a path that winds through some Opuntia trees and dozens of basking marine iguanas. Blue-footed boobies, gulls and frigate birds fly around you. Continuing on you arrive at Playa Mansa, another beach set in front of a sheltered bay bordered by red and white mangroves. You may see pelicans feeding, blue herons, sea turtles and even rays here.

Walk back at your leisure to Puerto Ayora in time for a brief orientation meeting followed by dinner at the lodge. Afterwards you are likely to be ready to rest, but if not, stroll through the quiet town before heading to bed.

Day 7 - Santa Cruz & Floreana

This morning we head to "Los Gemelos"(The Twins), but not before a tasty breakfast at the lodge. These two large lava chambers are the result of collapsing volcanoes whose tops caved in during the cooling process leaving us with an impressive geological feature in the Santa Cruz hills. We explore the diverse plant and animal life as we hike through the area. Darwin Finches and short-eared owls frequent the archaic Scalesia Forest, replete with liverwort and lichens. After this walk, a bus takes us to visit the impressive, large and iconic Galapagos tortoises, residing on 600 acres of the National Park Reserve. We will throw on a pair of mud boots before heading out into this natural habitat where we can experience the life of these giants first hand. The reserve provides the perfect habitat and this, coupled with the tortoise's slow movement, allows us to get an up close and personal interaction not possible anywhere else in the world.

To satisfy some curiosity of the underworld, we next head descend into a 1350-feet long (450 meter) lava tunnel, lighted along the way. Inside this cavernous shaft we are met with multi-colored walls of mineral composites, stalagmites and stalactites protruding the often smooth surfaces and concert hall ceilings looming above. After an eventful morning we return to the lodge for lunch.

Next we board our boat to cruise to the next island, Floreana. Arriving roughly two hours later, we continue to Black Beach. This impressive site is an ideal place to capture the beauty of the Galapagos Islands with our eyes, hearts and cameras. There's time to swim, snorkel and watch the sunset over the horizon. We check into our quaint and cozy cabins built just above the beach and enjoy an evening drink before heading to a small restaurant run by a local family. We enjoy a home-cooked meal and have a chance to visit with the owners who descend from some of the original European settlers of Floreana Island. After dinner a short drive or quiet walk under the stars returns us to the lodge.

Day 8 - Floreana

Floreana has a colorful human history and the hosts at the restaurant descend from the first immigrants to this island. At breakfast, visiting with them provides a unique cultural opportunity to hear a local's perspective and appreciation for the Galapagos. Soon after breakfast we load up into a "chiva" which is a truck with a covered flat bed with benches. A bumpy 20-minute ride takes us to Cerro Allieri, one of the islands tallest points at 1100 feet (340 meters) above sea level. As we hike around, new and stunning landscapes are revealed to us along with copious vegetation species, which is one of the areas main attractions. With 48 species documented, 56% are native while 33% are endemic and include shrubs and trees from Darwiniothamnus tenuifolius to Scalesia pedunculata. One species, the Linum Cratericol, was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered in 1997 and now, with only 40 plants known to exist, is considered critically endangered. Due to the wide variety of plant life, many finches including Darwin finches and the medium tree finch, also critically endangered, can be found here. Back in town we enjoy another meal with a local family and head out for a walk to La Loberia, one of Floreana's most treasured and breathtaking secrets. Here we can swim and snorkel and are likely to see sea turtles and playful sea lions. There's time to explore the quaint town of Puerto Velasco Ibarra before we have dinner at the local restaurant.

Day 9 - Floreana & Isabela

We enjoy our morning meal before hopping in a Chiva (traditional open-air bus) that takes us up into the highlands. Along the way we learn about the island's history and surrounding wilderness. From the first settlers such as Patrick Watkins and the Wittmers to the "Floreana Mystery," your guide's stories will have you sitting on the edge of your seats. The 40-minute ride brings us to Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum), surrounded by farm land. We explore a pirate cave, where the first humans on the island lived and a slowly dripping creek which supplies the whole island with potable water. The endangered Galapagos petrel nests among large Scalesia Peduncultata trees near by. The petrel was saved from the rampant cats and rats when Ecuador took control of the preservation of these islands in 1832. We get the chance to see a variety of tortoise species from the various islands at the island's research center, created specifically to protect and encourage these gentle creatures. A bumpy ride in our Chiva takes us back to the coast.

We board the boat once again to head to our next adventure on the island of Isabela. Around two hours later, we dock, check into the Red Mangrove Lodge and enjoy a delectable lunch. Another boat then takes us to "Las Tintoreras," enjoying the bay along the way. Galapagos penguins and blue-footed boobies frolic and relax by the water. "Las Tintoreras" is a striking location, with sharp black volcanic terrain offset by deep blue waters and luscious green mangroves. We follow a well-defined path at this official Galapagos National Park site that weaves its way through the twisted and austere volcanic landscape. An abundance of marine iguanas live here along with sea lions and various shore birds. We peer down into a narrow and protected channel where white-tipped reef sharks bask, just 10 feet from our eyes. Looking up we enjoy a dramatic view of Isabela's volcanoes rising into the sky. After the walk, we return to our small boat and travel a few minutes to a place to snorkel. This is an opportunity to see the white-tipped reef sharks from a different angle, play with young sea lions and observe sea turtles. Then as the sun grows dim we return to the lodge. Take a stroll on the beach or simply relax before joining together for dinner.

Day 10 - Isabela

 A tasty breakfast prepares us for our morning hike. A bus takes into the higher, central part of the island to the start of our hike up Sierra Negra, which is Isabela's grandfather volcano. We make our way about 1300 feet (400 meters) up to the crater edge. We pause to enjoy the breathtaking expanse of the second largest volcanic crater in the world. Measuring in at over four miles in diameter, only Ngorongoro Volcano's crater in Tanzania is larger. Sierra Negra's last eruption was in October 2005 and lasted over a week. Lava filled the crater and added as much as 2 meters of elevation to the crater floor. A walk around the rim brings us to a Jabancillo tree where we enjoy a break and snack. After completing the first three miles, we offer an optional addition to the hike to take you another few miles to a lava field belonging to Volcan Chico for more breathtaking views. We return downhill to our bus, and then drive towards the coast, stopping at Campo Duro to have a delicious organic lunch cooked on a lava rock grill. This farm produces a variety of crops, all in a sustainable organic fashion. You may tour the grounds or enjoy the hammock hanging from impressive mango trees. During lunch your guide will tell you about the important collaboration between the farm and Galapagos National Park in protecting the giant tortoises. Once back in town later in the day, there's time to relax, explore the town or hang out on the beach before dinner.

Day 11 - Isabela, Santa Cruz, Charles Darwin Station

This morning we tour "Humedales," which are the island's wetlands. En route we enjoy views of the stunning Villami beach, rich with palm trees and sparkling sand. Our hike begins calmly up Cerro Orchilla, providing a dramatic island viewpoint. We continue to the memorable "Muro de las Lagrimas" (Wall of Tears). This structure was erected by some of the earliest prisoners kept on the island. The setting is scattered with native flora, frequented by Darwin finches, and home to lava lizards. We may come across a handful of giant tortoise youth who have been recently reintroduced by the Arnaldo Tupiza breeding center. We return to the lodge for lunch, then board our boat to travel to Santa Cruz Island.

Arriving about one and a half hours later (based on sea conditions), we drop our bags off at the Aventura Lodge and then visit the impressive Charles Darwin Research Station for a guided tour. Their reptile-breeding program is immense and we meet Lonesome George, the last of his species. This giant tortoise was discovered on Pinta Island in 1971 and is considered the rarest living creature. When Charles Darwin visited these islands in 1835 he met English Vice-Governor, Nicholas Lawson, who mentioned to him that he could, "on seeing a tortoise, pronounce with certainty from which island it has been brought." Lonesome George is the last of tortoise to survive from Pinta Island and thus carries the last remaining genes of that species. The Charles Darwin Research Center revolves around understanding and protecting these unique islands and has grown from its origin in 1964 to include over 100 scientists around the world. After our visit, we return to the lodge and enjoy our final dinner together.

Day 12 - Departure

The lodge serves breakfast before we make our way back to Baltra's airport for transfer back to the mainland of Ecuador and you continue home, or on to other parts. We are happy to help you with extensions to other regions of Ecuador including hacienda visits in the highlands, a trip to an Amazon jungle lodge, on to Peru and Machu Picchu or wherever you may wish to go.