A private expedition yacht for your group — Pinnacle Rock above your aft deck at sunrise, blue-footed boobies from the foredeck rail at North Seymour, a Galapagos penguin past your snorkel mask at Bartolomé, and a naturalist who knows which finch belongs on which island.
Why Charter a Crewed Expedition Yacht in the Galapagos?
The Galapagos is the trip your group puts off booking and finally commits to. Eight couples for a milestone year, three families with the teenagers brought along, the partners and their spouses for the trip everyone has been talking about. Six hundred miles off the Ecuadorian coast, more endemic species than anywhere else on the planet, wildlife so unconcerned with humans you photograph it from a meter away. The right way for a group of sixteen to see it is to take over a whole expedition yacht for the week.
Galapagos has lower-tier products — day boats from Santa Cruz hotels, the sixteen-to-hundred-passenger ships that dominate the cruise market, dive liveaboards working only Wolf and Darwin. A private yacht charter buys out an entire motor expedition vessel for your party — eight cabins, sixteen guests on most boats, twenty on the larger ones — with no strangers in the next cabin. The chef and Class III naturalist are on board for your group only. Dawn pangas land from your own swim platform; dinners on the aft deck are with your people; the captain runs the inter-island transits overnight while you sleep. The Park licenses the route; the way your group runs through it is yours alone.
Two rotations run on alternate weeks, and the right one depends on what the group is after. The Western route — Fernandina, Isabela's west coast, Santiago — is where the marine iguanas are largest, the Galapagos penguin and flightless cormorant exist nowhere else on Earth, and the Sierra Negra caldera hikes from a south-Isabela landing. The Eastern-and-Northern route — Española, Floreana, Genovesa, Bartolomé — is the bird-and-courtship Galapagos: waved albatross at Punta Suárez April through December only, the Kicker Rock hammerhead snorkel, the wooden mail barrel at Post Office Bay still in use after two hundred and fifty years. Groups with two weeks book both back-to-back on the same yacht. Most pick one.
Black lava under a volcanic cone — the western Galapagos at ground level.
What Makes a Galapagos Yacht Charter Special
Four reasons a private yacht is the right way for a group of sixteen to see the Galapagos.
Wildlife That Only Lives Here
Blue-footed booby sky-pointing dances. Frigate birds inflating the red gular sac in courtship. Marine iguanas, the only lizards on Earth that forage in the ocean. Waved albatrosses on Española from April through December and nowhere else on the planet. Galapagos penguins on the equator. Flightless cormorants on Fernandina. The naturalist on your yacht knows which of Darwin's thirteen finch species belongs on which island; the theory of natural selection was built on the variation that lives here.
An Anchorage on the Newest Land on Earth
Fernandina is roughly seven hundred thousand years old; the Cumbre volcano at its center erupted as recently as 2020. Sierra Negra on Isabela is the second-largest active caldera on the planet, ten kilometers across, hikable in a morning from a south-Isabela landing. Sullivan Bay on Santiago is pahoehoe lava only a century cooled. Anchoring below these volcanoes — slate water from the Humboldt upwelling, bare slopes, species that evolved here in isolation — reads closer to an early-Earth diorama than a Caribbean or Mediterranean charter.
Endemic Encounters Within Arm's Reach
Galapagos wildlife has no fear of humans — the islands had no terrestrial predators for most of their evolutionary history. Marine iguanas sit a few meters from the trail; you photograph them from a rock with the yacht visible offshore in the cove. Galapagos penguins stand on lava as the panga drifts past. Waved albatrosses sky-clap a meter from the trail on Española. Sea lion pups follow swimmers out from the beach at Gardner Bay. The park's two-meter rule is enforced from the guest side; the animals themselves have no concept of it.
Your Group, Not a Hundred Strangers
The Galapagos National Park caps tourism vessels at sixteen guests on most boats, twenty on the largest. Eight cabins per yacht. On a private charter your party fills the boat alone, no other groups aboard. The contrast versus the hundred-passenger cruise ships that dominate the destination is concrete: one panga at each landing instead of six rotating cohorts, one naturalist running the day for your group, dinners on the aft deck rather than buffet lines, crew-to-guest ratios above one-to-one. The licensed itinerary is the same. The way your group runs through it is not.
A mangrove lagoon — the panga-only excursions on Isabela's west coast.
Sample Galapagos Crewed Charter Itineraries
Your week is shaped around your group's interests, the season, and the conditions on the water — your captain tailors the days as they unfold. Treat these itineraries as starting points for inspiration.
Crewed Itinerary · Galapagos · Western Rotation
Western Galapagos: 8 Days, Isabela & Fernandina
Day one is Sullivan Bay's pahoehoe lava — ropy black rock only a century cooled, the yacht at anchor in the cove. The middle of the week works Isabela's west coast: the largest marine iguana colonies on Earth at Fernandina, the Galapagos penguin and flightless cormorant nowhere else on the planet, the Sierra Negra caldera hikeable from a south-Isabela landing, Tagus Cove's whaler graffiti above a sea-only anchorage. Floreana's Post Office Bay and the central islands close the week. Disembark at San Cristóbal.
Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Base
Baltra (GPS) → San Cristóbal (SCY)
The Western rotation — the wildest, most-endemic Galapagos
The Western route is what guests describe to friends when they get home — marine iguanas at their largest, penguins on the equator, the geology you can read from the air. Saturday-to-Saturday from Baltra to San Cristóbal on a private full-yacht charter. The alternate Eastern-and-Northern week and a 5-day Western intro run on the same boats; groups with two weeks book back-to-back and see everything.
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Day 1 of 8 · Baltra → Sullivan Bay
Embark Baltra and Walk a Century-Old Lava Field
Anchorage: Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island
Pahoehoe lava only a century cooled — Sullivan Bay on Santiago.
Land at GPS on the morning flight from Quito or Guayaquil. The captain meets you at the gate, ferries you across the Itabaca channel, and the yacht is at anchor with the chef plating lunch on the aft deck. The naturalist runs the welcome briefing; the crew files the cruise plan with the park officer.
Mid-afternoon the captain points the bow north and east for the fifty-nautical-mile run to Sullivan Bay. By late afternoon the panga lands you on the 1903 pahoehoe — ropy black rock, lava bombs, pioneer plants pushing through cracks. Sundowners and dinner at anchor, the lava silhouetted against the western light.
Day Highlights
Welcome at Baltra (GPS), Itabaca channel transfer to the yacht.
Cruise plan filed with the park officer.
Fifty-nautical-mile afternoon run to Sullivan Bay.
Pre-sunset lava walk on 1903 pahoehoe.
2
Day 2 of 8 · Punta Vicente Roca + Punta Espinoza
The Marine Iguana Colony and the Cliffs of Vicente Roca
Anchorage: Off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina
Marine iguanas at Punta Espinoza — the largest colony in the archipelago.
Overnight west into the Bolívar Channel. Morning brings the yacht into Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela's northwest tip — thousand-foot cliffs with seabirds nesting on the ledges, sea turtles surfacing in the channel, Galapagos sharks under the panga. Too current-driven for a swim from the boat; the naturalist runs the species identification from the panga.
Mid-day crossing west to Fernandina. Punta Espinoza is the only visitor site: a lava-flow point with the largest marine iguana colony anywhere on Earth — hundreds piled on bare black rock, the only lizards that forage in the ocean. The flightless cormorant nests at the site as well. Afternoon snorkel from the panga over green sea turtles.
Day Highlights
Overnight transit west into the Bolívar Channel.
Morning panga cruise along Punta Vicente Roca's nesting cliffs.
Afternoon landing at Punta Espinoza — the largest marine iguana colony in the islands.
Flightless cormorant nesting site, snorkel from the panga.
3
Day 3 of 8 · Tagus Cove + Urbina Bay
Whaler Graffiti and an Uplifted Reef
Anchorage: Tagus Cove + Urbina Bay, Isabela
Short morning run south to Tagus Cove — a small protected anchorage tucked into the tuff cliffs of a tilted volcanic crater. Whaling crews used it as a watering stop from the 1820s through the 1880s; the cliff face above the anchorage carries their names and dates, the earliest legible from 1836. The naturalist runs a kayak program in Darwin's Lake behind the cove and a panga along the cliff base.
Afternoon repositioning south to Urbina Bay. The trail above the landing crosses dead coral and bleached sea-urchin shells — in 1954 an offshore reef rose four meters above sea level overnight, tied to Alcedo volcano's activity. Land iguanas and giant tortoises forage the area in wet season. Dinner at anchor; overnight repositioning to Elizabeth Bay.
Day Highlights
Kayak program in Darwin's Lake behind Tagus Cove.
Whaler graffiti on the tuff cliffs — earliest inscription 1836.
Trail across the 1954 uplifted reef at Urbina Bay.
Wet-season land iguana and giant tortoise sightings.
4
Day 4 of 8 · Elizabeth Bay + Moreno Point
Mangrove Panga and a Lagoon of Brackish Pools
Anchorage: Elizabeth Bay + Moreno Point, Isabela
Elizabeth Bay's mangrove channels — panga-only, sea turtles and rays below.
Morning runs entirely from the panga. Elizabeth Bay is a series of red and black mangrove lagoons — too shallow for the yacht, channels accessible only by panga drift at idle. Green sea turtles in pairs, golden cow-nose rays gliding under the boat, white-tipped reef sharks in deeper pools, Galapagos penguins on the rocks at the channel mouths. The Marielas Islets at the head of the bay hold one of the largest penguin colonies in the archipelago.
Midday south to Moreno Point — a lava-flow promontory between Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul. The landing crosses young pahoehoe to brackish lagoons with flamingos and white-cheeked pintail ducks. Afternoon snorkel from the panga over green sea turtles and Galapagos sharks. Overnight repositioning to Santa Cruz.
Day Highlights
Morning mangrove panga drift through Elizabeth Bay.
Marielas Islets — one of the largest Galapagos penguin colonies in the islands.
Moreno Point trail across young pahoehoe to brackish lagoons.
Flamingos and white-cheeked pintail ducks in the lava sinks.
5
Day 5 of 8 · Charles Darwin Research Station + Highlands
Lonesome George and the Highland Tortoises
Anchorage: Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz
Captive-breeding pair at the Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz.
Overnight east to Academy Bay off Puerto Ayora. Morning landing at the Charles Darwin Research Station — the captive-breeding program running since 1959, the Lonesome George Memorial (the last Pinta Island tortoise, taxidermied after his 2012 death), interpretive signage on the conservation work.
Midday transfer up to the highlands by private vehicle — twenty minutes from town, twelve hundred meters of elevation gain, scalesia forest and Miconia shrubland, lava tubes you walk through with the naturalist. El Chato Reserve or Rancho Manzanillo hold wild Galapagos giant tortoise populations grazing in pasture. No barriers; the animals approach as they please. Overnight repositioning south to Floreana.
Day Highlights
Charles Darwin Research Station — captive breeding, Lonesome George Memorial.
Private-vehicle transfer to the Santa Cruz highlands.
Wild giant tortoise population at El Chato or Rancho Manzanillo.
Scalesia forest and lava tubes — the endemic highland habitats.
6
Day 6 of 8 · Floreana — Post Office Bay + Devil's Crown
A 250-Year-Old Mail Barrel and the Best Snorkel in the Archipelago
Anchorage: Post Office Bay + Cormorant Point, Floreana
Overnight south to Floreana — the smallest of the four populated islands, the first settled in 1832, the densest in stories. Morning lands at Post Office Bay: the wooden mail barrel that British whalers installed in 1793 still works exactly as designed. Visitors leave stamped postcards inside; later visitors take any addressed to their home city and hand-deliver them on return. The longest-running unbroken postal tradition in the Pacific.
Afternoon repositioning to Devil's Crown — a partially submerged volcanic caldera ring a few hundred meters offshore. Snorkel from the panga inside the ring and along the outside: green sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks on the sand, Galapagos sharks on the deeper edges, schools of king angelfish. The current pulls through on a tide cycle. Cormorant Point caps the day — green olivine-sand beach, flamingo lagoon, sea turtle nesting site.
Day Highlights
Post Office Bay — drop and collect postcards from the 1793 wooden barrel.
Cormorant Point — green olivine-sand beach and flamingo lagoon.
Floreana's settlement history reaches back to 1832.
7
Day 7 of 8 · Santa Fe + South Plaza
Endemic Land Iguanas and a Sea Lion Nursery
Anchorage: Off Santa Fe / Plaza Sur
Overnight north to Santa Fe — one of the oldest islands in the archipelago at roughly four million years, home to the endemic Santa Fe land iguana (a species found nowhere else). The landing at Barrington Bay brings you onto a long white-sand beach with a resident sea lion colony. Inland trail through a dense Opuntia cactus forest where the Santa Fe iguanas graze on the fruit.
Midday repositioning to South Plaza — a half-mile islet east of Santa Cruz with the densest Galapagos land iguana population in the archipelago, golden against red Sesuvium ground cover in dry season. The trail follows the cliff edge above a swallow-tailed gull colony. Afternoon snorkel from the panga over sea lions and Galapagos sharks. Overnight north to San Cristóbal.
Day Highlights
Santa Fe Island — endemic land iguanas, found nowhere else.
Barrington Bay white-sand beach with resident sea lion colony.
South Plaza — densest land iguana population in the islands.
Swallow-tailed gull colony along the cliff edge.
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Day 8 of 8 · San Cristóbal disembark
Final Morning at Lobos Islet and Fly Out
Anchorage: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno — the eastern disembarkation port on San Cristóbal.
The yacht arrives off Puerto Baquerizo Moreno overnight. A final morning snorkel at Lobos Islet — a small islet a half-mile offshore named for the sea lion colony that lives on it. The naturalist runs a panga ride past blue-footed boobies nesting on the islet's south side and a final snorkel over juvenile sea lions in the channel. Farewell breakfast on the aft deck with the captain and naturalist.
Disembarkation at the dinghy dock by mid-morning. Short transfer to SCY for mid-morning flights direct to Quito and Guayaquil. Guests extending their Latin America trip from here typically connect to Cuzco (via UIO or GYE) or back to Quito for a night in the old town before flying home.
Day Highlights
Final morning snorkel at Lobos Islet.
Sea lion colony and blue-footed booby nesting site.
Disembarkation at the Puerto Baquerizo Moreno dinghy dock.
Short transfer to SCY for mid-morning flights to Quito and Guayaquil.
Eastern & Northern Galapagos: 8 Days, Española & Genovesa
Day three is the bird-and-courtship Galapagos: the Kicker Rock channel snorkel for hammerheads and Galapagos sharks, Punta Suárez's waved albatross colony (April through December only — they nest nowhere else on Earth), Gardner Bay's sea lion nursery on white sand. Day four climbs Bartolomé for Pinnacle Rock at sunrise — the photograph that anchors every Galapagos trip. The week chains Pitt Point's three-booby colony, Cerro Brujo's snorkel cove, Genovesa's red-footed boobies and frigates, North Seymour for the final morning. Eight days from San Cristóbal to Baltra.
Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Base
San Cristóbal (SCY) → Baltra (GPS)
The Eastern + Northern rotation — the birding week
This is the rotation where the waved albatross window decides the timing: April through December, Punta Suárez on Española, the only place on Earth they nest. Outside that the boobies, frigates, sea lions, and hammerheads carry the trip. The Western alternate is the marine-iguana-and-volcano counterpart; back-to-back combines them in fifteen nights on the same yacht.
1
Day 1 of 8 · San Cristóbal — David Rodriguez Breeding Center
Embark San Cristóbal and Meet the Captive Tortoises
Anchorage: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal
Captive-breeding pair at the David Rodriguez Center, San Cristóbal.
Land at SCY on the morning flight from Quito or Guayaquil. Short transfer to the Puerto Baquerizo Moreno dinghy dock, panga across to the anchored yacht, welcome lunch on the aft deck with the naturalist's daily-program briefing.
Afternoon transfer up to the David Rodriguez Breeding Center on the northern edge of town — the local captive-breeding facility for the San Cristóbal tortoise subspecies (Chelonoidis chathamensis), one of three centers in the islands running similar conservation work. Back to the yacht for an overnight at anchor and an early start.
Day Highlights
Welcome at SCY airport, panga transfer to the anchored yacht.
Cruise plan filed with the park officer.
Visit to the David Rodriguez Breeding Center.
Captive-breeding program for the San Cristóbal tortoise.
2
Day 2 of 8 · Pitt Point + Cerro Brujo
Red-Footed Boobies and a White-Sand Snorkel
Anchorage: Off Pitt Point / Cerro Brujo, San Cristóbal
Cerro Brujo's white-sand cove on San Cristóbal — first snorkel of the week.
Morning run north and east to Pitt Point — the only site in the archipelago where all three booby species (blue-footed, red-footed, Nazca) nest in the same area. The trail climbs to a cliff-top viewpoint over the colony; the naturalist works through the species identification (foot color is the obvious tell). Frigate birds patrol the colony for kleptoparasitism.
Afternoon repositioning to Cerro Brujo (Witch Hill) — a long white-sand beach in a sheltered bay, named for the rust-colored volcanic tuff cliff that rises behind it. The first snorkel of the week from the beach: green sea turtles, sea lions on the sand and in the surf, marine iguanas on the rocks. Overnight south for Kicker Rock and Española.
Day Highlights
Pitt Point — the only site where all three booby species nest in one area.
Cliff-top viewpoint over the colony.
Cerro Brujo's white-sand beach.
First snorkel of the week — sea turtles, sea lions, marine iguanas.
3
Day 3 of 8 · Kicker Rock + Punta Suárez + Gardner Bay
Hammerheads in the Channel, Albatrosses on the Cliff
Anchorage: Off Gardner Bay, Española
Hammerheads in the Kicker Rock channel — the marquee underwater day.
First light brings the yacht to Kicker Rock — the twin basalt pillars off San Cristóbal's northeast coast. The morning program is the channel snorkel: the panga drops you at the eastern entrance, the current drifts you between the cliffs, the naturalist runs the boat alongside. Scalloped hammerheads in schools below, Galapagos sharks patrolling, sea turtles, eagle rays. Most groups do two passes.
Mid-day transit south to Española — the southernmost and oldest of the major islands. The afternoon landing at Punta Suárez is the bird walk most guests remember from the trip. The trail follows the cliff top past the waved albatross colony (April through December — nowhere else on Earth), the Española mockingbird, Nazca and blue-footed booby nesting sites, and a basalt blowhole that spouts seawater fifty feet up the cliff face.
Late afternoon at Gardner Bay — a half-mile crescent of white sand backed by low scrub and a resident sea lion colony. Sea lion pups follow swimmers; adults sprawl across the sand. The two-meter park-rule distance is enforced from the guest side — the animals themselves don't acknowledge it.
Day Highlights
Morning hammerhead snorkel in the Kicker Rock channel.
Afternoon at Punta Suárez — waved albatross (Apr-Dec), Española mockingbird, blowhole.
Late-afternoon swim at Gardner Bay's sea lion nursery.
Three of the marquee Galapagos visitor sites in a single day.
4
Day 4 of 8 · Bachas Beach + Bartolomé Summit
The Pinnacle Rock Climb at Sunrise
Anchorage: Sullivan Bay, off Bartolomé
Pinnacle Rock at Bartolomé — the marquee summit climb.
Overnight northwest — a hundred and ten nautical miles, the longest single leg of the week. Pre-dawn arrival in Sullivan Bay. The naturalist runs the sunrise summit hike — a 372-step wooden staircase from the southern landing climbs the volcanic cone to the lookout at 114 meters. The view from the top is the photograph that anchors every Galapagos trip: Pinnacle Rock, Sullivan Bay's pahoehoe lava across Santiago, the yacht below, the Bolívar Channel opening west.
Late morning shifts to Bachas Beach on the north coast of Santa Cruz — a wide white-sand beach with a brackish lagoon behind it holding flamingos and white-cheeked pintail ducks. ('Bachas' is the local pronunciation of 'barges' — two American Navy barges ran aground here during World War II.) Afternoon snorkel from the beach over sea turtles. Overnight repositioning west for Santiago's landings.
Day Highlights
Overnight northwest transit — 110 nm to Sullivan Bay.
Sunrise climb to the Bartolomé summit (114m).
Pinnacle Rock + Sullivan Bay lava — the marquee Galapagos panorama.
Afternoon at Bachas Beach with flamingo lagoon and snorkel from the sand.
5
Day 5 of 8 · Santiago (Egas Port) + Rabida
Fur Seals at Egas Port and a Red-Sand Beach
Anchorage: Off Rabida Island
Yacht offshore, guests walking the lava boardwalk — the Egas Port pattern.
Morning landing at Puerto Egas (James Bay) on Santiago's northwest coast — a long black-lava shore with a fur seal colony in the cliff-base grottos, the densest sally lightfoot crab population in the islands, and a marine iguana population distinct from the western colonies. The trail runs along the lava shore to the grottos where the Galapagos fur seal rests in shaded sea caves.
Mid-day repositioning south to Rabida — distinctive for the iron-oxide-rich volcanic rock that turns the beach a deep red-brown. The trail behind the beach runs to a brackish lagoon with white-cheeked pintail ducks and (in wet season) flamingos. Afternoon snorkel along the cliff base — schools of king angelfish, parrotfish, reef fish in the rocky shallows. Overnight north toward Genovesa.
Day Highlights
Egas Port black-lava shore — fur seal colony in the cliff grottos.
Day 6 of 8 · Genovesa — Darwin Bay + Prince Philip's Steps
The Red-Footed Booby Colony and Prince Philip's Steps
Anchorage: Darwin Bay, Genovesa
Magnificent frigate bird in courtship — Genovesa's Darwin Bay.
Overnight transit north — 120 nautical miles across open water to Genovesa, a flooded volcanic caldera in the far north of the archipelago. Genovesa is uninhabited and gets no day-boat traffic; only the yachts running an A-route variant reach it. Morning landing at Darwin Bay — a half-moon beach inside the caldera rim, the calmest water of the week. Bird colonies the densest in the islands: the great frigate bird with the inflated red gular sac, the largest red-footed booby colony in the world, the Nazca booby, the swallow-tailed gull, the storm petrels in the lava cracks.
Afternoon landing at Prince Philip's Steps on the east side of the caldera — named for Prince Philip's 1965 visit. A steep climb on wooden and rock-cut steps brings you to a flat plateau on the rim — another concentration of Nazca and red-footed boobies, the storm petrel colony, short-eared owls hunting them at dusk. Overnight south back to the central islands.
Day Highlights
Overnight 120-nm transit north to Genovesa.
Darwin Bay — largest red-footed booby colony in the world.
Day 7 of 8 · Mosquera Islet + Santa Cruz Highlands
A Final Sea Lion Snorkel and the Wild Tortoise Population
Anchorage: Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz
A Galapagos giant tortoise in the Santa Cruz highlands.
Morning landing at Mosquera Islet — a low sand bar between North Seymour and Baltra. A resident sea lion colony lives on the islet; the snorkel from the beach drops you among playing juveniles. Mosquera is the most relaxed landing of the week — short, no climbing, mostly an opportunity to be in the water with the wildlife one more time.
Afternoon transit south to Academy Bay off Puerto Ayora. Private-vehicle transfer up to the highlands — twenty minutes from town, twelve hundred meters of elevation, scalesia forest into Miconia shrubland. El Chato Reserve or Rancho Manzanillo holds wild Galapagos giant tortoise populations grazing in pasture. No barriers; the animals approach as they please. Overnight transit to Baltra.
Day Highlights
Morning sea lion snorkel at Mosquera Islet.
Afternoon transfer to the Santa Cruz highlands.
Wild giant tortoise population at El Chato or Rancho Manzanillo.
Scalesia forest and Miconia shrubland.
8
Day 8 of 8 · North Seymour + Baltra disembark
Blue-Footed Boobies on the Final Morning
Anchorage: Off North Seymour / Baltra
Blue-footed boobies on the final morning's landing — North Seymour.
Pre-dawn run to North Seymour — a small flat island just north of Baltra, formed by tectonic uplift rather than volcanic activity. The sunrise landing brings you onto a low coastal trail past the blue-footed booby colony (the sky-pointing courtship dance performed at close range), the magnificent frigate bird colony (males with the inflated red gular sac), and the resident land iguana population.
Back on board for breakfast and the short transit to Baltra. The crew arranges the transfer to GPS for mid-morning flights direct to Quito and Guayaquil. Guests extending their Latin America trip from here typically connect to Cuzco, Lima, or back to Quito for a night in the old town before flying home.
Day Highlights
Sunrise landing at North Seymour — blue-footed boobies and frigates at close range.
Mile-long coastal trail past the courtship colonies.
Short transit to Baltra, transfer to GPS.
Mid-morning flights direct to Quito and Guayaquil.
Saturday-to-Wednesday from Baltra. Sullivan Bay's lava on day one, Punta Vicente Roca's seabird cliffs and Fernandina's marine iguanas on day two, Isabela's west coast on day three, Charles Darwin Research Station and the Santa Cruz highland tortoises on day four, Baltra disembark Wednesday. The Galapagos compressed for groups pairing it with a Peru, Quito, or Amazon trip on either end.
Duration
5 days / 4 nights
Base
Baltra (GPS) → Baltra (GPS)
The shorter cut for groups pairing Galapagos with Latin America
The 5-day is the right answer when the calendar is the binding constraint and Galapagos is one leg of a longer Latin America trip. The Western route's marquee sites compressed into four nights. The 8-day Western is the full version of this rotation; the 8-day Eastern-and-Northern is the alternate week. For groups with one week to spend on the islands, we recommend the 8-day Western over this 5-day cut — same wildlife density, more time.
1
Day 1 of 5 · Baltra → Sullivan Bay
Embark Baltra and Walk a Century-Old Lava Field
Anchorage: Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island
Pahoehoe lava only a century cooled — Sullivan Bay on Santiago.
Land at GPS on the morning flight from Quito or Guayaquil. The captain meets you at the gate, ferries across the Itabaca channel, and the yacht is at anchor with the chef plating lunch. The naturalist runs the welcome briefing; the cruise plan is filed with the park officer.
Mid-afternoon the captain runs north and east to Sullivan Bay. By late afternoon the panga lands you on the 1903 pahoehoe — ropy black rock, lava bombs, pioneer plants pushing through cracks. Sundowners and dinner at anchor.
Day Highlights
Welcome at Baltra (GPS), Itabaca channel transfer.
Cruise plan filed with the park officer.
Fifty-nautical-mile run to Sullivan Bay.
Pre-sunset lava walk on 1903 pahoehoe.
2
Day 2 of 5 · Punta Vicente Roca + Punta Espinoza
The Marine Iguana Colony and the Cliffs of Vicente Roca
Anchorage: Off Punta Espinoza, Fernandina
Marine iguanas at Punta Espinoza — the largest colony in the archipelago.
Overnight west into the Bolívar Channel. Morning brings the yacht into Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela's northwest tip — thousand-foot cliffs with seabirds nesting on the ledges, sea turtles surfacing in the channel, Galapagos sharks under the panga.
Mid-day crossing west to Fernandina. Punta Espinoza is the only visitor site: a lava-flow point with the largest marine iguana colony anywhere on Earth — hundreds piled on bare black rock, the only lizards that forage in the ocean. The flightless cormorant nests at the site as well. Afternoon snorkel from the panga over green sea turtles.
Day Highlights
Overnight transit west into the Bolívar Channel.
Morning panga cruise along Punta Vicente Roca's nesting cliffs.
Afternoon landing at Punta Espinoza — the largest marine iguana colony in the islands.
Flightless cormorant nesting site, snorkel from the panga.
3
Day 3 of 5 · Tagus Cove + Urbina Bay
Whaler Graffiti and an Uplifted Reef
Anchorage: Tagus Cove + Urbina Bay, Isabela
Morning run south to Tagus Cove — a small protected anchorage tucked into tuff cliffs. Whaling crews used it as a watering stop from the 1820s through the 1880s; the cliff face above the anchorage carries their names and dates, the earliest legible from 1836. The naturalist runs a kayak program in Darwin's Lake behind the cove.
Afternoon south to Urbina Bay. The trail above the landing crosses dead coral and bleached sea-urchin shells — in 1954 an offshore reef rose four meters above sea level overnight, tied to Alcedo volcano's activity. Land iguanas and giant tortoises forage the area in wet season. Overnight east toward Santa Cruz.
Day Highlights
Kayak program in Darwin's Lake behind Tagus Cove.
Whaler graffiti — earliest inscription 1836.
Trail across the 1954 uplifted reef at Urbina Bay.
Wet-season land iguana and giant tortoise sightings.
4
Day 4 of 5 · Charles Darwin Research Station + Highlands
Lonesome George and the Highland Tortoises
Anchorage: Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz
Captive-breeding pair at the Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz.
Morning at the Charles Darwin Research Station — the captive-breeding program running since 1959, the Lonesome George Memorial (the last Pinta Island tortoise, taxidermied after his 2012 death), interpretive signage on the conservation work.
Midday transfer up to the highlands by private vehicle — twenty minutes from town, twelve hundred meters of elevation, scalesia forest into Miconia shrubland, lava tubes you walk through with the naturalist. El Chato Reserve or Rancho Manzanillo holds wild Galapagos giant tortoise populations grazing in pasture. Overnight transit to Baltra.
Day Highlights
Charles Darwin Research Station — Lonesome George Memorial.
Private-vehicle transfer to the Santa Cruz highlands.
Wild giant tortoise population at El Chato or Rancho Manzanillo.
Scalesia forest and lava tubes.
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Day 5 of 5 · Baltra disembark
Final Morning and Fly Out
Anchorage: Baltra dinghy dock
Final morning at anchor — Baltra disembark Wednesday.
Overnight transit north to Baltra. Farewell breakfast on the aft deck before disembarkation by mid-morning. Panga to the Itabaca channel dock, short ferry, transfer to GPS for the morning flight back to Quito or Guayaquil.
From here most groups connect to the next leg. Cuzco / Machu Picchu typically connects through GYE on LATAM, arriving Cuzco mid-afternoon for the four- or five-night Peru program. Quito old-town pairing stays in Ecuador. Amazon pairing connects from UIO to Coca for the Mashpi or Napo Wildlife Center transfer.
Day Highlights
Overnight north to Baltra.
Disembarkation by mid-morning.
Transfer to GPS for direct flights to Quito and Guayaquil.
Same-day connections to Cuzco, the Amazon, or onward international.
Dinner on the aft deck — set for the group, a volcanic islet off the open side.
Plan Your Galapagos Charter
When to go, what it costs, and how to get there — the practical answers guests ask before booking a Galapagos crewed yacht charter.
When to Charter the Galapagos
Warm Season (Dec–May)
Mid-to-high seventies Fahrenheit water, calm seas, lush vegetation, the warmest snorkeling of the year. Marine iguana hatchlings in March, green sea turtle nesting December through March. Brief afternoon showers typical. The window we recommend for first-time guests — warmest water, most consistent weather, no wetsuit needed.
Cool Season (Jun–Nov)
Humboldt upwelling drops water to the high sixties and low seventies and drives the highest marine productivity of the year. Best snorkeling visibility and feeding density. Waved albatross at Punta Suárez April through December (the only place on Earth they nest). Plan a 3mm wetsuit. Cool-season weeks book strong with serious wildlife travelers.
Wildlife-Event Calendar
Lock the week to the species you want: waved albatross April–December, sea lion pups September–November, marine iguana hatchlings December–March, green turtle nesting December–March, blue-footed booby mating June–August, red-footed booby May–October. Frigate-bird courtship runs year-round with peaks tied to El Niño. The naturalist builds the daily program around what's actively happening when you arrive.
One of Darwin's thirteen finch species — the variation that shaped natural selection.
What a Galapagos Crewed Charter Costs
$60,000–$150,000 per week
A private full-yacht Galapagos expedition charter runs roughly $60,000 to $150,000+ per week, depending on yacht tier and time of year. The lower end captures the First Class category; the upper end captures the Luxury Class boats — Infinity, Galapagos Horizon, Galapagos Sea Star. The base rate covers the entire yacht for your party (eight cabins, sixteen to twenty guests), captain and crew, a Class III licensed naturalist guide, all meals and a full bar, panga tenders, snorkel gear and wetsuits, kayaks, paddleboards, and the licensed itinerary fees. Park entry, the Galapagos transit card, hyperbaric chamber contribution, and airport-to-yacht transfers are itemized at booking and paid separately. Crew gratuity is customary at ten to fifteen percent of the base rate. Charter departures are set by the park schedule — 4-day Friday-to-Monday, 5-day Monday-to-Friday or Tuesday-to-Saturday, 8-day Saturday-to-Saturday or Monday-to-Monday. Long-haul flights to Quito or Guayaquil are not included.
Two mainland gateways and two island airports. Quito's Mariscal Sucre International (UIO) and Guayaquil's José Joaquín de Olmedo International (GYE) are the two Ecuadorian hubs; LATAM and Avianca operate the daily domestic flights from both into the islands. Most US guests fly UIO via Bogotá, Miami, Panama City, or Houston (American, Avianca, Copa, United, JetBlue) and overnight in Quito's Mariscal or La Floresta district before the morning flight to the islands. From UIO/GYE, flights run to Baltra Island (GPS, the airport that serves Santa Cruz via the Itabaca Channel ferry) or San Cristóbal (SCY, the eastern embarkation airport). Which gateway depends on which itinerary you book — the Western rotation embarks at Baltra; the Eastern-and-Northern rotation embarks at San Cristóbal.
Embarkation ports
The yacht's embarkation point is set by the GNP-issued itinerary, not negotiable. The Western rotation (R1) embarks and disembarks at Baltra — guests fly UIO/GYE → GPS, ferry across the Itabaca Channel to Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) for the overnight, board the yacht the next morning, or board directly from the airport on tighter schedules. The Eastern-and-Northern rotation (R2) embarks at San Cristóbal — guests fly UIO/GYE → SCY direct, board the yacht at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The 4-day intro (R3) embarks at Baltra. Most guests overnight in Quito's old town for two nights at one of the heritage hotels (Casa Gangotena, Illa Experience Hotel, Plaza Grande) before the island flight; we coordinate the Ecuador mainland piece and the Galapagos charter separately with our Quito partners.
Airport transfers
From the island airports the captain runs the airport-to-yacht transfer end-to-end — most charters meet guests at the airport gate, panga across to the anchored vessel from the dinghy dock, with luggage handled and a cold drink waiting on the aft deck inside thirty minutes of landing. On disembarkation the captain manages the reverse transfer to make the GYE/UIO connecting flight. The Itabaca Channel ferry to Santa Cruz (for Baltra arrivals choosing to overnight in Puerto Ayora) is a five-minute pass; private taxis from the south dock to Puerto Ayora town run twenty-five minutes.
Customs & immigration
Ecuador is the country of record. US, UK, EU, Canadian, and Australian citizens do not require a visa for stays under ninety days. The Galapagos has its own immigration regime on top of Ecuadorian entry — the Galapagos Transit Control Card (TCT) is issued at UIO or GYE pre-flight; the park entry fee is collected on arrival at GPS or SCY. The naturalist guide on your yacht handles the cruise-plan paperwork with the park officer at each landing; guests don't see the operational layer. Galapagos National Park rules are absolute on the guest side and worth respecting: maintain at least two meters from wildlife, no flash photography, no food on landings, no removal of any organic or volcanic material, and stay on the marked paths at every visitor site. The naturalist briefs the rules at the welcome onboard and reinforces them at every landing — the rules are why the wildlife is still here.
Frequently asked questions
About chartering in Galapagos.
How long should our Galapagos charter be?
The Galapagos National Park licenses each vessel to a fixed itinerary — so charter durations match the published GNP rotations, not custom day counts. The three real product cuts are the eight-day week (Saturday-to-Saturday or Monday-to-Monday — the full licensed rotation, covers either the Western islands or the Eastern-plus-Northern islands), the four-day intro (Friday-to-Monday or Monday-to-Friday — Central and Southern islands, the right length for guests adding Galapagos to a Latin America itinerary), and the back-to-back twelve-day charter (an eight-day plus a four-day on either end, the same vessel and crew, covers ninety-five percent of the licensed Galapagos product on a single charter). For most guests, eight days is the right answer — the wildlife density and the volcanic geology reward the longer week. For first-time Latin America travelers pairing Galapagos with Quito, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu, the four-day Central-and-Southern intro is the cleaner fit. The twelve-day combination is the right answer for guests who want everything in one trip — Western for the marine iguanas and Galapagos penguins, Eastern-plus-Northern for the waved albatross and Kicker Rock, all on one charter.
What's included in a private Galapagos expedition charter?
The base rate covers the entire yacht for your party, captain and crew, a Class III licensed naturalist guide (the highest park-issued guide tier — multi-language, biology background), all meals and a full open bar, panga tenders, snorkel gear and wetsuits, kayaks, paddleboards, and the licensed itinerary fees the vessel pays the park. Park entry, the Galapagos Transit Control Card, the hyperbaric chamber contribution, ferry transfers between airport and yacht, and crew gratuity are itemized at booking and paid separately — not taken out of an APA float during the charter the way a Caribbean or Mediterranean trip handles operational costs. The numbers are known at booking and don't move during the trip. Crew gratuity is customary at ten to fifteen percent of the base rate, paid on disembarkation.
How is a Galapagos charter different from a Caribbean or Mediterranean charter?
Three structural differences. First, every vessel runs a pre-approved park itinerary — the charter buys out the entire licensed yacht for your party (eight cabins, sixteen to twenty guests depending on the boat), but the route is fixed. The naturalist clears each landing with the park officer at every stop. Second, every charter carries a licensed naturalist for the duration — a separate role from the captain, running the daily program (panga before breakfast, guided landing in the morning, snorkel from the panga before lunch, afternoon zodiac cruise or beach walk, briefing the next day's plan over dinner). Third, all vessels are motor — sailing yachts are not park-licensed for inter-island travel, and the published itineraries cover long inter-island transits overnight while guests sleep. The trade-off: you give up the design-your-own-week flexibility of a BVI or Croatia charter; in exchange you get a wildlife encounter and a geological experience that doesn't exist anywhere else.
When is the best time to charter Galapagos?
Galapagos has two seasons rather than the four-season Mediterranean register, and both work for charter — the choice is about which wildlife events you're after. The warm and wet season runs December through May — sea temperatures in the mid-to-high seventies Fahrenheit, calm seas, the lushest scalesia and palo santo vegetation, marine iguana hatchlings emerging through March, green sea turtle nesting on the south-facing beaches December through March, and the warmest snorkel water of the year. Afternoon rain showers are typical but brief. The cool and dry season runs June through November — Humboldt-current upwelling drops water temperatures to the high sixties and low seventies, drives the highest marine biomass of the year (best snorkeling productivity, the highest density of feeding sea birds and sea lions), and brings the waved albatross to Española from April through December for the courtship and chick-rearing window. Whale shark season at Wolf and Darwin (technically a separate diver-only liveaboard product) is also June through November. For first-time guests we recommend December through April — the warmest water, the most consistent weather, and the calmer-water snorkeling without the wetsuit. Returning guests and serious wildlife enthusiasts often book August through October for the upwelling-driven feeding behavior and the Española albatross window.
Can we combine Galapagos with Quito, the Amazon, Peru, or Machu Picchu?
Yes — and for first-time Latin America travelers, we recommend it. Quito sits at the start or end of most Galapagos charters (LATAM and Avianca operate the daily domestic flights to Baltra and San Cristóbal from Quito and Guayaquil), and the old town is a UNESCO-inscribed colonial center worth one or two nights either side of the charter. From Quito, the Ecuadorian Amazon is a one-hour flight plus a river transfer (Mashpi Lodge and Napo Wildlife Center are the HNW options, three to four nights) — pairs naturally with Galapagos for guests who want both the marine and terrestrial expedition experience. South of Quito, Peru opens — Cuzco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and the Inkaterra and Belmond properties run a separate three-to-five-night module that we coordinate with our Peru partners. The full sequence we book most often is Quito (2 nights) → Galapagos charter (8 days) → Cuzco and Machu Picchu (4 nights), with the second leg running on Belmond Andean Explorer or Belmond Hiram Bingham depending on the schedule. The charter side is the constraint — Galapagos charter departures are Friday or Monday only, so the surrounding land program fits around the yacht's published embarkation dates.
Western Islands or Eastern-plus-Northern — which itinerary should we pick?
Different Galapagos. Both are full eight-day weeks; both are worth booking; most guests pick one and come back for the other. The Western route (R1 on our page) runs Baltra → North Seymour → Genovesa → Fernandina → Isabela west coast → Santiago → Bartolomé → back to Baltra, and is the right answer for guests who want the youngest, wildest, most-endemic Galapagos — the marine iguanas at Punta Espinoza are the largest in the archipelago, the Galapagos penguin and the flightless cormorant exist only on Fernandina and Isabela's west coast, the Sierra Negra caldera (the second-largest active volcanic crater on Earth) hikes from a south-Isabela landing, and Tagus Cove's nineteenth-century whaler graffiti sits above the anchorage. The Eastern-plus-Northern route (R2) runs San Cristóbal → Española → Floreana → Santa Cruz → North Seymour → Genovesa → Bartolomé → Santa Cruz, and is the right answer for guests who want the bird-and-courtship Galapagos — Española's waved albatross sky-clapping (April through December only), the original wooden mail barrel at Post Office Bay still in use after two hundred and fifty years, Kicker Rock's hammerhead-shark snorkel channel, and Genovesa's red-footed booby and great frigate bird colonies. For one trip, Western is our default recommendation — wildlife density is highest, the geology is most active, and the marquee shots (Pinnacle Rock at Bartolomé, marine iguanas at Fernandina, the Sierra Negra caldera) are all on this route. For repeat travelers or guests who time the trip to April-through-December specifically for the waved albatross, Eastern-plus-Northern is the right book.
Pinnacle Rock at sunset — the silhouette that closes most Galapagos trips.
Other South Pacific Charter Destinations
We charter across the South Pacific. Here are some other excellent alternatives.
Fill out our quick form and we'll dive into your unique preferences — from adventure-packed itineraries to pampered escapes. Whether you're a seasoned voyager or new to charters, we'll tailor recommendations just for you.
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Choose the Perfect Yacht
With over fifteen years of experience, we'll match you with the yacht that fits your style, group, and itinerary. We work directly with the captains and crews across our list — so the recommendation is built around the right boat-and-crew fit for your week, not whatever's easiest to book.
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Relax While We Handle the Details
Once your yacht is booked, we'll take care of logistics: paperwork, reminders, and personalized resources to help you plan. From arrival planning to must-visit spots, we'll make your charter as seamless as it is unforgettable.
