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Blue-footed boobies nesting on the hiking trails, staring quizzically as you walk past. Mockingbirds landing on camera lenses and peering at their reflections. Sea lions hopping off rocks as you hop out of your Zodiac, eager to look at you, or swim with you. Galápagos is a rare and magical place and the most welcoming place to be after the year our species has had. We know—we’ve been leading expeditions here for more than 50 years. Don’t miss out on Galápagos this fall—choose our Wild Escape for a quick getaway, or stay longer.
In Galápagos, one thing is certain: expect the unexpected! Surrounded by wildlife on land and at sea, you never know what might happen. And that’s been the draw since Darwin landed in 1835.
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Galápagos
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Length
10 days
From
$7,560
Prices are per person
Galápagos
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Galápagos
Peru
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Length
16 days
From
$13,760
Prices are per person
Galápagos
Peru
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Galápagos
Peru
Wild Escapes
Special Offers
Length
10 days
From
$7,330
Prices are per person
Galápagos
Peru
Wild Escapes
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Galápagos
Wild Escapes
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Length
7 days
From
$5,900
Prices are per person
Galápagos
Wild Escapes
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Travel to the Galápagos is on! Here are some things you might be wondering if you're considering a trip to the world's most interesting islands.
read moreDive in and experience Galápagos with all your senses. Choose how you want to explore—hike, paddleboard, kayak, snorkel, or arrange to dive (on select departures). Take a long hike or just relax on the beach. Our generous staff-to-guest ratio means you can always find a naturalist whose interests and approach you share whether you want to focus on birding, human history, photography, the undersea, or more. Since the first international tourist expedition cruise to the Galápagos Islands in July 1967 with Lars-Eric Lindblad, we’ve introduced generations of guests to these strange and wonderful islands, the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.
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The morning adventure continued with a deep-water snorkel at Champion Islet. Little did we know it was going to be one of the best snorkeling experiences of our lives. A pod of playful and curious dolphins approached us and started swimming in circles around us!
Gianna Haro, Naturalist (Photo by Joshua Vela, Video Chronicler)
more daily expedition reportsFrom climate conditions, to water temperature, to packing the right footwear. Find answers to the questions our Expedition Specialists get most often.
Read moreHenry David Thoreau called it the “tonic of wildness.” It’s what a cruise to Galápagos, with its beauty and wildness, gives you—a spirit lift. To compound this healthful effect, we provide a quality of shipboard life and a philosophy of wellness to relax and rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit.
This is the best trip we have ever taken. We have been all over the world and nothing else compares.
Barry Z.
Lindblad Expeditions supports stewardship efforts in the places we explore, and one way we do that is through the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic (LEX-NG) Fund. Traveler contributions to the LEX-NG Fund in Galápagos currently support our regional partners—the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galápagos National Park Directorate, Island Conservation, and the Scalesia Foundation—in their efforts to research and conserve the unique wildlife of the islands and promote education in the region.
10/14/2021
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National Geographic Endeavour II
We are close to the end our trip, but the highlights keep coming. Many guests had been eagerly awaiting this day. Finally, we are exploring the highlands of Santa Cruz, home of the most iconic creature of Galapagos, the giant tortoises. The territory is full of lush vegetation, where many freshwater ponds are formed here and there. The giant tortoises need this water to survive, and the grass and fruits to eat. In the past, pirates and early colonists slaughtered many of them for food, almost to point of extinction. Their populations are slowly bouncing back through conservation efforts. On our way to see the giant tortoises, we stopped at Los Gemelos to explore volcanic formations called pit craters. Up here all the scenery is green. The atmosphere was overcast and foggy. In this cloud forest, one can find up to nine varieties of finches, plus mockingbirds, gallinules, crakes, warbles, doves, and flycatchers. Then it was time to visit the migration paths of the Galapagos giant tortoises and marvel at these astonishing prehistoric reptiles. Even as we sat down to lunch at an outdoor restaurant located in the preserve, we were surrounded by hundreds of tortoises feeding on grass. In the afternoon, we returned to the National Geographic Endeavour II and headed immediately to Bowditch Point. There is a white sandy beach, a preferred nesting site for marine turtles. Some of us went for a swim while others walked along the beach, looking for a place to rest and contemplate their surroundings. Later our Wellness Specialist Roxana led a relaxing stretching routine during a spectacular sunset. At six o’clock, we returned to our ship. Every day in the Galapagos is exceptional, a tonic of wildness to all of us!
10/13/2021
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National Geographic Endeavour II
The day started with an early walk on Espumilla Beach, a greenish sand beach with a large mangrove forest along the shore. The morning was sunny and the fog in the distance created rainbows in the sky. The highlight of the morning was a group of hawks, both juveniles and adults, perching on branches and even sitting on the sand in front of us. At the same time, blue-footed boobies fished in the shallow waters by the beach. Later, we explored Buccaneer’s Cove by kayaking and snorkeling along a volcanic wall. It is a place famously visited by the HMS Beagle , Charles Darwin’s ship. Afterward, we repositioned the National Geographic Endeavour II at Egas Port, where a black sand beach made for a unique landing. The beach was full of sea lions, birds, and colorful crabs. The walk took us to a rocky shore and a system of tidal pools along the trail. Finches, whimbrels, ruddy turnstones, and Galapagos fur seals were some of the highlights on the afternoon.
10/12/2021
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Today, we are on Isabela, the second largest island of the group. This is the land of the flightless cormorant, the Galapagos penguin, the sea turtle, and many other creatures. At the time we set foot on the shore of Isabela, we realized that it is also home for land iguanas and giant tortoise as well. Tagus Cove was our destination in the afternoon. This place is home to marine iguanas, sea lions, crabs, sea turtles, and many other sea-going species. We explored the shallow shore inside the cove from Zodiacs, kayaks, paddle boards, and while wearing snorkeling gear. We had encounters with large schools of fish of different sizes and colors, and sea turtles too many to count!
10/11/2021
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National Geographic Endeavour II
We woke up to the view of large volcanoes in the distance, as the National Geographic Endeavour II navigated the western waters of the Galapagos. We soon encountered a pod of around 300 common dolphins swimming around the ship. This time of the year, these waters are very productive, so marine life is abundant. After breakfast, we had a dry landing on the youngest of the Galapagos. Fernandina has black lava fields and a large amount of wildlife. Punta Espinoza is the name of the only visitor site on Fernandina, and we hiked along the trails covered with several marine iguanas basking under the sun. A couple of young Galapagos hawks were feasting on leftover sea lion placenta. It is the time of the year when some female sea lions give birth on Fernandina, and we spotted a couple of brand-new babies. One of the highlights of our morning walk was seeing the courtship of Galapagos flightless cormorants. This is the beginning of the breeding season for flightless cormorants to breed, so male and female performed swan-like courtship movements along the shoreline of the black lava flows. After the walk, we went deep-water snorkeling off the coast of Fernandina. We were able to see several marine iguanas feeding underwater, which is quite unique. These are the only seagoing iguanas on the planet. Marine iguanas dive in search of green algae growing on rocks in the shallows around the coast of Fernandina. Several Pacific green sea turtles also joined us. In the afternoon, we relocated to Isabela Island. A Zodiac ride was offered to see the wildlife off the coast of Punta Vicente Roca. We had the opportunity to find a couple of Galapagos penguins, this being the northernmost penguin species in the world. Several penguins rested on rocks while others fished along the coast. The geology at Punta Vicente Roca was an interesting landscape of tuff and basalt, with the colors of iron oxidation contrasting with the cliffs at this visitor site. After our Zodiac ride, our ship crossed the equator line, and we had a celebration of this crossing at sunset, capping off another incredible day in the Galapagos.
10/10/2021
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Today we woke up anchored in North Seymour, a small island but with fantastic opportunities for wildlife sightings. Here, a colony of frigatebirds nested all along our trail, so we saw all stages of their reproductive cycle. Males courting and babies of all ages.
It will never leave you if you go to the Galápagos islands. You will have stories for the rest of your life—I can promise you.
Sven-Olof Lindblad
