Isolated by time and ocean, the wildlife of Galápagos has never developed an instinctive flight response to humans. Blue-footed boobies nest on hiking trails, oblivious to humans walking past. Mockingbirds land on camera lenses peering at their reflections. Sea lions hop off rocks as you hop out of your Zodiac, eager to get a look at you under the water. Galápagos is a rare and magical place. We know—we’ve been leading expeditions here for more than 50 years. No other company has the depth of connection to the place, its wildlife, its human population and its conservation that we do. This is not a boast on our part, but rather a reason: our tenure here is your assurance that traveling with us will make the most of your time, intelligence, and curiosity.
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
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Length
10 days
From
$7,190
Prices are per person
Galápagos
Peru
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Galápagos
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Length
7 days
From
$5,900
Prices are per person
Galápagos
Special Offers
Dive in and experience Galápagos with all your senses. Choose how you want to explore—hike, paddleboard, kayak, snorkel, arrange to dive. 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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This is the best trip we have ever taken. We have been all over the world and nothing else compares.
Barry Z.
Henry 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.
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.
Sep 19
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National Geographic Islander
Espanola Island is home to many species of animals found only here. Española marine iguanas, Espanola lava lizards, Espanola albatrosses, Espanola land snakes, and the Espanola mockingbird are just a few.
Sep 19
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National Geographic Endeavour II
First day! Amazing start! The morning started with the typical cool season weather for Galapagos—inversion layer hanging over us, muted sunrise, dry-looking island to starboard, even dryer-looking islet to our port side. But my-oh-my...after breakfast we set out first towards the little islet known as Gardner Islet off Espanola (because there's another next door, off Floreana). Deep-water snorkelers had already heard about how the logistics work here on National Geographic Endeavour II , so when we arrived a few minutes later, our experienced snorkelers got ready in no-time, and into the 68-degree ocean water we went! The first comment I received was "There's nothing here," to which I shouted, "Get closer to the rocks!" And sure enough, there it all was. If you are accustomed to snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef – then yes, Galapagos is different. Rocky reefs instead of coral reefs. But there were the coral hawkfish, giant hawkfish, damselfish, creolefish, groupers, angelfish, and the variety of sea stars and urchins – fabulous! On the beach later, everyone was captivated by the sea lions. They were resting, sleeping, fidgeting, waving off flies, sneezing. Doing all that mammals do on a regular basis, yet here we were two meters away, as interesting as a rock to them. Accepted, ignored...it was strangely wonderful to be in their world. The afternoon was another world entirely. Punta Suarez is renowned for the sea bird colonies that inhabit the area: waved albatross, Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, as well as land birds to include Darwin finches of the small-beaked ground, warbler finches, and Espanola ground-type. All seen, accordingly documented on our list. Espanola marine iguanas, Espanola mockingbirds, Espanola ground finch; it tells you something...that this island is special. Isolated, unique, hard-to-colonize, founder effect: genetic drift. All has had significant impact on the resident wildlife here; all exhibit the results in their unique genetic makeup and morphological differences. What a place!
Sep 19
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National Geographic Islander
This morning, National Geographic Islander dropped anchor in front of Punta Pitt, the eastern most point of the archipelago. We spent our morning hiking to the top of a hill and from there, spotted blue- and red-footed bobbies. Later, we went swimming and snorkeling off the green sandy beach of Punta Pitt. More amazing wildlife was seen when we headed toward Cerro Brujo as we were fortunate enough to have a small pod of bottlenose dolphins ride the bow and be our companions for some time. When we arrived, we were welcomed by curious sea lions; what a great afternoon!
Sep 19
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National Geographic Islander
Today on our last full day in paradise, we were very fortunate to spend it at Santiago; Lindblad Expeditions’ adopted island. As part of conservation efforts, such as the ones implemented on Santiago Island, Lindblad Expeditions has helped with the recovery of the Galapagos by assisting in restoration and eradication programs. In the morning we visited a beautiful magnetite and olivine abiogenic sand beach, which is also a well-known Pacific green sea turtle nesting ground. During our walk along the beach, we had very close encounters with brown pelicans, American oystercatchers, yellow warblers, Galapagos mockingbirds and ghost crabs. The rest of the morning was spent in the ocean kayaking, Zodiac riding, and snorkeling. The day ended with a breathtaking sunset walk at Puerto Egas. This site has been visited for years by thousands, yet during our stay, it felt like we were the first people ever to step foot on this site. This is the magic of the Galapagos Islands, and it due to conservation and the love of our natural world by many around the globe, including our guests. Tomorrow we will be leaving the Galapagos Islands, but the Galapagos will never leave us!
Sep 19
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National Geographic Islander
A brand new day found us anchored at Isabela Island with the view of the majestic Alcedo Volcano dominating the scenery. We were all very motivated and had great expectations, and so after breakfast, our first activity of the day started with a wet landing on a volcanic black beach at Urbina Bay. In this remote location, a trail goes inland through the typical arid zones of the Galapagos, and is covered with thick vegetation, mainly composed of spiny bushes and medium sized trees. One plant species, the poison apple tree, or “manzanillo,” possesses a latex irritant the giant tortoises and land iguanas seem to enjoy very much. Through evolution, they have developed a resistance to it, although this plant is still dangerous for other animals. Not too far from our landing site we encountered two of the most emblematic reptile species of the Galapagos: the giant tortoises and the Galapagos land iguanas. After our hike, we swam along our landing beach which was teaming with active wildlife. We even had a couple of young, playful sea lions accompany us. Our Global Explores had Zodiac driving lessons and then all graduated with “honours” as Zodiacs pilots! Once on board, we had a marvellous presentation “Who is who in the Blue” with National Geographic Explorer Tierney Thys. It was an honour to have her aboard. Dr. Thys is an ocean scientist, conservationist, media producer, and an amazing teacher. She is also the world’s leading authority on the sunfish, one of the most fascinating fish species that inhabit our planet. In the early afternoon, we moved to Tagus Cove where guests went snorkelling or kayaking around the bay. Sea turtles, sea lions, sea stars, Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, marine invertebrates, and of course, many fish species were just some of our encounters. Later in the afternoon, some guests chose to go on an invigorating fast-paced hike to one of the nearby hills for a fantastic view of the volcanic landscape and a lake visited by Charles Darwin in 1835. For those wanting a more relaxed pace, a Zodiac ride was offered to explore more of the area. After this long but rewarding day, we returned to the ship and shared our new adventures and experiences during cocktail hour. The magic of the Galapagos was at its best today!
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
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