Hosted Tour: 24 days / 23 nights
Departing Tue 5th May 26
We begin our adventure by being driven from our Whangarei homes to Auckland International airport. We take an overnight flight from Auckland to Houston (3 nights) with a walking food tour and an optional tour to the NASA Space Centre.
We then fly to Quito (4 nights) to begin our tour of the Galapagos. We visit the unique Mindo Cloud Forest and explore Ecuador’s capital city. On day 8 we set foot on the first of the Galapagos Islands we will visit, San Cristobal (3 nights) where Charles Darwin first went ashore in 1835. Here we will snorkel with sea lions, manta rays, sea turtles and maybe even the gentle Galapagos shark. At Kicker Rock we will look for nesting frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies, and of course get up close to the iconic giant tortoises at La Galapaguera.
Day 11 begins with an early boat ride to Santa Cruz Island (1 night), keeping an eye out for dolphins and whales along the way. Upon arrival, we’ll visit El Chato tortoise reserve and walk the lava tunnels. We take a 2.5hr speedboat ride to Isabela Island (3 nights), the largest and one of the most stunning islands in the Galápagos Archipelago. Here we will see Sierra Negra Volcano – one of the Galapagos’ most active volcanoes and the world’s second-largest crater! We also visit small islands of volcanic rock with red, white and jeli mangroves. On Day 15 we move to Santa Cruz (2 nights), where we will tour an organic farm, and join an expert chef for a cooking class to prepare the renowned encebollado – a local fish soup celebrated as one of the world’s best.
We leave the Galapagos Islands for Lima (1 night) before flying to Puerto Maldonado for our The Amazon Jungle Adventure (3 nights). From our upriver jungle lodge base, we will explore the Amazon by boat and on foot. We will keep our eyes peeled for jungle wildlife such as hoatzins, monkeys, macaws, black caimans, colourful parrots, and if you’re lucky, a family of endangered giant river otters. Once our adventure comes to an end, we will take flights back to Houston before an overnight flight back to Auckland, arriving bright and early to meet our shuttle and transfer back to our homes in Whangarei.
A wildlife adventure of a lifetime…
Your Hosted Tour Includes:
- You, Me & Friends Host/Driver/organiser
- Pick up & drop off from your central Whangarei home
- Return shuttle van to and from Auckland Airport
- Strata Lounge entry
- Return airfares to Houston
- Flight from Houston to Quito
- All internal South American flights
- All transfers
- 21 nights in three ½ star + accommodation
- Daily breakfasts
- 6 lunches
- 5 dinners
- Houston City Tour by cart
- Walking food tour in Houston
- 13 day/12 night Galapagos Tour with specialist guides
- Quito Old Town walking tour
- Mindo Cloud Forest day tour
- Galapagos Park entrance fee
- Snorkelling in La Loberia
- Snorkelling in León Dormido
- El Chato Giant Tortoise Reserve
- Kayaking in Isla Isabela
- Sierra Negra Volcano Hike
- Encebollado cooking class
- Organic farm visit in Santa Cruz
- Visit the Galapagos Conservancy
- Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station
- 4 day/3 night Amazon Jungle Adventure with specialist guides
- Nocturnal wildlife river cruise
- Sunrise wildlife river cruise
- Jungle night walk
Optional activities
- NASA Space Centre tour ($TBA)
Share twin: $21,980 per person / Single room: $24,950 per person
