Galapagos Angel Luxury Yacht: Northern & Central Islands Cruise

This is a 4-night, 5-day cruise of the northern and central islands. It starts on a Sunday when your flight lands at Baltra Airport and the guide transfers you to the yacht, and it finishes on Thursday morning after the visit to the Charles Darwin Station, with a transfer back to Baltra for your flight out.

The route covers North Seymour, Chinese Hat and Sullivan Bay on Santiago, Genovesa (Darwin Bay and Prince Philip's Steps), Egas Port, Rabida and finally Santa Cruz. It is a compact loop built around seabird colonies, penguins, lava landscapes and giant tortoises.

The Angel is a first-class private motor yacht built to high navigation standards for smooth sailing between the islands. She carries a small group in Standard cabins with private bathrooms and air conditioning, and her size makes her a good fit for families and small groups who want a friendly, informal atmosphere on board.

Fares start at US$4,245 per person sharing a Standard cabin, one of the most accessible rates for a guided, all-meals Galapagos cruise of this length. The exact fare for each Sunday departure is listed on this page. Flights to the islands, the National Park fee and the transit card are paid separately.

All meals on board, every guided excursion, all transfers within the islands, a bilingual National Park naturalist guide, airport assistance, one hotel night in Quito or Guayaquil the evening before the cruise and one airport transfer for your Galapagos flight. The complimentary hotel night and transfer carry some restrictions, so please confirm them with us when booking.

Return flights between mainland Ecuador and Baltra, the US$100 Galapagos National Park fee, the US$20 Transit Control Card, alcoholic drinks, travel insurance, crew and guide gratuities and personal spending. Allow roughly US$150 per person for the park fee and card, plus the airfare, which we can quote for you.

Yes. Single occupancy is available on request and the supplement depends on the date and remaining cabins, so ask us for a quote before you book. Solo travellers who are willing to share with another guest of the same gender may be able to avoid the supplement on some departures.

North Seymour is one of the best introductions to the Galapagos: a flat island with a large colony of magnificent frigatebirds, the males inflating their red throat pouches in season, blue-footed boobies nesting on the path, land iguanas and sea lions along the shore. The walk takes about an hour and a half.

Both are on the Santiago side of the itinerary. Chinese Hat is a small volcanic cone with a channel where Galapagos penguins and white-tipped reef sharks are often seen while snorkelling. Sullivan Bay is a vast field of pahoehoe lava from an 1897 eruption, with ropey formations and the first pioneer plants taking hold, a favourite for photographers.

Genovesa sits north of the equator and is home to the largest red-footed booby colony in the islands. At Darwin Bay you walk among nesting boobies, frigatebirds and swallow-tailed gulls, and on the climb up Prince Philip's Steps you reach Nazca boobies, storm petrels and the short-eared owls that hunt among them.

Yes, both are regular sightings. Rabida's saltwater lagoon behind the red-sand beach is a reliable spot for flamingos, and Galapagos penguins are usually seen at Chinese Hat and around Rabida. Egas Port on Santiago adds marine iguanas, fur seals and tide pools full of Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Yes, on the final morning. The Fausto Llerena Breeding Center at the station on Santa Cruz shows the giant tortoise breeding programme, with hatchlings and adults of several island races, before the transfer to Baltra Airport for your flight.

It is one of the better family options in this range: an informal small yacht, easy walks, plenty of snorkelling and a route full of penguins, boobies and tortoises that children enjoy. Children under 5 and those from 5 to under 12 have their own fare bands, counted by age on the departure date; ask us for current child rates.

Excursions are graded easy to moderate. Trails are one to two hours over sand, boulders and lava, with the steepest section being the short climb up Prince Philip's Steps on Genovesa. Some landings are wet landings from the dinghy onto a beach, so bring sandals or water shoes.

Masks, snorkels and fins are available on board and wetsuits are recommended in the cooler months from June to November, when the water can drop to the mid-60s F. Chinese Hat, Rabida and Darwin Bay are the main snorkelling sites on this route.

A 20% deposit secures your cabin and the balance is due 65 days before the cruise. Bookings made inside 65 days are paid in full at the time of booking. Payment can be made online on this page or arranged with our concierge.

Departures are on Sundays, with dates on sale from October 2026 through November 2027. Every available date and its fare is listed live on this page with a booking button.

Fly to Quito or Guayaquil at least one day before the Sunday departure; a hotel night the evening before is included. On Sunday morning take the flight to Baltra (Galapagos flights are morning departures), and on Thursday book a mainland flight departing Baltra after midday so there is time for the Charles Darwin Station visit and the transfer.

Most visitors, including US, Canadian, UK and EU citizens, need no visa for stays under 90 days. No vaccinations are required for the islands. You must buy the US$20 Transit Control Card at the mainland airport before flying and pay the US$100 National Park fee in cash on arrival at Baltra.

Email travel@palacetours.com, call 786-408-0610, or send a WhatsApp message to https://wa.me/17864080610. A travel specialist or our AI assistant normally answers within minutes, seven days a week, and can hold a cabin while you arrange flights.