Galapagos First Class Yachts

The Diamante is the perfect solution for small or family groups who seek a more personalized experience.

Passengers will enjoy the beauty of a motor sailing yacht for 12 passengers in six double cabins with private facilities: one cabin with two berths, two cabins with upper/lower berth and three cabins with double lower and single upper berths.

Equipment and accommodation:

The Diamante is a brigantine schooner motor sailor. She first began her dedication to the Galapagos Islands in 1993. Her six double cabins are made up of one cabin with a double bed. Her interior is fully air conditioned and decorated with teak and mahogany and the beamed dining room provides a great atmosphere. She is perfect for a relaxed cruise in the Islands surpassing all the standard safety equipment and upon request, she can be fitted with sea kayaks to paddle the bays when she is at anchor. The Diamante is unbeatable for sailing in the Galapagos. If it's a romantic, yet natural ambience you dream of, we cannot think of a better yacht than the Diamante.

The beamed main salon, where your naturalist will deliver evening lectures, is very comfortable and has 360-degree visibility. Dining alternatives are inside or 'al fresco' aft of the pilothouse around the teak table. For sailing in Galapagos, this yacht is.

Itinerary:
01 Wednesday: Arrive at Baltra, Galapagos - North Seymour Island
Flight to Galapagos to Baltra Island where you will start your cruises abord the Motor Sailor Diamante after a short drive to the harbor. North Seymour is an uplifted (as opposed to volcanic) island and so is generally flat and strewn with boulders. There are good nesting sites here for a large population of magnificent frigate birds. Blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance in the more open areas and swallow-tailed gulls perch on the cliff edges. Despite the tremendous surf that can pound the outer shore, sea lions haul out onto the beach and can be found together with marine iguanas.

02 Thursday: South Plaza - Charles Darwin Station
Located on the east of Santa Cruz, the main characteristics on the small island South Plaza are the Opuntia cacti and the carpets of red sesuvium, a succulent plant that turns green in the rainy season. The cactus is the main food of land iguanas, which are usually found resting at the cactu's shade. The island contains one of the largest sea lion colony of Galapagos, swallow-tailed gulls and red-billed tropicbirds nesting, and boobies roosting on the south cliff of the island.
The small town of Puerto Ayora is the economic center of the archipelago, with the largest population of the 4 inhabited islands (approx 10.000). Santa Cruz is also the only island where six different zones of vegetation can be seen: Coastal, Arid, Transition, Scalesia, Miconia, and Pampa Zones. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park offices are based here. We will have an opportunity to visit some of the best scientists of their kind. Scientists, park rangers and park managers among others, who make huge efforts to preserve this Unesco World Heritage Site, conduct the conservation of the islands. The station is also a tortoise breeding and rearing center, where tortoises of different subspecies are prepared for reintroduction to their natural habitats. The most popular inhabitant of this island will probably be Lonesome George. He is the only survivor of the specific turtle species.

03 Friday: Española - Bahia Gardner - Punta Suarez
Española is the southernmost island of the archipelago, and being so isolated, a high percentage of its fauna is endemic. Gardner Bay is on the eastern shore and has a magnificent beach. This beach is frequented by a transient colony of sea lions, and is a major nesting site for marine turtles. Around the small islets nearby, snorkelers will find lots of fish and sometimes turtles and sharks. On a trail leading to the western tip of the island you'll pass the only nesting sites in the Galapagos of the waved albatross, huge birds with a 6-foot wingspan. These huge birds nest here from April to December and represent the majority of the world's population of this species.
Punta Suarez is one of the most outstanding wildlife areas of the archipelago, with a long list of species found along its cliffs and sand or pebble beaches. In addition to five species of nesting seabirds there are the curious and bold Hood Island mockingbirds, Galapagos doves and Galapagos hawks. Several types of reptiles, including the brilliantly colored marine iguana and the oversized lava lizard, are unique to this island. When heavy swells are running, Punta Suarez is also the site of a spectacular blowhole, with thundering spray shooting 30 yards into the air.

04 Saturday: Floreana - Pto. Cormorant / Devil's crown / Post Office Bay
Floreana Island is perceived as one of the most exotic Islands of the archipelago. At Punta Cormorant you land on a green olivine sand beach. Following a 100 m long path you will soon reach a lagoon with flamingoes, white-checked pintail ducks and other shorebirds. The trail goes on to a white beach made of grinned coral, so it looks like flour. This is the green sea turtle's nesting place. North of Punta Cormorant and eroded volcano, Devil´s Crown, is a snorkel's delight. To the west, Post Office Bay keeps the legendary post barrel that whalers used to send their mail.

05 Sunday: Isabela Island - Punta Morena - Elisabeth Bay
The Island Isabela is very big and with its surface it almost covers half of the land of the Galapagos archipelago. Situated at this island is the Punta Morena, a young volcanic landscape with numerous fresh-water pools at which Flamingos, Bahama Ducks and other birds unite.
About 40 kms of Punta Morena you will find the mangrove bay Bahia Elisabeth with little islands off-shore. Here you can see little dwarf penguins as well as schools of manta rays, turtles and other giants of the ocean such as whale-sharks and others.

06 Monday: Isabela Island - Urbina Bay / Fernandina Island - Punta Espinoza
This day we start day with the visit of Urbina Bay, a coastline that has been 4 metres uplifted by an volcanic eruption. It is a spectacular place to view coral reefs without needing to dive or snorkel. The flightless cormorant, oversized iguanas and the rare mangrove finch can be observed close by.
The Island Fernandina, which is the most western island of the Galapagos, is a very interesting point to visit. The main attractions of this island are its Lava-Cactuses and the on the surface of the lava growing mangroves as well as numerous animals such as sea lion colonies, penguins, the flightless cormorant and the iguanas.

07 Tuesday: Santiago - Puerto Egas/ Bartholome
From the visitor center at James Bay on the island Santiago a small path leads you in southern direction along the coast. Passing by the ruins of a former salt mine company and the many inhabitants of the bank area, like sea lions, lizards, herons, and cancers, you arrive at the famous fur seal grotto, the best place at Galápagos in order to observe these elegant animals.
Bartolome is a small island that has beautiful white sand beaches, luxuriant green mangroves and a colony of penguins. Activities will include swimming and snorkeling and a climb to the summit of the island for one of the most breathtaking views in all the Galapagos. From the summit you will have the best view of the often-photographed Pinnacle Rock. The beaches at the foot of the Pinnacle Rock boast some fine snorkeling spots from which you can discover the marvelous underwater world with a good chance to encounter penguins or the softly gliding turtles.

08 Wednesday: Santa Cruz - Black Turtle Cove - Baltra - return flight
Today you will be visiting the bay Caleta Tortuga Negra, which is situated at Santa Cruz Island. This bay is surrounded by mangroves where you can spot pelicans and herons. While snorkelling you can have a swim with the black turtles, white-tip sharks and rays.
After that we will have a short stop at the harbor of Baltra (formerly known as south Seymour). You will cross the Itabaca Channel to Baltra, to take your flight back to the mainland.

In the price included:
Cruise on the sailboat Diamante in double cabins with private bathroom, all meals and soft drinks during the cruise, English speaking naturalist guide, snorkel and fins.

The price does not include:
Flights mainland to/from Galápagos USD 410.-, national park entrance fee (USD 100,-), alcoholic drinks, supplement for a single cabin, tips, personal items, International flight airport tax (USD 41.- per person).

Departs: Wednesdays

If you need any additional information please write us:

Name:
Email:
Country:
Other Details We Should Know About Your Preferences:
Insert the chain of charactes displayed on the graphic email required

Top

Home   Ecuado Tours Galapagos Cruises Incentives South America Tours About us Travel info
Photogallery Contact us FAQ Site Map Reservation Form Ecuador News Links to Ecuador