Classic Luxury M/Y Grace Galapagos Islands Cruise

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Fly from the UK to Quito

Depart the UK on a daytime flight to Quito, arriving the same evening. You will be met by our representative and taken to Quito's best hotel, the Casa Gangotena for a 2-night stay including breakfast. Our guide will provide you with expert local advice, explain your programme and answer any questions you may have.

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Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Guided Tour of Quito

This morning is at leisure at your hotel to rest and adjust to the high altitude. In the afternoon, your Veloso Tours guide will take you on a special tour of Quito, including the historic old part of the city with its fabulous colonial architecture, many convents, churches and small streets to explore.

We will visit the three main squares including impressive San Francisco square as well as the Presidential Palace and the Gold Museum. Your guide will adapt the tour to your interests.

Thursday, 25 June 2026

Fly to the Galapagos & embark M/Y Grace

Transfer to the airport and fly to the Galapagos Islands. On arrival at Baltra airport, our guide will transfer you to the M/Y Grace. The Grace offers a choice of two wonderful 7-night itineraries: 'Following Darwin's Trail' or 'Beyond Darwin's Footsteps'. We focus on the 'Following Darwin's Footsteps' itinerary.

On arrival, visit Los Gemelos, surrounded by a Scalesia forest. Scalesia is endemic to Galapagos and many endemic and native species call the forest home. This is an excellent place to view some of Darwin’s famous finches along with the elusive and dazzling vermillion flycatcher. Our afternoon destination is the Wild Tortoise Reserve where we will have chances to track and view these friendly ancient creatures in their natural setting. We will then board the M/Y Grace and in the late afternoon, visit Puerto Ayora, home to both the Galapagos National Park Service Headquarters and Charles Darwin Research Station.

 

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Friday, 26 June 2026

Peace Asylum, Cormorant Point & Devil’s Crown

Floreana has had a colourful history: pirates, whalers, convicts and a small band of somewhat peculiar colonists—a self proclaimed Baroness among them—who chose a Robinson Crusoe existence that ended in death and mystery. Today roughly a hundred Ecuadorians inhabit the island. In 1793 British whalers set up a barrel as the island’s post office, to send letters home on passing ships. The tradition continues to this day, simply by dropping a post card into the barrel without a stamp.

We will visit a tortoise reserve where you can watch many of the giant tortoises up close and personal. We return to the Grace for lunch and a siesta. Our next landing is further along the shore to the northeast. On route we pass within view of Baroness Point in an area of mangrove lined lagoons. Punta Cormorant offers two highly contrasting beaches; the strand where we land is composed of volcanic olivine crystals, giving it a greenish tint that glitters in the sun. We return to our yacht and set out to our snorkelling destination as we don wetsuits while making our way around Punta Cormorant. 

 

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Saturday, 27 June 2026

Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay

Hood is the southernmost island of the archipelago, and is one of the most popular due to the breathtaking variation and sheer number of fauna that greet visitors along with well-known Gardner Bay. The giant tortoise was reintroduced to Hood in the 1970’s and counts as one of the park’s great success stories.

Sea lions surf the waves beyond the breakwater landing, and tiny pups are known to greet your toes upon arrival. The trail then takes us beside the western edge of the island where masked boobies (also known as Nazca boobies) nest along the cliff’s edge.

We also observe albatross soaring out over the dramatic shoreline. On the northeastern shore of Hood, Gardner Bay offers a magnificent long white sandy beach, where colonies of sea lions laze in the sun, sea turtles swim offshore and inquisitive mockingbirds boldly investigate new arrivals. 

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Sunday, 28 June 2026

Punta Pitt, Lobos Island & Kicker Rock

Punta Pitt is located at the east end of San Cristóbal Island. The trail includes an olivine beach and a trail that ascends to the top of a volcanic tuff hill passing through several natural viewpoints. Watch the three species of boobies and two species of frigates nesting in the same area.

We change into our snorkelling gear for some swimming with sea lions! The sea lions like to dart past, and then swim up to you to blow bubbles at your mask. Heading up the coast from Isla Lobos we will have a chance to visit Leon Dormido, also known as Kicker Rock, a spectacular formation that rises 152 meters (500 feet) out of the Pacific. We will circumnavigate the rock formation and possibly, depending on weather, a snorkelling outing can be organised to get a chance to see hammerhead sharks.  

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Monday, 29 June 2026

Santa Fe Island and South Plazas

Santa Fe offers one of the more beautiful and sheltered coves in the islands. Its turquoise lagoon is protected by a peninsula of tiny islets forming an ideal anchorage. A wet landing on a sandy white beach brings us into contact with one of many sea lion colonies. Galapagos hawks are sometimes easily approached, perched atop salt bushes.

At the top of the trail our goal is to spot one of the large species of land iguana endemic to Santa Fe. Santa Fe offers a more advanced kayaking route along its northern shore that ends at sea caves and is subject to conditions. South Plaza is known for its lush and diverse flora. A grove of luminescent green prickly-pear cacti, a ground cover of red sesuvium, the turquoise waters of the channel and fiery sally lightfoot crabs combine to create a colourful palate of an island to explore.

One of the big attractions here are the friendly yellow land iguanas waiting for lunch to drop from a cactus in the form of a prickly pear. 

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Tuesday, 30 June 2026

North Seymour Island and Bartolomé Island

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Wednesday, 01 July 2026

Chinese Hat Islet and Dragon Hill

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Thursday, 02 July 2026

Black Turtle Cove, Baltra & Fly back to the UK

This last morning of our voyage we visit Black Turtle Cove, a living illustration of how mangroves alter the marine environment to create a rich and unique habitat. Four species of mangrove crowd from the shore out into the lagoon, which stretches almost a mile inland.  White-tipped reef sharks can be seen beneath the boat and Pacific green sea turtles come to the surface for air and to mate. Sea birds, including brown pelicans, blue herons and lava herons, come to feed in the cove which has also been declared a “Turtle Sanctuary”. We then disembark the M/Y Grace and transfer to Baltra Airport for your onward flight to the mainland and connecting overnight flight back to the UK.

 

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Friday, 03 July 2026

Arrive in the UK

Arrive in the UK in the morning.