Welcome to San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands! You will be met at 11 am in the arrival hall of the San Cristobal airport by the National Park Guide and transferred to your boat, the M/Y Grand Queen Beatriz – a first-class boat with all of the creature comforts you’ll need. Once on board, you'll meet your trip leader who will be collecting your insurance details and next of kin information, so please ensure you have all these details to provide to your leader.

Having cruised overnight, arrive at Bartolome – one of the most spectacular volcanic landscapes in the Galapagos, full of parasitic cones, lava flows, and home to Galapagos penguins and lava lizards.

Start the morning at Espumilla Beach, on the northern coast of Santiago in James Bay – one of the most idyllic locations in the Galapagos. With large waves, it is often a favourite among travellers who are beach lovers, and is also an important nesting site for marine turtles.

Today you will visit Isla Santa Cruz, the second largest island in the Galapagos. The small town of Puerto Ayora is the economic centre of the archipelago, and home to the Charles Darwin Research Station. As well as undertaking vital conservation work, the station also makes for interesting exploration and offers the best opportunities for close encounters with giant tortoises. You will also see baby tortoises and land iguanas.

Take a morning excursion to North Seymour, which is one of the most visited islands in the Galapagos. The trail on North Seymour crosses inland through the island and then explores the rocky coast. Along the way, the trail passes colonies of blue footed boobies and frigate birds.

Today you will take a panga (Zodiac boat) to Caleta Tortuga Negra (Black Turtle Cove) – a red mangrove wetland on the north shore of Isla Santa Cruz. Paddle among the cove’s peaceful waters, for your first taste of the underwater riches of this region – it’s a wonderful place to see green turtle and is a nursery for golden cow-nose rays, eagle rays and Galapagos sharks. There is also abundant birdlife, such as the yellow warblers and lava herons. This is also a breeding area for turtles, so it is not uncommon to see them mating.

Sombrero Chino is a small islet located near the south-east coast of Santiago. It's shaped like a Chinese hat (Sombrero Chino) when seen from afar, and is geologically fascinating, with many lava tubes leading from the cone to the coast. Approach Sombrero Chino via a beautiful crescent-shaped, sandy beach that is home to sea lions and Sally Lightfoot crabs. Keep a look out for Galapagos penguins on the rocky shoreline of nearby Santiago, opposite Sombrero Chino. Follow a trail that circles the cove and passes through colonies of sea lions marine iguanas. The cove also offers some great snorkelling opportunities, hopefully with sightings of some penguins and sharks.

Today you'll take an early morning excursion to Las Bachas, which was so named after the barges abandoned by the American Navy here in the 1940s. The sand beaches of Las Bachas on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island are a nesting site for the Pacific green turtle, and marine iguanas are also commonly seen. The sand here is particularly white and soft, as it is made of decomposed coral. The rocks provide great snorkelling and are the perfect habitat for the Sally Lightfoot crabs, which are plentiful on the island. A saltwater lagoon near the beach is home to flamingo, whimbrel and great blue herons. This is your final excursion before you return to the airport in Baltra, where your Galapagos adventure will come to an end.