After your flight to Baltra Island in Galapagos,you'll be treated to a scenic transfer to Isabela Island. For the first two nights, you will be staying at the renowned
Scalesia Lodge which offers a wildlife glamping experience. Discover the National Park, located on the youngest side of the archipelago where you'll find wetland lagoons, a giant tortoise-breeding centre and beautiful white-sand beaches like Puerto Villamil. You'll also catch a boat to the Tintoreras islets (which means 'reef sharks' in Spanish). There, you'll find reef sharks – unsurprisingly – and also marine iguanas, sea lions and a colony of penguins.
You will spend the rest of your time in the Galapagos at
Finch Bay Eco Hotel on South Plaza Island. On the way there, you will drive through El Manzanillo at the northern edge of the Giant Tortoise Reserve. This is where wild tortoises trek biannually on their way to higher moist locations between June and September or to the warmer lowlands during the wet season. If you're lucky you'll get to see them graze on the vegetation or wallow in the muddy banks (sometimes they like to hang out in a pond, which is red due to the algae that grows in it). You'll also get to visit the lava tunnels nearby.
South Plaza Island has more to it than fascinating cliffs jutting out at every angle and beautiful beaches. It is a wildlife haven with sea lions, iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls, as well as a host of incredible flora like the Opuntia cactus. Visit Tortuga Bay – where you'll find sea turtles along a pristine white-sand beach – and the Charles Darwin Research Station, where you'll learn more about the island's iconic animal.
