Monograms Cruising the Galápagos on board the Santa Cruz II with Peru & Ecuador's Amazon(ISYG)
18 Day Package from Quito to Lima
“Land of Eternal Spring” and “Land of Abundance.” Sounds like paradise, doesn’t it? Those are the monikers for Ecuador & Peru—two places you’ll visit on this 18-day vacation to Quito, the Galápagos Islands & Peru—and Monograms makes it simple for you! We’ve arranged your hotel and cruise accommodations, daily buffet breakfast (plus six lunches and five dinners), sightseeing, and transportation. You also have the services of a Local Host® in each city—Quito, Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu—so you have a friend in each city that can help you get settled, offer suggestions, answer questions, and help you make the most of your trip. This incredible South America tour begins with the ultimate adventure in Ecuador’s Amazon Jungle. Arrive in Quito for a restful overnight stay, then fly to Coca and travel by canoe trip downriver to your selected Amazon lodge, your home base for the next three nights. You’ll enjoy the comforts of home while exploring this rainforest paradise to discover the fascinating flora and fauna with a Naturalist Guide. Return to Quito for two nights and enjoy a private sightseeing tour with a local expert that features Independence Plaza and the Basilica of San Francisco Plaza Church. After two nights in Quito, we’ll transfer you to the airport for your flight to the Galápagos Islands, where you’ll board the Santa Cruz II for four nights.On your cruise, you’ll visit Santa Cruz Island, with a white-sand beach and brackish lagoons that serve as feeding grounds for various wading birds; Santiago Island, home to marine iguanas, Galápagos finches, flamingos, sea lions, and a common nesting area for sea turtles; Puerto Egas, known for its black-sand beach, land and marine birds, marine iguanas, and a colony of fur seals; Rábida Island, with its red-colored beach and large colonies of sea lions, marine iguanas, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, and Darwin’s finches; Bartolomé Island, where you’ll hike to the summit for a spectacular view of two beautiful bays and fascinating formations of lava flows; Genovesa Island, where you’ll take a panga ride along the cliffs to see the shore and seabirds nesting on the cliffs’ ledges, and where you’ll climb up Prince Phillip’s Steps to see masked boobies, blue and red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, and more; and finally on Santa Cruz Island, visit a Tortoise Reserve to see the Giant Galápagos Tortoises living in the wild. Throughout your cruise, you’ll be with an expert Naturalist who will bring this destination to life and be able to answer any question you may have.Then you're off to Peru. When you arrive in Lima, your Local Host will greet you and help you get settled. The next day, after an included breakfast, we’ll pick you up at your selected hotel for guided sightseeing of this historic city. You’ll also have free time to explore on your own (with the assistance of your Local Host of course). Perhaps visit one of the many museums or take an excursion to the Pachacamac Pilgrimage Center, built around 700 AD as a temple for the worship of the sun god, Pachacamac. After two nights in Lima, we’ll transfer you to the airport for your flight to Cusco, where your sightseeing tour with a local expert includes the Santo Domingo monastery and the ancient Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, and Puca Pucara.From Cusco, we've arranged transportation for you to the Sacred Valley, where you’ll visit Pisac, a market town where locals sell handmade handicrafts at bargain prices, and Ollantaytambo, where you’ll witness some of the finest examples of Inca masonry. Of course, no trip to Peru is complete without seeing majestic Machu Picchu with its roughly 200 structures, many of which are still unsolved mysteries. Travel in a domed-train car through the lush Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. Upon arrival, join a local expert for a guided tour of the Machu Picchu ruins and hear the stories that only a local can tell you and imagine what it was like to live here in the 15th century. We've also included an overnight, so you may choose to wake up to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu and explore the ruins for a second day with your second included entrance.
Itinerary (2023)| Day 1 | ARRIVE IN QUITO. | | | Welcome to Quito, where you will be met by your Local Host. | | Day 2 | QUITO–COCA–AMAZON LODGE. | | | Fly to Coca and travel by canoe trip downriver to your selected Amazon lodge, your home base for the next three nights. (B,L,D) | | Day 3 | AMAZON LODGE. | | | Napo Wildlife Center: Your time in the Amazon accompanied by a Local Guide includes early morning excursions to parrot clay licks; dugout canoe rides in search of river otters, potoos, kingfishers, hoatzins, jacamars, hawks, and monkeys; and walks along the canopy platform to view spider monkeys, aracaris, toucans, blue and gold macaws, numerous species of tanagers, and the red-rumped cacique. In your free time, consider a walk through the jungle in search of interesting plants and colorful or well-camouflaged insects. You are also invited to join families of the Anangu indigenous community on their daily activities, such as preparing chichi or harvesting bananas, cocoa, and manioc. (B,L,D daily) Sacha Lodge: During your stay, enjoy nature excursions with a Naturalist who introduces you to the Amazon. On the suspended rainforest canopy walk, your Naturalist points out many different species of vibrantly colored birds. Jungle walks show off the immense biodiversity and medicinal plants that have been used by the native cultures for hundreds of years. Visit the lodge’s butterfly house, one of Ecuador’s largest, and take a night walk or canoe ride with a Local Guide to discover creatures that can rarely be seen during the day! You will also cruise through the flooded forest in search of troops of squirrel, capuchin, and howler monkeys—and maybe even the incredibly well-camouflaged three-toed sloth. After fishing for piranhas, arrive at the Kapok Tree Tower, perched 135-feet high. Get close-up views of birds as the sun sets on volcanic Mount Sumaco and the Andes. (B,L,D daily) | | Day 4 | AMAZON LODGE | | | At the Napo Wildlife Center: Continue your Amazon exploration. B,L,D)At the Sacha Lodge: Continue your Amazon exploration. (B,L,D) | | Day 5 | COCA–QUITO. | | | Depart your Amazon lodge and fly from Coca to Quito today. The remainder of your afternoon is at leisure. (B) | | Day 6 | QUITO. | | | Your included private city tour showcases Independence Square, dominated by its formidable cathedral, San Francisco Plaza Church, and the basilica. (B) | | Day 7 | QUITO–BALTRA (EMBARKATION)–GALÁPAGOS CRUISING: SANTA CRUZ ISLAND | | | Fly to the Galápagos Islands and board the Santa Cruz II. Visit Las Bachas on Santa Cruz Island, an important nesting area for the East Pacific green sea turtle. See brackish lagoons just steps away from the sea, a feeding ground for various wading birds—from stilts to flamingos. (B,L,D) | | Day 8 | CRUISING: SANTIAGO ISLAND | | | Arrive at Buccaneer Cove on Santiago Island to explore the dramatic coastline inhabited by a large number of marine birds, sea lions, and inter-tidal organisms. You will also have the opportunity to snorkel and take a ride on the panga or the glass-bottom boat. Later, at Puerto Egas—known for its black-sand beach, tuff-stone layers, and lava flows—see land and marine birds, as well as a colony of fur sea lions, marine iguanas, and marine turtles. (B,L,D) | | Day 9 | CRUISING: RÁBIDA & BARTOLOMÉ ISLANDS | | | Visit Rábida Island with its redcolored beach, caused by the unusually high content of iron in the volcanic material. Your Naturalist will point out large colonies of sea lions, marine iguanas, mockingbirds, yellow warblers, and several species of Darwin’s finches. Very close to the beach, a salt pond occasionally hosts American flamingos. Snorkel from the beach to see the unique combination of underwater species and submarine landscapes. At Bartolomé Island, hike to the summit for a stunning view of Pinnacle Rock. Take a snorkel or a ride on the glass-bottom boat and possibly see Galápagos penguins in tropical waters! (B,L,D) | | Day 10 | CRUISING: GENOVESA ISLAND | | | On Genovesa Island, take a walk up Prince Phillip’s Steps as your Naturalist reveals large colonies of masked boobies, blue- and red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, storm petrels, and short-eared owls. In the afternoon, disembark on a beautiful beach at Darwin Bay to observe frigatebirds, red-footed and masked boobies, herons, finches, and mockingbirds. Return to the beach for snorkeling, kayaking, and swimming. (B,L,D) | | Day 11 | CRUISING: SAN CRISTOBAL (DISEMBARKATION)–BALTA–QUITO–LIMA, PERU. | | | Disembark at the north shore of Santa Cruz Island for a visit to a Tortoise Reserve in the highlands. Here you will see and learn about the Giant Galápagos Tortoises living in the wild and what is been done to help preserve these ancient creatures. Later, fly to Lima, Peru. (B) | | Day 12 | LIMA | | | Your included city tour focuses on Lima’s rich colonial history as well as the modern city. Lima was the bastion of Spanish South America from its founding in 1535 until the independence of the South American republics in the early 19th century. See the cathedral, where the remains of Francisco Pizarro are sealed in a wooden coffin, and the Santo Domingo Convent to see the relics of three famous Peruvian saints—Santa Rosa de Lima, San Martin de Porres, and San Juan Macias. (B) | | Day 13 | LIMA–CUSCO. | | | Fly to Cusco, high in the Andes. Your guided tour visits the Santo Domingo Monastery, one of the most important temples devoted to worship of the sun. It is said it was covered in gold leaf and filled with golden representations of nature. At Plaza de Armas, see the cathedral before taking a short drive outside the city to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman with its intricate stone walls, the amphitheater of Kenko, and the red fortress of Puca Pucara. (B) | | Day 14 | CUSCO–SACRED VALLEY | | | Today, a short drive into the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, brings you to Awanakancha to learn about the importance of the alpaca for Inca cultures, as well as the ancient weaving techniques still in use today. Continue to the market town of Pisac, where you can buy handmade rugs, alpaca sweaters, and jewelry at bargain prices. At the other end of the valley, visit Ollantaytambo to see some of the finest examples of Inca masonry. (B,L) | | Day 15 | SACRED VALLEY–MACHU PICCHU | | | Embark on a train trip bound for Machu Picchu and cut a path through the Sacred Valley to this “Lost City of the Incas,” discovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. On a guided tour, explore this intact fortress with its temple remains, holy houses, and mile-long aqueduct. For hikers, a brisk one-hour walk leads to the Sun Gate, the ancient entrance used by the Incas. (B,L,D) | | Day 16 | MACHU PICCHU–SACRED VALLEY–CUSCO. | | | A morning at leisure allows you to wake up early to see sunrise over Machu Picchu with your second included entrance to the ruins. Return to Cusco by train. (B) | | Day 17 | CUSCO–LIMA. | | | Fly to Lima. (B) | | Day 18 | LIMA | | | Your vacation ends after breakfast this morning. (B) |
Included Monograms Meals Buffet breakfast daily; 9 lunches; 8 three-course dinners
Monograms Pricing Details This vacation includes the following Intra-Vacation Air segments in the vacation price: Quito/Coca; Coca/Quito; Quito/Galápagos; Galápagos/Quito. All other flights are not included in the vacation price and can be purchased from Monograms. Galápagos package does not include Galápagos National Park entrance fee and transit card ($120 value) but are additional and mandatory. These fees will be added to your Vacation Estimate.
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