Jonathan Aguas, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
We're a winner of Conde Nast Traveler's 2022 Readers Choice Awards
Best Cruise Line in the Galápagos (Expedition Category)
Sail the iconic archipelago with the pioneers of modern expedition travel
Lindblad Expeditions pioneered expedition travel to the remarkable Galápagos Islands more than 50 years ago. Today, we lead expeditions year-round to this magical archipelago famed for its vibrant wildlife. Encounter giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, playful penguins, and charismatic sea lions in their natural habitats, unfazed by your presence. Enjoy multiple adventures each day on land and undersea, including walks and hikes, kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling, in the company of local expert guides.
In Galápagos, one thing is certain: expect the unexpected! Surrounded by wildlife on land and at sea, you never know what might happen. And that’s been the draw since Darwin landed in 1835.
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A new ship for the Galápagos
Lindblad Expeditions is delighted to welcome the newest member to our Galápagos fleet. National Geographic Islander II, a best-in-class expedition ship, is expertly refitted to facilitate the active exploration at the heart of the Lindblad experience. Guests will enjoy more space and amenities while exploring the Galápagos Islands.
National Geographic Global Explorers Program
One of the most rewarding sights on expedition is witnessing the gleam of discovery in a child’s eyes, whether they’re walking alongside a grazing giant tortoise or watching blue-footed boobies perform an elaborate courtship dance. Moments like these are abundant in the Galápagos—and they’re especially meaningful when complemented with the learning opportunities offered through our exclusive National Geographic Global Explorers Program.
Book by April 30, 2023, for Free Air from Miami—or from $249 and $349 from popular home cities—on select 2022-23 departures. Business class upgrade starting at $750.
Offer on American Airlines only, economy class. Upgrade to Business Class flights starting at $750, subject to availability. Free air offer includes internal flights between mainland Ecuador and Galápagos. All offers are valid for new bookings only, must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions and are subject to availability at time of booking. In the case that offered Miami flights are no longer available, Lindblad reserves the right to issue a credit. Baggage fees may be additional.
KIDS SAVINGS
On select 2023 departures of Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour ll, every two full-paying adults are welcome to bring a kid 22 and under at 50% off and a second kid for FREE. Offer applicable only on bookings of two double-occupancy cabins, and second cabin must be in same category or lower as first cabin. Valid on cabin fare only, not valid on extensions or airfare.
Book by April 30, 2023, for FREE ROUND-TRIP economy group airfare from Miami to Galápagos/Lima to Cusco on select 2023 departures. Upgrade to Business Class to Guayaquil starting at $750, subject to availability. All offers are valid for new bookings only, must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions and are subject to availability at time of booking. In the case that offered Miami flights are no longer available, Lindblad reserves the right to issue a credit. Baggage fees may be additional.
Remain into the late afternoon at fabled Machu Picchu, introduced to the world by Hiram Bingham in the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine
Soak in the scenery and culture of the Sacred Valley of the Inca
Journey between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu by Inca Rail
Voyage aboard the 48-guest National Geographic Islander II with a team of naturalists
Maximize your time in Galápagos with options to hike, Zodiac cruise, and snorkel every day
Free Round-Trip Air from Miami—or from $249 and $349 from popular home cities—to Galápagos on select Wild Galápagos Escape and Wild Galápagos and Peru Escape 2023 departures. Upgrade to business class from $750/pp. Book by April 30, 2023. New bookings and subject to availability.
FREE AIR IN 2024
Free Round-Trip Air from Miami, New York, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles—or from $249 and $349 from popular home cities—to Galápagos on all Wild Galápagos and Peru Escape 2024 departures. Upgrade to business class from $750/pp. Book by April 30, 2023. New bookings and subject to availability.
Free Round-Trip Air from Miami—or from $249 and $349 from popular home cities—to Galápagos on select Wild Galápagos Escape and Wild Galápagos and Peru Escape 2023 departures. Upgrade to business class from $750/pp. Book by April 30, 2023. New bookings and subject to availability.
FREE AIR IN 2024
Free Round-Trip Air from Miami, New York, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles—or from $249 and $349 from popular home cities—to Galápagos on all Wild Galápagos and Peru Escape 2024 departures. Upgrade to business class from $750/pp. Book by April 30, 2023. New bookings and subject to availability.
Dive in and experience Galápagos with all your senses. Choose how you want to explore—hike, paddleboard, kayak, snorkel, or arrange to dive (on select departures). Take a long hike or just relax on the beach. Our generous staff-to-guest ratio means you can always find a naturalist whose interests and approach you share whether you want to focus on birding, human history, photography, the undersea, or more. Since the first international tourist expedition cruise to the Galápagos Islands in July 1967 with Lars-Eric Lindblad, we’ve introduced generations of guests to these strange and wonderful islands, the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Highlights
Travel in Extraordinary Company
Visit itinerary dates to view additional staff and guests
Rich Reid
Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Rich Reid has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for over two decades. North American Nature Photography Association elected Rich as a Fellow for his significant contributions to the nature photography industry, and he was a finalist for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his time-lapse video documenting forest fire ecology.
Underwater photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes are married partners who work together as a team to produce National Geographic stories from equatorial coral reefs to beneath the polar ice. David estimates he has spent nearly half his life in the sea since taking his first underwater photograph at the age of 12 with a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a bag.
Henry David Thoreau called it the “tonic of wildness.” It’s what a cruise to Galápagos, with its beauty and wildness, gives you—a spirit lift. To compound this healthful effect, we provide a quality of shipboard life and a philosophy of wellness to relax and rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit.
National Geographic Islander II: Take a Virtual Tour
Take a virtual tour of the newest member of our Galápagos Fleet, the all-suite National Geographic Islander ll.
Discover
Discover Galápagos
The Galapagos Islands are a spectacular archipelago, but not all islands are the same; each one has its unique character. This was what inspired the great naturalist Charles Darwin when he was visiting the islands in 1835.
See, do and learn more by going with engaging experts who have been exploring this region for decades.
Expedition Leader
Veteran expedition leaders are the orchestrators of your experience. Many have advanced degrees and have conducted research or taught for years. They have achieved expedition leader status because they possess the skills, experience, and the depth of knowledge necessary to continually craft the best expedition possible for our guests.
Our naturalists, passionate about the islands where most of them were raised, illuminate each facet of natural and human history here through their enthusiasm and knowledge. Our guests consistently cite the expertise and engaging company of our staff as key reasons to repeatedly travel with us.
See what lies beneath the waves—even if you choose to stay dry with the help of your undersea specialist. These pros snorkel or dive to shoot footage of sea life and share it in the lounge. They lead snorkeling outings and glass-bottom boat excursions, offering voiceover on all you see.
Every expedition aboard a ship in our National Geographic-flagged fleet offers an exclusive service—a Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic certified photo instructor. This naturalist is specially trained to offer assistance with camera settings and the basics of composition, and to help you become a better, more confident photographer.
This is the best trip we have ever taken. We have been all over the world and nothing else compares.
Barry Z.
Making a Difference
Lindblad Expeditions supports stewardship efforts in the places we explore, and one way we do that is through the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic (LEX-NG) Fund. Traveler contributions to the LEX-NG Fund in Galápagos currently support our regional partners—the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galápagos National Park Directorate, Island Conservation, and the Scalesia Foundation—in their efforts to research and conserve the unique wildlife of the islands and promote education in the region.
As we left the eastern islands and headed towards the central part of the archipelago, we experienced a very different geology. These somewhat younger islands have younger lava flows, pioneer vegetation, and a unique landscape. Bartolome Island is a satellite volcanic cone from James Island, and it has a unique lunar landscape that is often referred to as the moonscape of the Galapagos. Our day started early in the morning with a pre-breakfast outing, a favorite for most of our guests. The best part about starting our day as the sun rises is that we get to see how the wildlife wakes up with the sunlight! Some of us hiked up the cone of Bartolome. We experienced quite a workout with a series of 380 wooden steps! Every 100 steps or so, we regrouped for a moment to talk about the fascinating formation of the islands and to take some beautiful pictures with the great light. We continued all the way to the summit at about 300 feet. During our coastal exploration, we toured around in Zodiacs. The pitch-black lava contrasts with the turquoise water to create the most spectacular scenery for wildlife! We spotted blue-footed boobies in the early morning, a flock of penguins looking for a meal, herons ready to make their first catch of the day, and fish coming very close to the surface. The volcanic landscape was amazing, and we observed iconic features, including the famous Pinnacle Rock. After breakfast, the golden beach looked appealing. We sunbathed, snorkeled, and took photos. Snorkeling here is fascinating because we can observe sea lions, rays, reef sharks, penguins, and an amazing number of fish. Sombrero Chino Islet is a volcanic cone on the southern coast of James Island. Sombrero Chino is a combination of lava flows, lava tubes, and uplifted sea floor. The beautiful white sand beach is home to sea lions, lava lizards, pioneer plants, and succulents. Sombrero Chino is also the home of the northernmost penguin in the world, the endemic Galapagos penguin. How special it is to see a penguin surrounded by lava and cacti! There is nowhere else in the world that one can swim with such a bird and watch as it flies underwater! The Galapagos penguin is one of the world’s eighteen penguin species. It is the second smallest and the northernmost penguin. Its origin is in South America, and its closest relative, the Magellan penguin, lives in Chile. The Galapagos penguin has adapted to living on the equator, and it is an endemic species. Found along the lava rocks, the penguins are iconic on the islands. Snorkeling with a penguin in the Galapagos is a unique and amazing experience.
Today we explored the northern side of Santa Cruz Island. Dragon Hill was our first stop. This spot is home to one of the island’s iconic species, yellow land iguanas, which is where the site gets its name. The landscape was unique and exotic, and we found lots of wildlife as we walked around the area. We observed marine iguanas resting and warming up before heading out to feed in the sea. As we kept walking, we encountered a brackish water lagoon, where we saw six or seven flamingos! This was amazing, as it is uncommon to see that many in this area. We usually see one or two if any. Our trail took us through the palo santo forest. Right now, the forest is very dry and leafless. Once we reached the loop part of the trail, we started to spot various land iguanas. Some of the iguanas already have their bright yellow and red breeding colors. This was a definite highlight for our guests. In the afternoon, we offered guests a variety of activities to choose from, including paddleboarding, kayaking, or a Zodiac ride along the northeastern coast of Santa Cruz. It was incredible! We saw at least six groups of mating sea turtles, baby blacktip sharks, various herons, pelicans, and more. What is the best way to end an incredible day? With a wine tasting! We enjoyed sunset with a wonderful display of wines offered by the galley as we circumnavigated Daphne Major. Today was a day that will be hard to beat!
San Cristobal has its own giant tortoise population, as well as endemic lava lizards and snakes. These are examples of adaptive radiation in the archipelago. We have had a successful week full of great memories. The unique and friendly animals found in this group of islands are not found anywhere else on our planet.
We arrived at Floreana, one of the southern islands in the archipelago. This is where the island’s first colonizers settled. Our day started very early in the morning with a pre-breakfast nature walk. We were lucky enough to spot American flamingos flying into the lagoon at Punta Cormorant. A little farther along the white sand beach, we encountered basking green sea turtles. Back on board the ship, we had breakfast. Morning activities started with a beautiful Zodiac ride along the bay of Champion Islet, followed by tours in the glass-bottom boat and snorkeling outings. Our morning was absolutely gorgeous with great weather conditions and clear visibility in the water. The water activities offered amazing encounters with the sea life on this stunning island. After an invigorating morning, we returned to the ship for a delicious Mexican lunch with delicious margaritas. Lunch was followed by a lecture about the island’s human history. We all enjoyed wonderful stories about this interesting island, its visitors, attempts at colonization, and various tales about the entire archipelago. We spent the afternoon at the famous Post Office Bay, where guests chose between kayaking and paddleboarding along the area called Baroness Lookout. The amazing, pristine lagoon was busy with sea lions and green sea turtles, and blue-footed boobies passed by overhead. We went to the beach to visit the old-fashioned mail barrel, which has been a working postal system for over two centuries. Our guests had the opportunity to be part of the tradition. Just like sailors did in the old days, guests left behind their own mail and took some postcards and letters to hand deliver back home. We will leave Floreana with beautiful memories of our time spent here.
What a wonderful day on Española Island! This isolated island, located on the southeastern side of the Galapagos, is one of the oldest in the archipelago, geologically speaking. The volcanic landscape is breathtaking with high cliffs and white sand beaches. Española is home for many species that are not only endemic to the Galapagos but endemic to the island. Española mockingbirds, Española lava lizards, Española marine iguanas, and the waved albatross are the most representative of the endemic species. Early in the morning, National Geographic Islander II anchored at Gardner Bay. The spectacular pure white sand beach is beautiful. The sun was shining, and the Galapagos sea lions that call this paradise home rested near the aquamarine water. In the afternoon, we visited Punta Suarez. We followed a long, rocky trail as we explored. Myriads of colorful marine iguanas and marine birds were seen everywhere. We admired and photographed blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies. We had a wonderful surprise today, as well. We spotted a couple waved albatrosses, one of the most beautiful marine birds in the world. During the last week in December, these birds normally abandon the island to venture into the open ocean for several months. At sunset, we returned to the ship with our minds filled with so many memories. Our hearts were replenished by the much-needed tonic of wilderness. Galapagos always evokes wonder in its visitors.
It will never leave you if you go to the Galápagos islands. You will have stories for the rest of your life—I can promise you.
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