GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
SEPT. 9TH - 19TH, 2026
7 Spaces Available!
Step into a world of wonder on this extraordinary photography journey through Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands—a rare opportunity to capture landscapes and wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.
Closeup portrait of a Marine Iguana, by Karine Aigner
Let Karine Aigner, award winning wildlife photographer and 2022 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, introduce you to this wondrous land. Your adventure begins in Quito, where the cobblestone streets and centuries-old churches of this UNESCO World Heritage city provide a striking contrast to the volcanic highlands that surround it. From the ornate golden altar of La CompañÃa Church to panoramic views from the TelefériQo cable car, every moment in Ecuador’s capital is steeped in visual drama. As you acclimate and prepare for the islands, indulge in local cuisine and immerse yourself in the rich cultural and historical tapestry of this Andean jewel.   Â
Portrait of the Galapagos land iguana by Karine Aigner
The Galápagos cruise aboard the Tip Top V unfolds like a living documentary. Each island reveals new photographic marvels: Red-footed Boobies nesting in palo santo trees on Genovesa; the stark red succulents and golden iguanas of South Plaza; and underwater scenes of sea turtles, reef sharks, and playful sea lions off Champion Islet. Hike Española’s lava beds where Waved Albatrosses perform their courtship rituals, and stroll along the serene white sands of Gardner Bay shadowed by sunbathing sea lions. With daily excursions—by panga, trail, and snorkel—guided by expert naturalists, this is more than a photography tour; it’s a front-row seat to evolution in action, offering images and experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.
You will be cruising in style, the Tip Top V is a luxury yacht that offers deluxe cabins, gourmet dining, personalized service and exceptional views!
About your leader…
Karine Aigner is an award-winning visual journalist whose work focuses on the delicate relationship between nature and the human world. A self-taught photographer who spent almost a decade as a picture editor at National Geographic, Karine is only the 5th woman ever to win the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award–a testament to her unparalleled talent and dedication to her craft.
Aigner’s life reads like a set of novellas. Raised in Saudi Arabia, Karine motorcycled through Vietnam, circumnavigated the globe by ship, taught English in Taiwan, and then there was the time the hyena pups chewed her shoes (while on her feet!). On her first trip to Africa, she fell in love with a continent. From one chapter to the next, her adventures uncover her fervor to tell the stories of life through the lens of a camera; her passion became the stories of the animals: their relationships to humans, their relationships to their own world, and their existence in the space between the two.
As a conservation photographer, Karine’s work serves as a powerful conduit for change. Her images not only captivate audiences but also inspire action, igniting conversations about our collective responsibility to protect the planet. In addition to her photography, Karine is a passionate educator, sharing her expertise through workshops, tours, and speaking engagements around the globe. Karine is an associate fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and a member of Girls Who Click (a non-profit organization offering free photographic workshops to inspire teen girls that they too can have careers as a wildlife photographer). Karine’s work has graced the pages of National Geographic Magazine, the New York Times, Audubon Magazine, the Washington Post, WWF Magazine, The Nature Conservancy and numerous other esteemed publications. Aigner invites us to pause, reflect, and reevaluate our relationship with the planet we live on; her lens is not just a window into nature—it’s a call to action to pay attention to what we have to lose.
8-12 Participants
$11,750
$1,850 single supplement (6 singles available)*
Payment schedule: Jan. and May 2026
Custom payment plans are available upon request.
*If you would like a roommate we will make every effort to pair you with someone, however if we are unable to find someone, the single supplement applies.
SEPT. 9TH – 19TH, 2026
Wednesday 09/09/2026 Quito Sheraton Hotel Upon arrival in Quito, after clearing customs and immigration, you will be met and escorted to your hotel.
Thursday 09/10/2026 Quito Sheraton Hotel (BLD) After breakfast, and an orientation, explore some of the highlights of Quito. Surrounded by volcanoes, Ecuador’s capital is a unique city that boasts one of the largest and best preserved colonial centers in the Americas, earning it recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Start the day with a visit to the historical city center; while walking its narrow streets, discover Quito’s rich history, from pre-Columbian times to the colonial period and the modern-day Republic of Ecuador. Visit La Compañia Church as well as the Church and Convent of San Francisco, the oldest and largest colonial structure in the city. At nearby Plaza Grande, Quito’s main square, you’ll find the Independence Monument surrounded by important historical buildings,Â
including the Presidential Palace, City Hall, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Archbishop’s Palace. Enjoy a lunch featuring traditional recipes. Afterwards, visit TelefériQo Cable Car ride for incredible views and photo opportunities. Afterward enjoy dinner at Chulpi Urbano Restaurant which specializes in elevated traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Â
Friday 09/11/2026 (BLD) Fly from mainland Ecuador to Baltra Island. Transfer to the dock and board M/C Tip Top V, attend your first orientation, and have a light snack. Navigate by panga boat to Santa Cruz Island and prepare for a wet landing. Then proceed on foot to the flamingo lagoons located behind Playa Las Bachas, a beach that was used by the U.S. Army during World War II. (The name “Bachas” refers to two U.S. barges that were left here.) Before returning to the yacht, enjoy some free time to swim or snorkel from the beach. Attend an evening presentation on the origin and evolution of the Galápagos Islands, and enjoy a welcome cocktail with the entire crew, followed by dinner. Each day there will be a briefing about the next day’s activities, and daily opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, and/or kayaking. Â
*Cruise itineraries are subject to change without prior notice for various factors including, but not limited to: safety, weather, mechanical breakdown, unforeseen emergencies, and the discretion of the Captain, Guide, and the Galapagos National Park.
Saturday 09/12/2026 (BLD) Today, explore Genovesa Island, a horseshoe-shaped volcanic caldera with steep cliffs surrounding a beautiful bay. After a short panga boat ride, make a wet landing on Darwin Bay’s white-sand beach. Then follow a short trail along mangroves and tide pools to observe Great Frigatebirds, herons, mockingbirds, Red-footed and Nazca Boobies, shorebirds, turtles, marine iguanas, and more. Look for sea lions and tropical fish as you swim, snorkel, or kayak from the beach before returning to the yacht for lunch. In the afternoon, disembark on a rocky ledge and climb the staircase at Prince Philip’s Steps (El Barranco), and then hike less than a mile to see a palo santo forest, walk on hardened lava flows, and observe the interesting lives of the birds here. Search for nesting Red-footed and Nazca Boobies, as well as Great Frigatebirds, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Galápagos Doves, Swallow-tailed Gulls, and the Galápagos Short-eared Owl. When searching for Red-footed Boobies, look up to the trees; unlike other Galápagos booby species, they prefer to do their courtship and build nests above the ground. From May to January, Nazca Boobies can be spotted courting, nesting, and raising their young. Keep an eye out for Galápagos fur seals along the rocky shores during a panga ride back to the boat. This evening, attend a presentation by your Galápagos naturalist guide.Â
Sunday 09/13/2026 (BLD) After breakfast, disembark at a dock on South Plaza Island, which is characterized by unique and colorful vegetation. Sesuvium is a bright red succulent plant that carpets the rocks here, and creates vivid photo opportunities against the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean. The taller Opuntia cacti provide food and shade for the numerous land iguanas that dig nesting burrows all over the island. Continue walking toward the sea cliffs to view many sea birds such as Red-billed Tropicbirds, Galápagos Shearwaters, Swallow-tailed Gulls, and Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies. Return to the yacht for lunch, and then sail to Santa Fé Island for the chance to see a different species of land iguana, endemic only to this island and recognizable by its paler yellow coloration. After landing on a small beach, walk by scenic cliffs and a forest of Santa Fé opuntia cactus to observe Santa Fé land iguanas, Galápagos Hawks, Darwin’s finches, Galápagos Mockingbird, Galápagos racer snakes, and more. Before going back to the boat, spend time at the beach swimming and snorkeling among sea lions.Â
Monday 09/14/2026 (BLD) After breakfast, disembark at a pier at Puerto Ayora and take a bus to the misty highlands of Santa Cruz Island for a visit to the lush, green Scalesia forests surrounding Los Gemelos (The Twins) pit craters. Visit a local farm to have lunch and search for giant tortoises in the wild. Galápagos tortoises are one of the animals that contributed to Charles Darwin’s understanding of natural history, and the archipelago was referred to in Spanish as the Islands of the Tortoises on early maps. Next, return to the town of Puerto Ayora and visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and Fausto Llerena Breeding Center. Learn about the station’s important conservation and education work, and see some of the tortoises that are being raised for reintroduction into the wild. Return to the yacht for a naturalist presentation.Â
Tuesday 09/15/2026 (BLD) Today, explore Floreana Island, one of the few inhabited islands of the Galápagos, with a rich history of human settlement and hardship. Disembark on the beach at Post Office Bay and follow a short trail to its historic mail barrel site. In the 18th century, British whalers placed a wooden barrel here to use as an informal post office, and today, visitors continue the tradition by leaving their own postcards in the barrel. Continue to Baroness Viewpoint, named after the Baroness Eloise von Wagner, who once lived here. Enjoy the beautiful landscape and observe the ruins of her house. Return to the yacht for lunch. In the afternoon, go snorkeling at Champion Islet, considered one of the best snorkeling sites in the islands, and look for tropical fish, moray eels, starfish, sharks, sea turtles, and sea lions. Next, make a wet landing on the green beach at Floreana’s Cormorant Point, then walk inland to a brackish lagoon to see American Flamingoes and shorebirds. Continue walking to La Picona, a beautiful white-sand beach that is an important nesting site for Galápagos green turtles. At the start of the year, pregnant turtles come ashore at night to dig nests and lay their eggs; by April and May the hatchlings begin to emerge from the sand and make their perilous journey to sea. Head back to the green beach to enjoy swimming and snorkeling among reef fish and sea lions.Â
Wednesday 09/16/2026 (BLD) After breakfast, visit Punta Suárez on Española Island to hike along lava beds and scenic cliffs to observe green and-red marine iguanas, sea lions, lava lizards, and unique colonies of marine birds. From mid-March toÂ
December, this is one of the best places in the world to see the Waved Albatross, which nests primarily on this island. These large and graceful flyers start to perform intricate courtship rituals in April, and by May begin nesting. Española is the oldest island in the archipelago, geologically speaking, and is also rich in plant life, with an interesting mix of flora representative of littoral, arid, and transitional zones. After lunch aboard the yacht, disembark at Gardner Bay for a walk on the beach to observe sunbathing sea lions, which inhabit the beach in great quantities during the breeding season. While exploring the beach, keep an eye out for the endemic Española Mockingbird (a carnivorous species) and Darwin’s finches. Then, take a scenic panga ride around Osborn Islet and the islets of Gardner to search for more wildlife and enjoy some swimming or snorkeling before heading back to the boat.Â
Thursday 09/17/2026 (BLD) Have breakfast onboard, then prepare for a wet landing at Cerro Brujo, the only site in the Galápagos where it is possible to witness all three booby species nesting together. Walk along the beautiful white-sand beach to observe sea lions, pelicans, gulls, finches, mockingbirds, and boobies. Afterwards, sail around iconic Kicker Rock (León Dormido) and its narrow channel in search of sea birds. The enormous rock formation is the remainder of a vertical tuff cone that has since become a favorite nesting place for Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies and frigatebirds. Marine life is plentiful in the waters surrounding the cliffs, so be on the lookout for sea lions, sharks, turtles, and rays. After lunch on board explore Isla Lobos, where we can enjoy of blue footed boobies, frigates, sea birds, rays, and sea lions. Optional: time for those who would like to snorkel or panga ride. Return to the yacht for dinner and a nightly orientation.Â
Friday 09/18/2026 (BD) Take one last boat ride this morning around Black Turtle Cove, a series of coves and islets surrounded by mangroves, where you can observe white-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and yellow cow-nosed rays. Return to the boat and disembark at the pier to take the bus directly to the airport in Baltra for your flight to Quito. Lunch is on your own at the airport; food options will be available for purchase after passing security. Once in Quito, settle into the hotel then enjoy an afternoon at leisure before attending a farewell dinner at the hotel. If your international flight departs very late this evening/before dawn next morning, please be ready to check out of the hotel and transfer to the airport after the farewell dinner.Â
Saturday 09/19/2026 Quito (B) Transfer to the airport for your flight home.Â
SEPT. 9TH – 19TH, 2026
∙ Accommodations, meals, entrance fees, and activities listed in itineraryÂ
∙ Private vehicle transportation unless otherwise noted in itineraryÂ
∙ Non-alcoholic beverages with mealsÂ
∙ Local guides in each region for duration of programÂ
∙ Galapagos National park fee and taxÂ
∙ Bottled water on the bus
Pre-trip zoom meeting with Karine Aigner
- International Aifare
- Meals not listed in the itinerary
- Visa
- Trip insurance
- Gratuities
Easy-moderate, there will be minimal walking/hiking.