Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Survival of the Fittest: Hiking, Biking & Water Sports on the Galápagos Islands
Program No. 21577RJ
Learn the ever-evolving story of the Galápagos Islands as you join local experts to hike, bike, snorkel and swim your way through one of the most unique ecosystems in the world.
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10 days
9 nights
20 meals
9B 7L 4D
3
Fly to Baltra, Local Brewery, Giant Tortoises at Highlands
Galápagos Islands
4
Day Cruise, Hike and Snorkeling, Free Time, Lecture
Galápagos Islands
5
Bike Ride, Local Home, Charles Darwin Research Station
Galápagos Islands
6
Transfer to Isabela, Tortoise Center, Tintoreras Islets
Galápagos Islands
7
Hiking Sierra Negra Volcano & Volcan Chico
Galápagos Islands
8
Bike Ride to Wall of Tears, Kayaking
Galápagos Islands
At a Glance
Get up close to the amazing wildlife and surreal landscapes of the Galápagos Islands as you hike, snorkel, paddle and bike your way from one unforgettable natural scene to the next. Along the way, naturalists and local experts illuminate the unusual birds, sea life and terrestrial animals that have evolved in “nature’s laboratory.” This learning adventure is an opportunity to experience the islands’ unique environments in a way that most visitors to the Galápagos seldom do.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Walking up to 4-5 hours at a time over varied terrain. Trails are easy or moderately challenging; volcano hike is challenging. Island transfers can be in rough waters. Kayak and paddle board on calm bays. Biking on sandy coastal roads. Elevations of 5,600 feet.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- Come into contact with the rich wildlife of the Galápagos Islands while hiking, biking and kayaking.
- Snorkel off remote beaches in search of marine life and hike up to the edge of the second largest caldera in the world.
- Get fascinating insight from expert naturalists into the survival and adaptive techniques of the indigenous animals, including Blue-footed Boobies, Darwin's finches and giant tortoises.
General Notes
Participants on this program will be accommodated in different room types. Please see the hotel record for the room types and descriptions.
Suggested Reading List
(27 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Survival of the Fittest: Hiking, Biking & Water Sports on the Galápagos Islands
Program Number: 21577
Galapagos, A Natural History Guide
This comprehensive overview of the habitats, plants, birds, and animals of the islands, written with the curious visitor in mind, is practically mandatory reading. It's the single best overview of the archipelago. Jackson also includes a useful bibliography, wildlife checklists and a list of plants by vegetation zone. Illustrated with many charts and maps, we refer to the book often.
Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Travellers' Wildlife Guides
An excellent guide to Ecuador's wildlife, featuring concise descriptions and color illustrations of 500 frequently encountered reptiles and amphibians, birds, mammals and insects. The Galapagos Islands get a separate chapter and section of illustrations.
Galapagos, The Islands That Changed the World
This stunning three-part BBC documentary captures the rugged beauty, allure, wildlife and history of the archipelago like never before
Galapagos, Exploring Darwin's Tapestry
Professor Hess pulls off the rare trick of being both scientifically accurate and inviting in this illustrated coffee-table primer on Galapagos, its geology, evolution and magnificent wildlife.
Birds, Mammals and Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands
This strikingly compact, comprehensive field guide features 500 color photo-graphs, distribution maps and information on status, habitat and behavior.
Floreana: A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galapagos
Margret Wittmer provides a first-hand description of her experiences in the Galapagos Islands after her family settled on Floreana Island in 1932. The incredible account includes tales of challenging sea travel, sheltering in an abandoned pirates' cave, daily struggles and accomplishments, self-discovery, and very eccentric neighbors.
Flowering Plants of the Galapagos
Indispensable for the botanically minded, this excellent guide features color photographs of 436 species, an overview of ecology and habitats, and a plant checklist for each visitor site.
Infinite Ecuador
The Andes, Amazon, Pacific, Galapagos, historic cities, remote villages and farms are all on display in this collection of photographs.
Galapagos, A Novel
In this madcap novel, a classic, Vonnegut looks back from the future (alas, the human race has been wiped out except for a small group stranded in the Galapagos) on the Nature Cruise of the Century.
Galapagos: The Enchanted Islands, Through Writer's Eyes
John Hickman weaves original accounts by Galapagos whalers, gentleman pirates, fitful castaways, settlers and scientists, including Ambrose Crowley Herman Melville, Charles Darwin and William Beebe, in this these tales of the color-ful human history of the archipelago.
Reef Identification, Galapagos
Sturdy enough to take along on a boat, this comprehensive photographic guide includes a map, checklist and brief overview of the archipelago.
The Panama Hat Trail
An accurate and wonderfully descriptive picture of Ecuador and its people. The author tells the story of the Panama hat and the lives it touches; from growing the straw, processing it, and weaving it, to the final product that is exported worldwide.
The Galapagos Affair
The book provides interesting and colorful details about some of the Galapagos' most notorious inhabitants including Baroness Wagner Eloise Von Wagner, the Wittmer family, and Dr. Friederich Ritter who settled on Floreana Island in the 1930s. The book includes all the makings of a good mystery novel; tales of illicit love and betrayal, culminating in unsolved murders and suspicious disappearances. This is a real whodunit!
The Boy on the Back of the Turtle
Humorist, novelist and family man on a quest, Quarrington offers an entertaining account of a Galapagos voyage in the company of his seven-year-old daughter and seventy-year-old father.
Galapagos, World's End
A wry, wonderfully evocative account of a 1924 scientific expedition, including an excellent chapter on the human history of the Galapagos by Ruth Rose. A contemporary reviewer wrote, "Galapagos is a glorious book. It is high romance, exact science and wild adventure." Originally published in 1924, it includes several color plates and maps.
Evolution's Workshop, God and Science on the Galapagos Islands
A vivid history of the Galapagos -- and the role of the islands as a crucible of evolutionary ideas. It covers not just Darwin but the discovery of the islands, visits of Hancock and Beebe, influence of the United States during WWII, and the establishment of the national park. Pulitzer Prize-winning Larson, a historian of science, has also written about the Scopes trial (Summer for the Gods) and the creationist controversy in the United States (Trial and Error).
Galapagos, Discovery on Darwin's Islands
All the birds, mammals, reptiles and other vertebrates of the Galapagos are beautifully illustrated in this insightful overview of natural history and evolution by a researcher who has worked throughout the islands. Steadman's brother Lee provides the full-color, full-page water color illustrations.
Galapagos Wildlife, A Visitor's Guide
FIELD GUIDE: A compact guide to the birds, reptiles, insects, plants and marine life of the archipelago featuring a very good selection of large color photographs. Separate chapters cover visitor sites, history, conservation and habitats. The authors present key information on the flora, fauna and places in Galapagos for the traveler.
Charles Darwin Slept Here
John Woram recounts with verve and humor the human history of the archipelago, featuring a colorful cast of buccaneers, scientists and adventurers. With ar-chival drawings, maps and extensive notes.
Galapagos Wildlife
This fold-up, laminated card includes color drawings and short descriptions.
The Beak of the Finch
This Pulitzer Prize-winning work is an accessible look at the modern debate on the mode and rhythm of evolution, using the story of Peter and Rosemary Grant and their field work on Daphne Major as an example.
Ecuador in Focus, A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture
This slim guide provides a lively overview of Ecuador’s history, cultural heritage and political, environmental and economic challenges.
Charles Darwin and the Evolution Revolution
This nicely presented account of Darwin for young adults focuses on the social and scientific context of his life and work. It's an excellent short biogra-phy. With 19th-century illustrations, cartoons and photos.
Galapagos Islands Explorer Map
A detailed map of the Galapagos archipelago for the traveler at a scale of 1:400,000, including illustrated biographies of famous visitors, a brief wildlife guide with color photographs, a map of Darwin's route.
Voyage of the Beagle
The wide-eyed tale of a young man on a five-year voyage that changed his life -- and our way of thinking about the world. First published in 1839, this book is still essential reading. Darwin's South American chapters are an excellent introduction to the Galapagos, Beagle Channel, Chile, Tierra del Fuego, the Chilean fjords and the Brazilian coast. With maps and appendices.
Lonely Planet Phrasebooks: Latin American Spanish
This portable phrasebook provides a useful mix of everyday phrases, words and expressions used in different Spanish speaking countries in Latin America. Learn the nuances of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.
Galapagos, Preserving Darwin's Legacy
Tui de Roy corralled researchers and friends for this stunning survey of the natural history, ecology and conservation of the Galapagos. With 450 breath-taking color photographs and chapters by Jack Grove (fishes), Peter and Rose-mary Grant (finches), Dennis Geist (geology) and many other scientists.
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