The Bonita Galapagos Cruise Tour
Step aboard the Bonita, a renovated family-class yacht offering an accessible and worry-free way to experience the Galapagos Islands. The Bonita delivers a relaxed and enriching cruise experience at an attractive price point. The cruise is ideal for adventurous travelers seeking comfort, safety, and authentic discovery.
Designed for an intimate guest experience, the Bonita offers cozy cabins, attentive service, and the expert guidance of a certified bilingual naturalist guide. WiFi is available onboard to help you stay connected as you explore this remote paradise.
Between excursions, relax on deck or in the comfortable indoor lounge. The ship’s chefs are dedicated to delivering a culinary experience that blends the bold flavors of Ecuadorian cuisine with international flair. Menus are tailored to accommodate pescetarian, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other dietary preferences, all prepared to the highest sanitary standards.
Savor your favorite cocktails, local beers, or international wines while admiring the island scenery (beverages available at extra cost).
With a professionally trained crew, comprehensive safety features, and warm hospitality at its core, the Bonita invites you to experience the Galapagos with confidence, comfort, and character.
Everything was just perfect! The crew was wonderful, the food excellent. Diana was our server, bartender she was exceptional. David was our guide, he was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot on the Galapagos biodiversity. We were lucky to swim with hammerhead sharks, rays, penguins… I would recommend the Bonita without hesitation, the rooms are comfortable, the activities are great and again the crew is so so amazing.
- Francine
For: The Bonita Galapagos CruiseThe Bonita Galapagos Cruise Accommodation
The Bonita Cruise offers a selection of cozy and flexible cabin options designed for couples, families, solo travelers, and small groups. All cabins include a large private bathroom, air-conditioning, and daily housekeeping for a comfortable experience between excursions.
Cabin options include:
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Matrimonial Cabins –
2 cabins on the main deck and 4 convertible cabins on the upper deck with queen-size beds, ideal for couples seeking comfort and privacy -
Twin Cabins –
4 convertible twin cabins on the upper deck and 1 twin cabin on the lower deck, perfect for friends or shared occupancy -
Triple Cabins –
2 cabins on the lower deck with a bunk bed and a single bed, ideal for families or small groups of three
All cabins include:
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Large private bathroom with hot water
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Air-conditioning
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Storage space and practical layout
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Clean linens and eco-conscious toiletries
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Daily housekeeping service
The Bonita Galapagos Cruise Tour Summary
Each day, the Bonita Cruise invites you to experience the Galapagos Islands through a variety of guided activities designed to immerse you in the region’s extraordinary wildlife and landscapes.
Explore volcanic trails on daily hikes led by a certified naturalist guide, where you’ll encounter native flora and fauna unique to each island. Snorkeling excursions—complete with fins, masks, and wetsuits—allow you to safely discover colorful reef fish, sea turtles, and other marine life beneath the surface. Scenic panga rides bring you up close to mangroves, rocky coastlines, and nesting seabirds for incredible wildlife encounters. For those seeking a more active experience, kayaks and paddleboards are available to navigate calm waters in designated areas, always under the supervision of onboard staff for your safety and comfort.
Video Introduction
Tour Info
- Country: Ecuador
- Focus Area: Galapagos National Park
- Duration: 5 & 7 days
- Start Point: Baltra Island / San Cristobal
- End Point: Baltra Island / San Cristobal
The Bonita Galapagos Cruise Itinerary
Choose your itinerary
Click a duration to see the day-by-day programme for this cruise.
Other itinerary lengths may be available — send a request to check options and pricing.
Day 1 · Wednesday
Baltra Arrival & South Plaza Island
You'll land at Baltra Airport, where your naturalist guide is waiting to welcome you. From there it's a short ferry ride across the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz Island, passing Baltra's arid terrain and hearing about its history as a former US WWII airbase. In the afternoon, South Plaza Island is the only one of its twin pair open to visitors, its northern sibling reserved for scientific research. Land iguanas wait beneath the Opuntia cacti for fallen fruit, while a large sea lion colony fills the shore, pups playing in the tide pools as bulls defend their territory. The trail leads to a dramatic clifftop with sweeping ocean views, where frigatebirds, blue-footed boobies, red-billed tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls soar overhead, all set against a blanket of reddish succulent ground cover.
Day 2 · Thursday
Black Turtle Cove & Highlands
Black Turtle Cove takes its name from the green sea turtles that gather here, known locally as tortugas negras. There's no landing, so you'll explore the shallow channels and coves by dinghy, weaving through mangrove forest that shelters reef sharks, sea turtles and several ray species. It's considered an important mating site for turtles and a nursery for sharks, and herons, pelicans and boobies are often seen hunting through schools of anchovies. In the afternoon, a bus ride takes you into the lush highlands of Santa Cruz, home to giant tortoises grazing and resting in freshwater ponds, along with bird species rarely seen at lower elevations. Depending on the day's route, you may also visit a lava tunnel and learn how volcanic activity shaped the islands.
Day 3 · Friday
Darwin Bay & El Barranco
Genovesa is a favourite among birdwatchers for its huge seabird colonies, and the moment you step onto the beach you'll understand why, hundreds of boobies, gulls and frigatebirds fill the air, perch in the bushes or nest right on the sand. The trail brings you close to sea lions and marine iguanas near the water, while night herons, gulls, finches, doves and mockingbirds fill the space further inland. The bay offers snorkelling from deep cliff-lined water to shallow beach coves, both with a strong chance of fish, sharks, rays and sea lions. In the afternoon, El Barranco sits at the southern end of Darwin Bay, where fragile, fractured lava cliffs shelter storm petrel colonies, which in turn attract a strong population of short-eared owls hunting the nesting birds. Red-footed and Nazca boobies nest along the trail, and Galápagos fur seals rest in the shade at the base of the cliffs. The water here is another good snorkel, with fish, sharks, rays and sea lions all likely.
Day 4 · Saturday
Sullivan Bay & Bartolome Island
Sullivan Bay is a walk through the volcanic origins of the islands, across a remarkably well preserved pahoehoe lava flow, its delicate texture found in only a handful of places on earth. The landscape looks barren at first, but a closer look reveals pioneer plants, lava lizards and small birds, while penguins, pelicans and oystercatchers gather along the shore. Snorkelling from the coral sand beach or the dinghies feels like entering another world entirely, with fish schools, penguins, reef sharks, turtles and rays all thriving beneath the surface. In the afternoon, Bartolomé Island is one of the most iconic in the Galápagos, known for its dramatic volcanic landscape and the famous Pinnacle Rock, and one of the few places you can see penguins without travelling out to Isabela or Fernandina. The climb to the summit rewards you with sweeping views over a lunar-like terrain of volcanic cones, taking in Sullivan Bay and Pinnacle Rock below. The snorkelling here is some of the best in the islands, with penguins, colourful fish, sea turtles, sea lions, rays and reef sharks all sharing the same clear water.
Day 5 · Sunday
North Seymour Island & Departure
A bus takes you to the Itabaca Channel to board the Galaxy Skape for the crossing to North Seymour Island. After a dry landing, a 2.5 kilometre trail lets you choose your route, along the coast or inland first toward the booby colony. Keep an eye out for land and marine iguanas, a colony of sea lions, lava lizards, frigatebirds and pelicans along the way. Afterward you'll be transferred to Baltra Airport for your flight back to mainland Ecuador.
Day 1 · Saturday
Baltra Arrival & Santa Cruz Highlands
You'll land at Baltra Airport, where your naturalist guide is waiting to welcome you. From there it's a short ferry ride across the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz Island, passing Baltra's arid terrain and hearing about its history as a former US WWII airbase. In the afternoon, a bus ride takes you into the lush highlands of Santa Cruz, home to giant tortoises grazing and resting in freshwater ponds, along with bird species rarely seen at lower elevations. Depending on the day's route, you may also visit a lava tunnel and learn how volcanic activity shaped the islands.
Day 2 · Sunday
Cormorant Point, Devil's Crown & Post Office Bay
Punta Cormorant, in northern Floreana, is known for its large coastal lagoon, home to flamingos, white-cheeked pintails, black-necked stilts and other shorebirds. A white sand beach here is an important nesting ground for green sea turtles, and rays and reef sharks are often seen offshore, with a small group of blue-footed boobies now breeding right along the trail. Snorkelling takes place at Devil's Crown, a heavily eroded volcanic cone considered one of the best snorkel sites in the entire archipelago, its currents funnel plankton through the crater, drawing huge schools of snapper, Creole fish, parrotfish and angelfish, along with reef sharks, sea turtles and rays. In the afternoon, Post Office Bay carries the story of Floreana's German settlers and the mysterious baroness of the late 1920s and 30s, a tale of assassinations, disappearances and unsolved mysteries. Whalers once anchored here to stock up on fresh water and tortoises, and a barrel-based mail system set up more than 200 years ago is still in use today, letting you send a postcard from the islands to anywhere in the world. The beach and surrounding water are good for a dinghy tour or a snorkel, with sea lions, sea turtles, rays, small sharks and, if you're lucky, a Galápagos penguin.
Day 3 · Monday
Suarez Point & Gardner Bay
This rocky trail at Suárez Point is one of the finest nature walks in the Galápagos, sea lions and marine iguanas greet you first, followed by large seabird colonies including Nazca and blue-footed boobies, gulls and tropicbirds. The trail ends at a colony of waved albatross, present from April to January, the largest bird in the islands and known for its powerful flight and elaborate courtship display. Española is the only place they nest, so this is your only chance to see them up close. In the afternoon, Gardner Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches in the islands, with fine white coral sand and clear water, sea lions bask on the shore while Española mockingbirds forage nearby, alongside marine iguanas and Galápagos hawks. Nearby, Osborn Islet offers excellent snorkelling, with sea turtles, reef sharks and schools of angelfish, parrotfish and surgeonfish in its calm water.
Day 4 · Tuesday
Interpretation Center, Kicker Rock & Lobos Island
On the outskirts of Puerto Baquerizo, the Interpretation Center covers the history of human presence in the Galápagos, from early Spanish explorers through to notable visitors like Charles Darwin, tracing the struggles of the first settlers in this harsh environment. Depending on the day's route, you may also get to snorkel around Kicker Rock, a strong spot for sharks, sea turtles, rays and a wide range of fish, with plenty of invertebrates growing on its vertical walls. In the afternoon, Lobos Island offers an unforgettable wildlife encounter, sea lions greet you on landing as they play in the tide pools, frigatebirds display their inflated red pouches from the bushes inland, and blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance right along the trail. The calm water is ideal for a snorkel among playful sea lions, sea turtles and rays.
Day 5 · Wednesday
Bachas Beach & Departure
Bachas Beach, on the north side of Santa Cruz, is reached by a wet landing straight from the panga, a relaxed spot for a swim or a walk along the sand. The lagoon behind the beach often holds great blue herons and smaller birds, and both beaches here are nesting grounds for green sea turtles. Afterward you'll be transferred to Baltra Airport for your flight back to mainland Ecuador.
Day 1 · Sunday
Baltra Arrival & Dragon Hill
You'll land at Baltra Airport, where your naturalist guide is waiting to welcome you. From there it's a short ferry ride across the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz Island, your first real connection with the archipelago. Along the way you'll pass Baltra's arid landscape and hear the story of its time as a US airbase during World War II. In the afternoon, Dragon Hill, on the northern coast of Santa Cruz, is the only place on the island where land iguanas roam freely, a population that nearly vanished in the 1970s and 80s before successfully rebounding. A saltwater lagoon here often draws flamingos, ducks and shorebirds, and afterward the calm, shallow water is good for a snorkel among surgeonfish, parrotfish, reef sharks and rays.
Day 2 · Monday
Buccaneer Cove or Espumilla Beach & Egas Port
This stretch of coast takes its name from the pirates and buccaneers who used it as a hideout in the 17th and 18th centuries, stopping here for fresh water and tortoises. There's no trail, so a dinghy ride takes you past the dramatic cliffs and rock formations, and the sheltered bay is a strong snorkel, with large schools of fish, reef sharks, sea lions and sea turtles. In the afternoon, Egas Port has no actual port despite the name, but remnants of a 1960s colonisation attempt still stand. The coastal trail is rich with marine iguanas, sea lions, herons, oystercatchers and shorebirds, and further along, the grottos shelter a small colony of the endemic Galápagos fur seal. Land iguanas were reintroduced here in 2019 after more than a century's absence from the island. Snorkelling from the beach turns up fish, turtles and reef sharks over a rocky bottom, often with sea lions joining in.
Day 3 · Tuesday
Vicente Roca Point & Espinoza Point
Vicente Roca Point sits beneath some of the tallest cliffs in the Galápagos, with striking volcanic formations along the shore. There's no trail here, so a dinghy tour brings you close to flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies, pelicans and sea turtles, along with Galápagos fur seals and marine iguanas basking on the rocks, and the deep water nearby is a good spot for dolphin and whale sightings. Snorkelling turns up sea turtles, penguins, sea lions, cormorants, rays and a wide range of fish, with fan corals and sponges growing on the underwater walls. Espinoza Point, on Fernandina, sits beside the most active volcano in the islands, erupting every three to five years, and the shore here holds hundreds of marine iguanas basking in the sun, sea lions playing in the tide pools, and cormorants nesting nearby. Snorkelling in the nutrient-rich water often means watching marine iguanas feed underwater, alongside penguins, cormorants, sea lions and sea turtles.
Day 4 · Wednesday
Urbina Bay & Tagus Cove
Urbina Bay was thrust up from the seabed in a dramatic uplift during the 1950s, and shells and coral still visible along the trail prove the ground was underwater as recently as sixty years ago. Land iguanas are common here, and giant tortoises appear in certain seasons, while Galápagos hawks nest nearby and are often seen flying or perched in the trees. Snorkelling from the beach turns up sea turtles, cormorants, penguins and plenty of fish. In the afternoon, Tagus Cove holds real history, Charles Darwin explored this stretch of coast himself. The trail winds through dry Palo Santo forest, home to finches and mockingbirds, climbing to views over Darwin's Lake and the volcanoes of northern Isabela. A boat tour along the shore brings sightings of penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas and the rare Galápagos martin, one of the most endangered birds in the archipelago, while the water below draws sea turtles, tropical fish and penguins feeding on anchovies.
Day 5 · Thursday
Elizabeth Bay & Moreno Point
Elizabeth Bay is a sheltered inlet ringed by mangroves and lava fields, explored entirely by dinghy since there's no landing here. It's one of the best places in the islands to see Galápagos penguins, though sightings are never guaranteed given the entire population numbers only around 3,000 birds. Flightless cormorants nest in the area, and blue-footed boobies and pelicans fish the shallow water alongside rays and sea turtles. In the afternoon, Moreno Point's lava fields look lifeless at first glance, but inland, brackish lagoons hold flamingos, gallinules, ducks and herons, while the coastline draws penguins, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies and sea lions. Snorkelling here turns up sea turtles, cormorants and a wide range of fish, and if you look closely in the seaweed you might spot a seahorse.
Day 6 · Friday
Charles Darwin Station & Highlands
The Charles Darwin Station has worked alongside the Galápagos National Park for decades to protect the islands' biodiversity, and you'll learn about the projects tackling invasive species and breeding giant tortoises in captivity, one of the most significant conservation efforts in the islands. The visit takes place outdoors in a dry native forest, a good spot to see Darwin's finches, flycatchers and mockingbirds. In the afternoon, a bus ride takes you into the lush highlands of Santa Cruz, home to giant tortoises grazing and resting in freshwater ponds, along with bird species rarely seen at lower elevations. Depending on the day's route, you may also visit a lava tunnel and learn how volcanic activity shaped the islands.
Day 7 · Saturday
Twin Craters & Departure
Los Gemelos, the Twin Craters, are two enormous sinkholes formed by the collapse of underground chambers on Santa Cruz Island. Set along the road between Puerto Ayora and Baltra, they offer sweeping views over lush Scalesia forest and a chance to spot the endemic short-eared owl, a fitting final stop before your transfer to Baltra Airport for your flight back to mainland Ecuador.
The Bonita Galapagos Cruise Activities
Snorkelling
Wildlife walks
Kayaking
Paddleboarding
Dinghy and panga rides
Birdwatching
Lava field walks
Volcanic summit hikes
Sinkhole and crater viewpoints
Beach relaxation
Conservation center visits
Cultural and historical stops
Rates & Inclusions
5 days / 4 nights
Cabin (Double Occupancy): $2,900
Charter rate: $44,080
from $2,755pp at max capacity (16 guests)
7 days / 6 nights
Cabin (Double Occupancy): $4,350
Charter rate: $66,120
from $4,133pp at max capacity (16 guests)
Notes
- Rates per person and based on double occupancy
- Single supplement 50%
- Round trip flight to Galapagos at US$ 450 per person
- Handling fee for not issuing tickets with cruise US$ 60 per person
- Christmas and New Year surcharge 50%
- Discount for charter 5%
- Discount for children 10% (between 6 and 11 years old)
- Group 7 passengers minimum, discount of 3%
Included
- Airport assistance on the cruise departure dates
- Transportation and fuel surcharge in the Marine Reserve of Galapagos
- Accommodation in single, double or triple cabin according to your booking
- Bilingual naturalist guide (English-Spanish)
- Personalized crew service
- All meals during the cruise, from lunch on the first day to breakfast on the last day
- One snack after each activity (except last day)
- Welcome cocktail
- Unlimited purified water, coffee and tea
- All visits, excursions & activities according to the itinerary
- Transportation Airport-Channel / Channel-Airport (Lobitos Bus)
- Docks use and ferries
- Snorkeling gear (mask, tube, and fins)
- Use of kayaks and paddle boards in authorized places
- Wetsuits
- Shampoo, hair conditioner, and soap for daily use
- Beach towels
Not Included
- International flights to/from Ecuador
- Galapagos Islands airfare from/to mainland (Quito or Guayaquil)
- Galapagos National Park entrance fee ($200 per person)
- Transit Control Card ($20 per person)
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance (highly recommended)
- Additional services not indicated
Operated By Galaxy Expeditions
About Galaxy Expeditions
Galaxy Expeditions operate a fleet of premium vessels in the Galapagos Islands, including the boutique Galaxy Sirius, elegant Alya Catamaran, eco-friendly EcoGalaxy, and the family-oriented Bonita Yacht. Their cruises range from luxury multi-day cruises to flexible day trips with Galaxy Daily, each offering comfort, exclusivity, and deep connection with nature.
With over 15 years of experience, Galaxy Expeditions creates personalized and immersive journeys across the Galapagos, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. Their vessels carry a maximum of 16 passengers, allowing for attentive service and minimal environmental impact.
Galaxy Expeditions promote sustainable travel through eco-conscious design, responsible operations, and respectful engagement with local communities. Their team ensures a seamless experience from planning to return, combining adventure, cultural connection, and environmental stewardship.
Galaxy Expeditions Details
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