Curious sea lions, waddling penguins and huge giant tortoises always make for a fun family holiday. Handcrafted for inquisitive children and inspired families, this kid-friendly Galapagos Islands tour offers a relaxed mix of tailored family activities, guided excursions, and free time to explore nature's surreal oasis in the Pacific. You'll spend four days exploring Santa Cruz Island from an oceanfront base, then four nights on a luxury cruise that's customized for...
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Getting Acquainted with Ecuador
Ecuador's capital is a relaxed and quiet base to start a vacation. While the city sprawls out through a volcano-clad valley, its ancient heart is a serene introduction to the country. Get picked up at the airport and privately transferred to a hotel in the World Heritage area. Interconnecting rooms keep your family together while the guide can provide transfers and recommendations for dinner. Quito's central streets are safe and easy to explore on foot, and a quick wander from the hotel takes you to delightful 17th-century churches and the Presidential Palace. Numerous cafes line two nearby city squares, another excellent spot for relaxing after the flight.
What's Included:
Day 2
A Cable Car Up a Volcano
Day 3
Arriving on the Islands and Relaxing on the Coast
Day 4
Meeting the Giant Tortoises of Santa Cruz
Day 5
Exploring Santa Cruz the Kids' Way
Day 6
Free Day on the Island
Day 7
Relaxing With Sea Lions on the Beach at Las Bachas
Day 8
Easy Exploration of the Marine World
Day 9
Walking Across Lava Flows
Day 10
Millions of Sea Birds and Land Iguanas
Day 11
Departure from San Cristobal
Trip Highlights
- Spend eight nights in the mystical Galapagos Islands, discovering wildlife that astonishes visitors of all ages
- Fully explore Santa Cruz Island, as you enjoy four relaxed nights at an oceanfront luxury lodge
- Complete the kid-friendly Galapagos tour with an easy four-night cruise that takes in the eclectic wonder of the islands
- Expert local guides lead the children in tailored activities like wildlife tracking, photography, and animal behavior
- A flexible program of excursions allows you to fully explore the marine world, including guided snorkeling (with specialist snorkeling life jackets if required), glass-bottom boat rides and swimming from red sand beaches
- Start the trip with two serene days in Quito, where a cable car journey up Pichincha Volcano offers sublime views of the Andes
- Intimately meet the great characters of the Galapagos, like Galapagos penguins, blue-footed boobies, huge land iguanas, and Galapagos hawks
- Watch your children encounter sea lions on the beach and giant tortoises in the Highlands
- Mix guided excursions with unguided trips to hypnotic Galapagos sites, including beaches, easy walking trails, and the Charles Darwin Research Station
Detailed Description
Galapagos wildlife always makes for unforgettable vacation scenes; your children walking past sea lions on the beach, penguins diving past the boat, giant tortoises filling the walking trail. There's something endearing and evocative to find everywhere in this archipelago, from bright red sandy beaches to gargantuan land iguanas. Such extraordinary wildlife is adept at keeping kids entertained. As are the expert Galapagos guides, who run tailored children's activities that reveal the natural history and evolution of this remarkable archipelago. Consider learning more about your skilled Galapagos tour operators who strive to produce a spectacular once in a lifetime exploration of the Galapagos for you and your family. This isn't a zoo experience. And it isn't just a glimpse of a few animals. For eight days, you enjoy intimate encounters with a dozen iconic species, often getting within two meters of the flamboyant wildlife.
This kid-friendly Galapagos Islands tour combines four days of relaxed land exploration on Santa Cruz Island with four nights of luxury cruising. Excursions and activities are flexible, ensuring there's always a choice about what to do and which Galapagos angle to enjoy. An oceanfront lodge on Santa Cruz is your base for the start of the trip. From here, you can enjoy unguided trips to beaches speckled with sea lions, research stations filled with tortoises, and volcanic cliffs home to iguanas and seabirds. One privately guided day trip explores the outer reaches of the island, bringing stunning encounters with mass colonies and the eclectic variety of Galapagos habitats. Interconnecting suites provide lingering ocean views, and the itinerary is fully inclusive of all meals.
Then the 4-night cruise takes you to some of the archipelago's most revered sites, locations that epitomize the hypnotic life in this isolated wilderness. Walk over ancient lava flows, visit the breeding ground of over a million birds, spot penguins diving from cliffs, and relax on pristine soft-sand beaches. There's marine exploration at each site, and you can choose to ride in a glass-bottom boat, swim from sandy shores, or go on a guided snorkel, with specialist snorkeling life jackets if required. Interconnecting cabins provide the accommodation while the boat's 90-capacity size enables it to offer tailored activities for the children, like wildlife photography and animal tracking. With multiple social areas, there's always a quiet place onboard for your family to enjoy.
Before the Galapagos, you spend two nights in the capital city Quito, a relaxed introduction to the country. A private guide arranges flexible excursions, including the recommended teleferico ride to the upper slopes of Pichincha Volcano. From here, there are wonderful views of the Andes and a safe sense of adventure. From Quito, it's a 90-minute direct flight to the islands and your immersion in this strange wildlife world. The Galapagos have never been connected to any continental landmass, meaning the wildlife has always evolved distinctly from the rest of the planet. The colors, the charm, the inquisitive stare of a creature you get close to... it makes for a wonderful experience for children of all ages, not to mention a bucket list destination for the whole family. Furthermore, the Galapagos is malaria free, and no additional vaccinations are required for travel here.
Starting Price
$13,500 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service
4.89 stars based on 227 reviews.
Our trip from start to finish was absolutely fantastic. The Amazon jungle was a blast. I paid for an extra full-day excursion to fish for piranhas, which was definitely a great decision and one of the highlights of our trip (we had the piranhas for lunch, and they were delicious).
The Sacred Valley, Cusco, and Machu Picchu were fabulous. And then, the Galápagos were extraordinary, from the unexpected serenity of the place to the crew of the boat, and, of course, the proximity to wildlife, including snorkeling with sea lions. It was especially meaningful to be in these places with our entire family (10 of us). Everyone understood how special it was and we will all cherish the experience all of our lives.
The Zicasso travel company was fantastic from start to finish. Our travel specialist went far beyond the call of duty to help us, especially when one family members could not make the trip. He helped us with replacing that person with another. He was remarkably prompt, clear, and informative in all communications, both in planning the trip and during it. He has a very kind heart and is a great human being. I cannot say enough positive things about him.
Reviewed By bradley P.
The trip was amazing and exceeded our expectations! We loved everything about it. Working with Zicasso's travel specialists was so great. The team was so fast responding on everything and so helpful during the planning stage, preparation stage, and even while we were in Ecuador. We could not have asked for a better partner!
Reviewed By Wendy+Andrew S.
Zicasso's trip planner is excellent! She planned a personalized itinerary for me and my family, with activities for all different ages in our travel group. We truly enjoyed our experience in Quito and the Galápagos Islands.
Our tour guide did a wonderful job taking us around Quito and ensuring we got to fully experience the city (including historical landmarks and local spots). In addition, one of our family members had altitude sickness and he put a lot of effort into helping her get assistance and even medical care in the airport.
Five stars for our agent and our guide.
Reviewed By Usha R.
Our trip was beyond awesome. We made memories for a lifetime in Peru and the Galápagos Islands. Standing on the equator in Quito and the different experiments on the equator were a hit with kids and adults alike. There was excellent planning and execution by our Zicasso travel specialists. All the guides and excursions were great and we made good friends with them. They went above and beyond to recover our (lost/forgotten) items in a hotel and plane. Two thumbs up.
Reviewed By Uday P.
The plan by Zicasso's trip planner and the help he provided during our trip were invaluable. Unfortunately, my sister and I overestimated our abilities and underestimated our physical stamina. As he suggested, five days in the Galápagos would have been plenty. The Amazon trip was quite arduous for us, but the guide was fantastic. The Machu Picchu guide was fantastic. All our guides enjoy their work. More attention could have been paid to the altitude. My sister was sick most of the trip. We should have paid more attention to that before the trip.
Reviewed By Jacqueline J.
We had a fantastic trip and a great Zicasso travel agent.
Reviewed By Ambili G.
