Tribute
Forty-three metres, eight suites, and a private balcony on every one of them. Ten crew for sixteen guests, with a spa and a gym for the hours between landings.
Every suite
All eight have a private balcony. Not the top two, not the owner’s cabin — all of them.
Ten crew
Ten crew and a naturalist guide for sixteen guests, at one guide per eight on the trail.
Spa and gym
Rare on a boat this size, and useful after a week of wet landings on uneven lava.
A balcony on the archipelago
Tribute is a 2008 hull rebuilt in 2023, and the rebuild went where it counts: eight suites, every one with its own balcony. That sounds like a detail until the third morning, when you are drinking coffee alone at six while the boat swings on its anchor off Fernandina and nobody else is awake yet.
Forty-three metres and eight of beam for sixteen guests, with ten crew and a naturalist guide. On board there is a bar, a library, a boutique, a spa and a fitness centre — a spread most yachts this size cannot fit. House wine, beer and soft drinks are included, and so is access to the VIP lounge at Baltra airport, which matters more than it should after a five-hour travel day.
At a glance
Isabela and Fernandina, day by day
Arrival and the highlands
Fly into Baltra, board, and head up into the Santa Cruz highlands in the afternoon — giant tortoises in the wild rather than in a pen.
Sierra Negra and the shark channel
Tintoreras, where whitetip reef sharks rest in a lava channel, and the climb at Sierra Negra volcano. The afternoon goes to the breeding centre and the wetlands.
Moreno Point and Espinoza Point
Lagoons and lava at Moreno Point, then the crossing to Fernandina for the largest marine iguana colonies in the world, alongside penguins and flightless cormorants.
Tagus Cove and Vicente Roca
The walk up to Darwin Lake past the graffiti whalers left on the cliffs, then snorkeling in the cold upwelling at Vicente Roca with turtles and mola mola.
Bartholomew and Sullivan Bay
The climb to Pinnacle Rock for the view everyone photographs, then Sullivan Bay in the afternoon — a lava flow from 1897 that still looks like it cooled last week.
Dragon Hill and North Seymour
Land iguanas and flamingos at Dragon Hill, a pass by Guy Fawkes islet, and the afternoon at North Seymour with the blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds.
Las Bachas and farewell
A last morning on the white sand at Las Bachas, then the transfer to Baltra and the flight to the mainland.
Landing sites are set by the National Park and can shift with conditions or park scheduling. The guide adjusts the day; the islands do not take requests.
Two five-day options
- The southern route. Santa Cruz highlands, Mosquera and South Plaza, Floreana with Post Office Bay and Champion Islet, then Espanola for Suarez Point and Gardner Bay. Ends at San Cristobal.
- The northern route. Starts at San Cristobal with Lobos Islet, then Santa Fe, Black Turtle Cove, two days on Genovesa for the red-footed boobies, Chinese Hat and Rabida. Ends at Baltra.
- Both run five days and four nights, and the two together cover most of what the seven-day route leaves out.
Espanola is the one worth planning around: the waved albatross nests there and nowhere else on earth, but only between April and December. Genovesa is the other standout, and the only place on these routes where you walk among red-footed boobies. Tell us your dates and we will say which route lands better.
What the price covers
Included
- A suite with private facilities and a balcony
- All meals, from lunch on day one to breakfast on the last day
- House wines, beers and soft drinks
- Every excursion with an English-speaking naturalist guide, one per eight guests
- Snorkelling gear and wetsuits
- Kayaks and paddleboards where the site allows them
- Wi-Fi, intermittent in remote anchorages
- VIP lounge access at Baltra airport
- Airport and yacht transfers
Not included
- National Park entrance fee — USD 200, subject to change
- Transit control card — USD 20
- Flights to and from the Galapagos
- Spirits and premium drinks — packages available
- Travel insurance, which is mandatory
- Gratuities and personal expenses
The park fee is USD 200 here, not the 100 that older pages still quote — it went up, and it is charged in cash on arrival. Budget USD 220 per person on top of the fare, and check which island your route ends on before booking the return flight.
Where you sleep
Eight suites across three decks: a stateroom on the lower deck, the owner’s suite and three panorama suites on the main, and one panorama plus two premium suites on the upper. Every one has private facilities and its own balcony, which is what people remember about this boat.
Meals on board
All meals are covered, from lunch on the first day to breakfast on the last, and the house wine, beer and soft drinks come with them. Spirits and premium bottles sit outside the fare, with drink packages available if that is how you would rather do it. Dietary needs are easier to handle if you tell us before you sail.
Is this your boat?
Book it if
- A private balcony is what separates a good cabin from a great one
- You want the wine and the snorkel gear inside the price
- Space matters — forty-three metres for sixteen guests is generous
- A spa and a gym sound useful after a week of wet landings
Choose another cruise if
- You came to dive — this is a naturalist cruise, not a dive boat
- Your budget stops well short of eight thousand
- You want a catamaran’s stability at anchor
- Long walks on uneven lava are not for you
Prefer two hulls to one? Compare the Monique catamaran. Came for the sharks instead? Look at our Galapagos diving cruises.
Tell us your dates
Three routes run on the Tribute, of five and seven days. Send the week you have in mind and we come back with which one is sailing, the suites still open, and what it costs.