Samba
Fourteen guests and nine crew, on the one itinerary in the fleet that reaches Marchena. Genovesa, Marchena and Fernandina in the same eight days.
Marchena
Punta Mejia and Playa Negra. Almost no itinerary in the archipelago calls there at all.
Fourteen guests
Two fewer than the standard sixteen, with nine crew. Smaller trails, shorter waits, quieter landings.
Two zodiacs
Everybody ashore in one movement, rather than in shifts from a single panga.
The route nobody else runs
Samba is a boutique motor catamaran: ninety feet of fibreglass built in 2007, eleven metres of beam, a draft of a metre and a half. Fourteen guests, nine crew and two zodiacs. Small numbers, and they show up in the day — on a trail with fourteen people the guide can actually answer questions.
The reason people ask for this boat by name is the northwest itinerary. Genovesa in the far north, Fernandina in the far west, and in between Marchena: an island so rarely visited that most seasoned Galapagos travellers have never set foot on it. Punta Mejia and Playa Negra are on almost nobody’s route. That combination is why she books out early for the high season.
At a glance
The remote route, day by day
Arrival and Mosquera Islet
Met at Baltra and taken to the boat, then a first afternoon on the sand strip at Mosquera with its sea lion colony, shorebirds and Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Darwin Bay and El Barranco
The seabird island, reached overnight. Frigatebirds and swallow-tailed gulls in the mangroves, then Prince Philip’s Steps up the cliff to the red-footed boobies and a real chance of the short-eared owl.
Punta Mejia and Playa Negra
The day that sets this itinerary apart. Marchena is one of the least visited islands in the archipelago — black lava shoreline, snorkeling over volcanic rock, and almost nobody else on the water.
Punta Albemarle and Vicente Roca
The northern tip of Isabela, where flightless cormorants nest and the remains of a wartime radar base still stand. Then Vicente Roca: snorkeling in the cold upwelling with turtles and mola mola.
Espinoza Point and Urbina Bay
The westernmost island and the largest marine iguana colonies on earth, with penguins and cormorants alongside. Urbina Bay in the afternoon: coral pushed above the waterline in 1954, land iguanas and giant tortoises.
Elizabeth Bay and Moreno Point
A zodiac ride through the mangrove channels at Elizabeth Bay, where turtles and penguins shelter, then the barren lava and brackish pools of Moreno Point with three volcanoes on the horizon.
Post Office Bay, Baroness Lookout and Devil’s Crown
The mail barrel that has worked since the whalers, the lookout tied to the island’s strangest human story, and snorkeling inside a submerged volcano eroded into a jagged crown.
El Chato, Los Gemelos and farewell
Giant tortoises in the wild at the El Chato reserve and the twin craters in the highlands, 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. Marchena in particular depends on the sea being kind. The guide adjusts the day; the islands do not take requests.
South, east and central · 8 days
- Day 1. Baltra, then Los Gemelos and the El Chato reserve on Santa Cruz.
- Day 2. Floreana: Cormorant Point and Champion Islet.
- Day 3. Espanola: Suarez Point and Gardner Bay.
- Day 4. San Cristobal: Pitt Point, Kicker Rock and Lobos Island.
- Day 5. Santa Fe and South Plaza.
- Day 6. Chinese Hat and Bartolome.
- Day 7. Puerto Egas and Rabida.
- Day 8. North Seymour, then Baltra.
The southern route is the classic circuit, and it carries Espanola, where the waved albatross nests between April and December. Both routes run Tuesday to Tuesday from Baltra, so the two back to back make a fortnight that covers the archipelago with almost no repetition — and that is how people who know these islands book this particular boat.
What the price covers
Included
- An air-conditioned cabin with private bathroom
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
- Filtered water, tea and coffee all day
- Every guided excursion on the official itinerary
- A certified Galapagos naturalist guide
- Snorkel gear and sea kayaking
- Zodiacs for wet and dry landings
- Towels for the cabin and the deck
- Housekeeping and crew assistance
Not included
- National Park entrance fee — USD 200
- Transit control card — USD 20
- Flights to and from the Galapagos
- Wetsuit, if you want one
- Soft and alcoholic drinks
- Travel insurance and personal expenses
- Tips for the guide and crew
Take the wetsuit seriously on the northwest route. Fernandina and Vicente Roca sit in the Cromwell current, and the water there is cold enough that people without one cut the snorkeling short. Ask us and we arrange the rental with the booking.
Where you sleep
Air-conditioned cabins with private bathrooms for fourteen guests, with towels for the cabin and the deck and housekeeping through the week. This is a boutique boat rather than a luxury one: the money went into the route and the crew ratio rather than into balconies.
Meals on board
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, with filtered water, tea and coffee available all day. Soft drinks and alcohol are charged separately. Tell us about dietary needs before you sail rather than on the first evening.
Is this your boat?
Book it if
- Marchena and Genovesa on one trip is what you are after
- Fourteen guests sounds better to you than sixteen
- You would rather pay for the route than for a balcony
- You are considering two weeks — both routes run Tuesday to Tuesday
Choose another cruise if
- You came to dive — this is a naturalist cruise, not a dive boat
- You want a suite, a balcony or a jacuzzi
- Your dates are fixed and do not start on a Tuesday
- You need a published price before you enquire
Want balconies and a wider hull? Compare the Treasure or the Petrel. Travelling alone? The Solaris sells single cabins. Came for the sharks instead? See our Galapagos diving cruises.
Ask us for a quote
Two routes run on the Samba, both eight days from Baltra, and she books out early for the high season. Send us your dates and we come back with which route is sailing, what is still open, and the full cost with fees included.