2025 Machu Picchu & Galapagos Discovery

regional and premium class flights may be available on request

Upon arrival, transfer to a 4★ hotel for your three night stay

Enjoy exploring at your leisure.

The colourful capital of Peru, Lima has long been renowned for its rich history. Home to impressive architecture and ancient civilizations, as well as a whole host of museums and galleries, sightseers and culture-seekers alike will revel in its varied selection of tourist hotspots and off-the-beaten-track treasures

Transfer to the airport for your short flight to Cusco

Upon arrival, transfer to a 4★ hotel for your two night stay.

You’ll see impressive Inca structures contrasted with ornate buildings from Spanish colonial times. Visit the 15th century ceremonial compound of Sacsayhuaman, or admire the architecture of the Spanish Santo Domingo church, a convent built on the ruins of Koricancha, the Inca Sun Temple. After your tour of the highlights of this cultural and architectural gem, you'll return to the hotel for dinner (D)

This morning you will visit Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley, from where you’ll catch a train along the narrow-gauge line to Machu Picchu.

You’ll enjoy a guided tour of this once-hidden settlement, marvelling at the stonewalls, terraces and ramps that are carved into the mountain. You’ll love the peaceful atmosphere of Machu Picchu as you gaze at the lowland jungle from this city in the clouds. After lunch, you return to Cusco where you’ll enjoy your final night at the hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Quito, Ecuador

Upon arrival, transfer to a hotel for your two night stay, including breakfast. 

A UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s packed with well-preserved colonial architecture as evidenced in colourful plazas, magnificent churches and handsome monuments. Settle into your hotel, then head out to explore.

Today you’ll enjoy a guided tour of Quito’s remarkable Old Town – one of the largest and best-preserved colonial-era quarters in South America. Wander through cobblestone streets as you admire the architecture – and sample some delicious chocolate made from finest Ecuadorian cacao along the way. 

Next, you’ll head to the iconic ‘Middle of the World City’, located around 16 miles north of Quito. After lunch, you’ll visit the famous monument that delineates the imaginary line of the Equator. Have your camera ready to capture the moment you stand with one foot in each hemisphere.

After breakfast, a short flight will take you to Baltra Island in the spectacular Galápagos archipelago. A transfer brings you straight to the port where your comfortable expedition ship MS Santa Cruz II awaits.

You'll get your first glimpse of the islands' incredible wildlife on Mosquera Islet, home to one of the largest sea lion colonies in the archipelago. Small panga boats will take you ashore to get a closer look. As you stroll across flat and sandy dunes, look out for Blue-footed Boobies and Sally Lightfoot crabs, and learn about the marine and terrestrial ecosystems from your naturalist guides.

Your first stop today is the Cerro Colorado Tortoise Reserve – a breeding centre for the endangered giant tortoise. It's also home to other endemic species, including the San Cristobal Mockingbird and lava lizard.

The giant tortoise is probably the most iconic of all Galápagos wildlife, with a lifespan of over 100 years. Here, they thrive, ambling around forests similar to their natural habitat.

Up to August 2024 we’ll call at Cerro Brujo, on the island’s west coast. With its white coral beaches, you’ll literally be walking in Darwin’s footsteps as the naturalist visited here in 1835. There are plenty of sea and shore birds to look out for here, as well as sea lions. Explore Punta Pitt in the small panga boats. This is the only site in the Galápagos Islands where you might see three species of boobies. Enjoy a nature walk, explore the coastline by boat, or snorkel and swim in the crystal-clear water.

Start the day with a scenic nature walk on the blissful beaches of Santa Fe, home to the endemic Barrington land iguana and a colony of sea lions. You can swim or snorkel from the small panga boats, take a kayak for a paddle around the island, or join a trip in our glass-bottomed boat to observe the marine life below.

After a delicious lunch, prepared by our onboard chefs, we head to South Plaza Island. Keep an eye out for frigatebirds, Swallow-tailed Gulls and Galapagos Shearwaters gliding on the breeze. Here, among a dazzling array of flora, land iguanas laze by the shore while marine iguanas slip in and out of the water.

Today, you’ll explore Santa Cruz Island. In the morning, disembark at Puerto Ayora to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. A giant tortoise breeding centre, here you can see recently hatched tortoises and Darwin’s famous finches – the birds he used as a basis for his theory of evolution by natural selection.

There’s also an impressive forest of prickly pear cacti that’s home to many land birds. Enjoy a cooler climate over lunch in the lush highlands, where giant tortoises shuffle about munching on grass and wallowing in pools.

You'll have time for another activity, including mountain biking or visiting a sugar plantation

Your Galápagos Islands cruise reaches Española, the archipelago's most southerly island. Birdlife here is truly extraordinary – look out for Nazca Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies and Swallow-tailed Gulls, and the mighty Waved Albatross. It’s also a chance to spot red Española lava lizards and marine iguanas, as well as see the famous blowhole, El Soplador, blasting water 75 feet into the air.

After lunch on board the ship, we'll head to the picturesque coral beach of Gardner Bay and nearby Osborn Islet, to seek out sea lions, mockingbirds and finches. If you're feeling active, you can go snorkelling or kayaking.

The wealth of wildlife watching opportunities continues at Eden Islet, where we hope to see Galapagos green turtles, rays and friendly reef sharks. On the shore, look out for distinctive frigatebirds with their rubbery, red throats. You can swim or snorkel to explore the reefs.

Alternatively, see the reefs from the glass-bottomed boat or by kayak. After lunch, sail to North Seymour. The island is a great site for spotting colonies of Blue-footed Boobies and Swallow-tailed Gulls. Sea lions and marine iguanas also congregate here, attracted by the bountiful sea life in its waters.

Your expedition cruise draws to a close as you disembark at Baltra Island.

A transfer will take you to the airport in Baltra for your flight to Quito

Upon arrival, transfer to a hotel for your overnight stay

Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London

(regional and premium class flights may be available on request)