Ecoventura

Expedition Yachts

Ecoventura’s signature fleet includes three identical expedition yachts custom-designed for Galapagos cruising: the M/Y Eric, Flamingo I and Letty. Built in 1991 and refurbished annually, these identical superior first-class sister yachts accommodate no more than 20 guests and feature three decks of spacious staterooms with polished teak interiors trimmed with shiny brass fittings. Accommodations include ten double outside-facing cabins with a window or porthole view, one double bed or two twin lower beds, fully air-conditioned with private bathroom (hot and cold water showers), bio-degradable soap/shampoo dispensers, hair dryer, closet, drawers, intercom and separate climate controls for your comfort. There’s a dining room, well-stocked bar and conference area with a flat screen TV, library and panoramic picture windows. Or you can relax in a lounge chair on the sun deck, enjoying sea breezes and a sky full of stars.

Cruise highlights

• 7-night expeditions depart every Sunday from San Cristobal
• 20-guest superior first-class motor yacht
• 10 fully air-conditioned outside staterooms with private bathrooms
• Dining room featuring Ecuadorian and international cuisine
• Fully-stocked bar
• Conference room for briefings with TV, DVD player and library
• Observation areas and open sun deck

Enjoy with our compliments

• Three meals daily, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages
• Captain’s welcome and farewell cocktail parties
• House wine and local beer served during dinner
• Guided excursions with English-speaking naturalist
• Low guide to passenger radio (max 10 guests per guide)
• Complimentary snorkeling equipment, 3mm custom wet suits and kayaks

Experience moment after moment of wonder in a land where time stands still. Our comprehensive 7-night cruises explore the entire archipelago. And thanks to an outstanding guide-to-guest ratio, you’ll venture ashore in small groups of no more than ten fellow explorers, experiencing this magical realm in the most authentic and educational way possible.

We offer all kinds of active exploration. Go on a nature walk and marvel at pre-historic land iguanas and lava lizards. Slip into a sea kayak and discover hidden tide pools, mangrove forests, beaches of red, green and black sand and the hardened lava fields smeared into the edges of the shores. Swim back and forth across the equator with sea lions that perform an underwater ballet. Go birding to look for the Nazca booby. Or put on your own mask and enter the delicate balance of life underwater, watching schools of graceful spotted eagle rays gliding beneath you.

Exploring the undersea is a major part of the Galapagos experience where cold and warm waters intermingle and where fur sea lions, sea turtles, dolphins, whales and tame reef sharks thrive. We provide complimentary snorkeling equipment, wet suits and kayaks.

After dinner, attend a briefing by one of our naturalists. With so few guests, your guide can take the time to explore a topic that interests you personally

Located about 600 miles west of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands were created five million years ago by undersea volcanic eruptions. In 1535, Tomás de Berlanga, Bishop of Panama, floated into this archipelago and named it Galapagos after the giant tortoises he encountered. Pirates used the islands for refuge and to bur y their stolen treasure, but it wasn’t until the end of the 19th century, when it became a regular port of call for whaling fleets, that the wildlife was threatened.

The islands’ most celebrated visitor was Charles Darwin, who arrived aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835. The rare life forms he encountered helped him formulate his theory of evolution, which he published in The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

After visiting the Galapagos in 1941, Herman Melville entitled his book The Encantadas. But it wasn’t until 1959 when it became par t of Ecuador’s national park system that this fragile ecosystem with its rare and endemic species came under protection. In 1979 the Galapagos archipelago was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A cruise to the Galapagos Islands is a once in a lifetime experience. You want to be sure you are traveling with a responsible Galapagos cruise company with high-quality vessels and top-level guides. And, these days, good value does not hurt either. Family owned since 1990, Ecoventura offers all that and more. As a leader in sustainable travel to the Galapagos Islands, we are the first company to earn and maintain the ecological certification, SmartVoyager since 2000, the first Galapagos cruise ship company to offset carbon emissions and to install alternative energy sources.

Ecoventura operates a fleet of four expedition vessels in the Galapagos Islands cruises catering to active adults and families; the Eric, Flamingo & Letty, superior first-class 20-passenger motor yachts, with departures every Sunday on two unique 7-night itineraries visiting the southern/central islands on itinerary A and the northern/western islands on itinerary B. Combine the two for a comprehensive two week trip and discover the full diversity of these spectacular islands in the archipelago never repeating the same sites twice. Small guide-to-passenger ratios (one expert guide for every ten passengers) ensure highly personalized service and intimate visits on shore. For experienced scuba divers, the 16-passenger luxury dive-live-aboard, Galapagos Sky, offers a rare opportunity for Galapagos scuba diving in the northern islands of Wolf and Darwin. Combine a week of diving with a week of land tours for the best of both worlds.

Shore excursions on Galapagos Island tours include hiking ancient lava fields where you will encounter prehistoric reptiles such as the iconic giant Galapagos tortoise, endemic land and marine iguanas. See the courtship dance of the blue-footed boobies, Galapagos Penguins, Flightless Cormorants and massive Waved Albatross, just to name a few of the comical sea birds. Explore beaches of black, red and green sand leading to the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Being able to snorkel, scuba dive or kayak while on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands is one of the highlights. Encounter a range of ocean life, including sea lions, dolphins, whales and tame sharks in the marine reserve surrounding these extraordinary islands.

Come and experience a world of evolutionary enchantment where time stands still with Ecoventura.