Epic Galápagos Photography Expedition

National Geographic Expeditions Preferred
Has very high quality customer experiences and demonstrated commitment to responsible travel practices. read more
59%
Travel Style: Array Relaxed
Physical Level: All or most of day hiking or biking, hills included. Moderate
Lodging Level: The highest level of comfort and service. All accomodations are in four or five star hotels, boutique lodges or high-end homestays. Luxury (5*)
17 days
From: $ 12,580 $ 740 / day
Checking price

Overview

Highlights (Bullets)

  • Explore the Galápagos archipelago and undersea in great depth with hikes and Zodiac cruises
  • Tour paced for photo ops and timed to take advantage of the best light.
  • Shoot with and learn from top National Geographic photographers and the Lindblad-National Geographic Director of Expedition Photography
  • Go on daily photo assignments to help build your personal portfolio with wildlife legendary for uniqueness and lack of fear of humans - allowing for up-close and magical photo opportunities with blue-footed boobies, sea lions, giant tortoises, marine iguanas, and more.
  • Enjoy a mid-voyage photo seminar with our expert photographers and a special photography tour of the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Short Description

Join a team of top National Geographic photographers in one of the planet’s most photogenic places for an in-depth exploration over two weeks. Whether you’re a published pro or a rookie looking to build a portfolio, you’ll learn new shooting skills in the field and editing and gear tips during on-board sessions. Enjoy daily excursions including snorkeling, hiking, Zodiac tours, and kayaking, and experience up-close photography opportunities with the unique wildlife of the Galápagos.

Style Small ship cruise
See all the highlights and popular spots on a classic tour.
Itinerary Focus Classic Highlights
The highest level of comfort and service. All accomodations are in four or five star hotels, boutique lodges or high-end homestays.
Lodging Level Luxury (5*)
Flight & Transport Inclusions All internal ground transport
Start City Guayaquil
End City Guayaquil

Itinerary

Day 1: U.S. / Guayaquil, Ecuador

Depart the U.S. and arrive in Guayaquil by late evening; it’s a short drive to the Hotel Hilton Colon, where we spend the night.

Day 2: Guayaquil/ Galápagos Islands

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After a short flight to the Galápagos, we’ll board the National Geographic Endeavour and begin to explore the Galápagos with a landing at the beautiful Las Bachas beaches, lined with endemic coastal plants and protected saltwater lagoons.

Day 3: North Seymour Island and Rabida Island

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

North Seymour Island is an uplifted piece of seafloor, home to land iguanas, sea lion colonies, blue-footed boobies and frigate bird nesting colonies. We will spend the morning observing and photographing the rich wildlife of this islet as we hike the rocky trail. The afternoon will be the first of many great snorkeling opportunities. You can also opt to kayak along the picturesque volcanic coast. Later you’ll land on the bright red sand of a charming beach and take a hike into the island to search for hawks and other land birds to photograph.

Day 4: Fernandina Island

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Fernandina Island is the youngest and most pristine island in Galápagos. The stark black lava flows are home to some of the largest marine iguana colonies in the archipelago, and the peculiar-looking flightless cormorants nest along the coast. Bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs scamper among the black rocks, and sea lions play along the coast against the dramatic backdrop of volcanoes. Later today, sail across the channel to Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. Snorkel in a sea turtle feeding area and then take Zodiac rides along the coast to look for Galápagos fur seals and penguins. Late afternoon, gather on the outer decks to get a look inside the huge collapsed caldera of a volcano while crossing the Equator at sunset.

Day 5: Isabela Island

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Land on a turtle nesting beach of black sand, and choose from various hiking options to look for the wildlife of the area including a large land iguana nesting colony and occasional giant tortoise sightings. In the afternoon the ship repositions to the historical Tagus Cove, a sheltered bay that has been a popular anchorage for centuries of visitors, including Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle. Activities you can choose here include a scenic hike overlooking a volcanic crater, Zodiac and kayaking excursions to look for penguins, flightless cormorants, and shorebirds, and even some deep water snorkeling.

Day 6: Santiago

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hike up into a coastal forest behind one of the largest turtle nesting beaches in Galápagos, explore the spectacular Buccaneer Cove by Zodiac and kayak, and enjoy snorkeling among the dense schools of reef fish that find refuge in the indented shoreline. Afternoon hikes at Puerto Egas lead you through a fascinating geological landscape of mixed ash and lava flows, tidal pools and grottoes. Inhabiting the area you will find both Galápagos sea lions and fur seals, marine iguanas, land and shore birds, and brilliant Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Day 7: Santa Cruz

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Santa Cruz is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station and Galápagos National Park Service. You’ll learn about the science and conservation work undertaken in the islands, and meet some of the key players in the local conservation world. This afternoon, our photo team will be hosting a Photo Seminar on-board the ship, followed by a late-afternoon photographic outing in town.

Days 8 & 9: San Cristobal

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Visit Punta Pitt with its fascinating geology, also the only site where all three booby species that occur in the Galápagos nest together. Take hikes up to the plateau for wonderful views, and Zodiac cruises along the base of the cliffs to look for red-footed, Nazca and blue-footed boobies, and possibly even snorkel and kayak among young sea lions. Snorkel around the famed Leon Dormido or “Kicker Rock” among graceful sharks, sea turtles, and other larger marine species. Then travel to the highlands of San Cristobal, drive up to a freshwater lake in an old volcanic crater, visit a semi-captive tortoise population, and spend time among the large sea lion colony that inhabits the picturesque waterfront of the town. Also land on Cerro Brujo (Wizard Hill), where we will take Zodiac rides and kayaking options along the spectacular cliffs, before landing on the beach for swimming and nature walks.

Day 10: Española

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The morning will be spent at the spectacular Gardner Bay, home to a pristine white sand beach inhabited by extensive sea lion colonies. Activities here include exploring the beach, deep-water snorkeling, and kayaking. The afternoon will be spent hiking among the sea bird colonies at Punta Suarez.

Day 11: Floreana

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

During an early morning hike at Punta Cormorant you’ll observe flamingos and shore birds, a turtle nesting beach, and fascinating vegetation. Later, while at Champion Islet, you’ll spend time looking for the endangered Charles mockingbird from our Zodiacs, then don your gear to snorkel among sea lions in clear waters. During the afternoon, you’ll explore the historical Post Office Bay by Zodiac and kayak, then land on one of the same beaches Charles Darwin set foot on, and check the barrel originally set up by 18th century whalers for mail.

Day 12: Santa Cruz

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You’ll leave the ship early and head into the lush highlands where giant tortoises forage. Visit a charming sugar cane mill located in the highlands called El Trapiche, then continue to the coast to spend the rest of the afternoon at the picturesque El Garrapatero beach.

Day 13: Dragon Hill and Guy Fawkes/El Eden and Daphne Major

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you will hike through giant cactus and incense tree forests to reach Dragon Hill, the habitat of the colorful Santa Cruz land iguanas that have been brought back from the brink of extinction. Later you will have the opportunity to snorkel along the steep, invertebrate-coated walls of the islets of Guy Fawkes.

Day 14: Bartolome and Sombrero Chino

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning you will visit Bartolomé, an enchanting landscape where lava, mangroves, and golden sand converge. You will have the opportunity for an early morning hike to the summit of the cone, with stunning views of the famous Pinnacle Rock and the surrounding volcanic landscape. Later in the morning, enjoy snorkeling from the beach, where you might encounter sea lions, small reef sharks, and even Galápagos penguins. In the afternoon you will continue to explore some of the small islets just off the coast of Santiago Island, including a small volcano called “Sombrero Chino”. The stark lava flows form tubes and caves that are an important nesting area for Galápagos penguins, and the waters bathing the shore are rich in fish life.

Day 15: Genovesa

Sail into the caldera of Genovesa, known as “bird island”, where you’ll enjoy hikes among nesting colonies of swallow-tailed gulls, frigate birds, red-footed and Nazca boobies, all while keeping a look out for hunting short-eared owls. Ride Zodiacs and kayak along the base of the caldera wall, and snorkel among large schools of parrot fish and other tropical species.

Day 16: Galápagos / Disembark/Guayaquil

Meals: Breakfast

Disembark and fly to Guayaquil. The afternoon and evening are at yours at the Hotel Hilton Colon.

Day 17: Guayaquil/U.S.

Meals: Breakfast

Depart Guayaquil this morning, arriving home the same day.

Availability

Checking price
Price From $ 12,580
Price Per Day: $ 740 per day

29 National Geographic Expeditions Travel Reviews & Ratings

59%
3.6 out of 5 (100+ reviews)
Excellent 16
Great 0
Average 3
Disappointing 4
Terrible 6
Value
3.4
Guide
3.8
Activities
3.9
Lodging
3.7
Transportation
3.6
Meals
3.5

Epic Galápagos Photography Expedition

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Company Reviews

How to Ruin a Trip to Norway

2.0
Details
Value1.0
Guide1.0
Activities2.0
Lodging2.0
Transportation3.0
Meals1.0
My husband and I took the Norway "Trains and Fjords" tour because neither of wanted to drive the twisty roads to see the majestic areas and wanted to avoid a cruise ship. The main problem was that our guide was seriously sick -- coughing and hacking and barely able to talk. This was in Norway, where people can take sick leave! Did Nat Geo not have any backup plan? At one stop, the guide left us to go to a pharmacy. There was a sick passenger, too, and instead of protecting the rest of the passengers from getting infected, the guide seated the sick passenger in tight quarters with the rest of us. Neither of them did anything to cover their coughs or avoid exposing the other tour members. My husband and I both got sick, and had to leave the tour early and we had a few thousand dollars extra in travel expenses because of that, on top of the ridiculous cost of the trip.
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TOO MUCH TOO FAST

3.0
Details
Value3.0
Guide4.0
Activities5.0
Lodging3.0
Transportation3.0
Meals3.0
Firstly, it was my understanding, and confirmed in a phone conversation with the company’s representative prior to our departure, that the schedule of events would go at our pace. We found this to not be the case. For example; we arrived in Cairo on October 25th, from Tel Aviv, Israel, later in the night than scheduled due to an airline delay. We were met at the airport by your representative and taken to a hotel 45 minutes from the airport. We checked in shortly after midnight. The representative said that we would “meet at 4:00” to be picked up to fly to Luxor. I thought he meant 4:00 PM, but no, it was 4:00 AM!!! We had less than 3 hours sleep before we were whisked off to our next destination. (By the way, the representative spent those few hours waiting in the hotel lobby; he didn’t even get a night’s rest.)

We arrived in Luxor, were taken to the hotel, deposited our luggage (the room wasn’t ready), had breakfast, and then met our tour guide at 10:00 AM for our first tour. We were exhausted, but mustered our energy for the occasion.

Is there a good reason why Cairo wasn’t the first city on our tour? In retrospect, it should have been for many reasons, not the least of which was the logistics described above.

All right, so now we’re in Luxor, and by afternoon we’re ensconced in a luxurious hotel with a magnificent view of the Nile River. There’s a swimming pool that we’re looking forward to relaxing by the next day during some much needed down time during the free time described in the itinerary; exactly what we expected from National Geographic. But instead, that evening we were told by our guide that we needed to have our luggage ready to check out of the hotel the next morning to relocate to the Nile River ship Minerva (coincidentally, owned by the same company as the hotel). We obliged, and in the morning we were taken on a tour with the luggage in the car, and then brought to the ship in the early afternoon. Our four suitcases were put in a room that was barely large enough to contain the bed, but the view of the river from our room was good enough to overlook this inconvenience, at least for the moment. I looked forward to resting in our cabin in the afternoon because I was exhausted. In fact, I was so tired that I have little recollection of that morning’s tour until I look at the photos to affirm that I was actually where the itinerary said I would be.

We went to lunch in the ship’s dining room and returned to our cabin to find that our view of the Nile was obliterated by a ship that had tied up alongside our own. This is now our view (see photo) and the blackout drapes that were drawn to hide it made the small cabin a crowded, dark dungeon.

Furthermore, that ship’s bunker oil fumes were now in the air conditioning system of our ship and flowing freely into our cabin making me nauseous and giving me a headache. I complained but there was nothing to do about it.

And if this wasn’t bad enough, the sound of the neighboring ship that accompanied the smell was intolerable.

Other issues I had with our cabin on the ship included;
- The bypass closet door wouldn’t stay shut
- There was a leak under the bathroom sink
- The carpet in the area near the bathroom was wet
- The toilet seat lid came off repeatedly
- Wifi on board the ship was only in the main lobby area, and was poor at best

I talked to the ship’s desk clerk, and he assured me that things would be taken care of shortly. They never were.

This doesn’t take into consideration that the buffet style food served on board was repetitive if you didn’t take the offered main course, which was usually meat (I don’t eat meat).

Oh, and I didn’t yet mention that our ship wouldn’t be leaving its mooring until the next day! We had traded a luxurious hotel for this!

With that said, it begs the question of why we were taken out of a luxurious hotel 24 hours in advance of the ship sailing away from Luxor? No pool to sit by, no view of the sunset over the banks of the Nile, no quiet room in which to sleep, and no dinner of delicious food. Certainly not what we expected from a Nat Geo Private Tour for which we had paid a premium price!

Unrelated to these issues, NatGeo’s survey asked if we felt that our health was well-protected. “No” is the short answer. A fuller reply is that we both got Covid on this trip; my husband first, then inevitably, myself three days later. We had avoided catching it for more than 2.6 years, and now we had it. I realize that one takes risks when going out in the world, and I certainly don’t blame NatGeo for our getting sick. But their people weren’t wearing masks until I asked them to, mostly to protect themselves from us. One agent who met us at the airport when we arrived back in Cairo from Aswan, now openly sick with Covid, disappeared for 10 minutes to purchase a mask when I told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to wear one around us.

Overall, NatGeo profited from our illness as we were too unwell to utilize the dining allowance at the Cairo Ritz Carlton or to go to out for most meals offered with our guide. The one restaurant I was taken to for dinner without my husband was a touristy place with fake grapes leaves hanging from fake arbors. When a 35 person tour group trouped in past us it told me all I needed to know. My bowl of pasta with a tomato sauce not much thicker than tomato juice certainly couldn’t have cost more than $10, if that much. Then, the next day I was too sick to go out at all, my husband, who was feeling better by then, went out alone with the tour guide for the day, but it’s my understanding that they skipped all meals.

All in all, there were many aspects of the trip that were memorable for all the right reasons, but also memorable for the above mentioned wrong reasons. For us to have paid as much as we did begs the question, “Was it worth the expense for this private tour experience?” As seasoned world travelers, I’m hard pressed to reply in the affirmative.
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Best Part of Trip was Cancelled

2.0
Details
Value2.0
Guide3.0
Activities1.0
Lodging2.0
Transportation2.0
Meals2.0
signed up to travel the Columbia-Snake River to visit Hell's Canyon. That part of the trip was cancelled by Nat Geo without notifying the passengers. Instead we visited a farm market. Wow, big deal, I can do that at home. It was a major disappointment and of course NG did not give any refunds for leaving out a major part of the trip.
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Cancel my trip but no refund

1.0
Details
Value1.0
Guide1.0
Activities1.0
Lodging1.0
Transportation1.0
Meals1.0
This company canceled my trip due to COVID but failed to refund all money so I am out $1500 for Lindblad portion, and will never travel with NatGeo again. They have lost my trust as a company that puts travelers best interests first.
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DO NOT BOOK WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - LOST MY TRIP MONEY

1.0
Details
Value1.0
Guide1.0
Activities1.0
Lodging1.0
Transportation1.0
Meals1.0
I booked a trip to South Africa with National Geographic... what I thought was a reputable company. A couple weeks before I was supposed to go, they canceled the tour.

They have not refunded any portion of my money. They said the airfare was non-refundable and that I couldn't even have a flight credit. But they are the ones that canceled the trip. However Delta told me that a refund check was sent to the agency. Then they said they would refund the other portion of the trip expense, but it may take 6 months. It is completely unacceptable. The entire 100% of the trip should be refunded and should have been refunded the day they canceled the trip.

The business is not responsive to this. I filed a complaint with the BBB and they did not respond. I sent a 30 day demand letter in preparation of filing in court against them. So far no resolution.

I expect a 100% refund AND I share this story to strongly advise against anyone ever booking a national geographic trip of any kind.

I will be posting this review online in every spot I can find.
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Highly recommend! It was a trip of a lifetime!

5.0
Details
Value5.0
Guide5.0
Activities5.0
Lodging5.0
Transportation5.0
Meals5.0
We had not had the pleasure of traveling with National Geographic and was not sure what to expect. The trip went beyond what we could have possibly imagined! The staff were attentive and the guides were knowledgeable. There was not a time that we felt unsafe or that our needs were not being met. The trip was very fast paced which allowed us to experience each destination. Their timing was perfect with scheduled excursions and meals. We took the trip in October 2019 and then COVID entered our world and brought our trips to a stand still. I am now planning some trips for this year with hopes of a healthier world to travel!
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Details

Ship Name

National Geographic Endeavour

Ship Description

The National Geographic Endeavour is a premier expedition ship that accommodates 96 guests in 56 outside cabins. Single cabins in Category 1 are highlighted in bright blue and include cabins 219, 222, 309-312, 314-316, and 318. Single cabins in Category 2 are highlighted in bright pink and include cabins 124, 126, 127, and 205.

The ship is fully stabilized, allowing for smooth passage from one island to the next. It carries snorkeling gear, wet suits, kayaks, a fleet of Zodiacs, and a glass-bottom boat. Public areas include a lounge and bar, a library, a gift shop, a fitness center, a sauna, and a swimming pool. Services include a full-time doctor and a wellness specialist, Internet access, and laundry.

Deck & Cabin Plans

All Deck & Cabin Plans (affiliate link)

Flight & Transport Inclusions

All internal ground transport

Group Size

Standard Group - 25 + people

Trip ID#:

epigalnat

What's excluded

  • The “Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner” notations apply to the period during the expedition only and do no any meals on flights to/from the Trip.
  • International airfare
  • Optional gratuities
  • Personal items

Meals Included

15 Breakfasts, 13 Lunches and 13 Dinners

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