FINCHBAYHOTEL, SANTACRUZISLANDSituated on a secluded bay a short water taxi ride away from the town of Puerto Ayora, theFinch Bay Hotel is in a quiet location with its own semi-private beach. The hotel has 21 en suite air-conditioned rooms plus six new ocean viewsuites. It is a lovely place for a few days' relaxationbefore or after your Galapagos cruise, duringwhich you could sunbathe, soak in the Jacuzzi ortake a dip in the best pool in the Galapagos. The Finch Bay also offers a variety of full-boardpackages whereby guests can take guided trips to the highlands of Santa Cruz island and theCharles Darwin Research Station, as well as dayexcursions on its motor boats, the Sea Finch orSea Lion, to nearby islands.REDMANGROVEAVENTURALODGE, SANTACRUZISLANDAn ideal choice for those who would like to stayin the centre of Puerto Ayora, Red MangroveAventura Lodge sits right on the seafront amongst the eponymous trees, close to one ofthe island's best dive operators. The hotel has its own unique style and each of the 14 en suitebedrooms is individually decorated with eithermangrove or sea views. There is a small outdoorJacuzzi on the ocean-view terrace and therestaurant serves fantastic food, with sushi a speciality.ActivitiesSimilar to staying onboard a cruise boat, morningsstart early when staying in a hotel to enable youto see the wildlife at its most active and to avoidthe heat of the day. If visiting a nearby island forthe day, a short walk will take you to youranchored motor boat. Following the designatedtrails with your expert naturalist guide, you canobserve squabbling frigate birds, 'skypointing' blue-footed boobies and sun-bathing land igaunas atclose quarters. Depending on the location theremay be the opportunity to snorkel with tropicalfish, sea lions and turtles before returning to yourhotel for a relaxing afternoon by the pool or on the beach.Staying ashore gives you more free time to relaxor organise excursions such as scuba diving,mountain biking and kayaking. They can be ascomprehensive or flexible as you wish. There arealso more specialised activities such as islandhopping or hikes into the cool highlands of Isabelaand Santa Cruz islands, walking around vastvolcanic craters, across rugged lava fields andseeing the iconic giant tortoises in the wild.Alternatively, Galapagos hotels can simply providethe opportunity to relax before or after a cruiseon a boat.Staying ashoreHotels in the Galapagos provide an excellent alternative or accompaniment to the cruises offered on previous pages, particularly if sleeping on a boat does not appeal. Whereveryour preferences lie, you can enjoy a multitude of activities such as wildlife excursions to nearbyislands, hiking, mountain biking, snorkelling, scuba diving or simply relaxing. The majority ofhotels that we offer are located in the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island. However, ahandful of simple lodges on Floreana and Isabela islands make perfect bases on island hoppingtrips, enabling you to explore some of the outer islands whilst still sleeping on dry land.20Finch Bay Hotel, Santa Cruz islandRed Mangove Aventura Lodge, Santa Cruz islandPhotographing local wildlife

www.audleytravel.com/galapagos ?01993 838 635 ?Staying ashore and diving21Island hoppingAn island hopping itinerary is a great alternative to sleeping on a boat. In addition to staying inPuerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island, there arecomfortable lodges on Floreana and Isabelaislands. This is ideal for adventurous visitors and involves taking speedboat transfers(approximately two hours) between islands. The four, five and seven night programmes enable you to get to the outer islands, which have fewer visitors, to snorkel, scuba dive, andobserve the prolific wildlife.Walking toursAn alternative way to explore Isabela island, in the west of the Galapagos, is on a walking tour.Isabela is the largest of all the islands on theGalapagos with five active volcanoes (includingthe second largest volcanic crater in the world),and is one of the best places in which to seesome of the iconic Galapagos species such as the flightless cormorant, Galapagos penguin and giant tortoise.The base for these tours is the sleepy town ofPuerto Villamil with accommodation in a simplehotel. Excursions include daily walking toursaround the island, snorkelling trips and options for camping and scuba diving. These tours are agreat way to explore the Galapagos and get offthe beaten track.CASADELAMARITA, ISABELAISLANDThis delightful family-owned posada has tensimple rooms, some with ocean facing terraces.Located on the island's main beach, the posada is nicely secluded and only a short walk to theheart of Puerto Villamil. It is the perfect base from which to explore Isabela and is regularlyused as the base for walking tours of the island.Alternatively, it is ideal for some low-keyrelaxation time at the end of a Galapagos cruise.The colourful marine life of the Galapagos istruly breathtaking and the diving potentialunlimited. Swept by both the cold waters ofAntarctica and warm currents from thetropical Pacific, the submarine world of theGalapagos encompasses a huge variety ofspecies as diverse and exciting as those onland. 17 percent of the fish and 35 percent ofthe marine invertebrates in the Galapagos arefound only around this isolated archipelago. Although the diving in the Galapagos isfantastic and very rewarding, it is only for theexperienced and certified diver. The islandsare not suitable for novice or infrequentdivers due to the strong currents, sea swells,surges, cooler water temperatures andfrequently difficult entries and exits from thedive boat.Most of the archipelago is surrounded by very deep water, with depths off the westernislands of up to 3,000 metres. Generally thedives are drifts along the cliff faces or off-shore rocks and pinnacles. For dedicateddivers, we can organise specialised seven nightdive boat cruises on the Galapagos Sky(formerly the Sky Dancer) or Aggressorvessels. These boats concentrate heavily ondiving, with as many as five dives a day andjust two or three land excursions during yourcruise. These trips give you the opportunityto reach the most respected diving spots ofthe northern islands of Wolf and Darwin,famous for their schools of hammerheadsharks, giant manta rays and whale sharks(between May and November). Some boats featured on previous pagesadvertise 'occasional diving departures' wherea local dive operator will come to meet your expedition vessel during your cruise.They will take you off to a nearby dive site,but this does mean missing the scheduledland excursion at this time. This operationdoes not always run as smoothly as we wishand for this reason if you would like toundertake a couple of dives in the Galapagoswe recommend staying in one of the hotelsbefore or after your cruise and going outfrom there.Diving in the GalapagosKayaking in the GalapagosSnorkellingSpotted eagle rayDiving with whale skarks