GALAPAGOS HIGHLIGHTS with TROPICAL FOREST EXT (ISDB2010)

Hotels


Ecuador’s Tropical Forest: Arasha Resort
Location: Surrounded by lush vegetation, tropical fruits, flora, birds, and local fauna, the award-winning Arasha is found in Ecuador’s Tropical Forest. Amenities & Services: Arasha offers beautiful thatch-roofed bungalows, a large swimming pool with bar and cascading waterfall, a Jacuzzi inside a grotto, two restaurants, theater, mini golf, and spa.

Quito: Grand Mercure Alameda
Location: This hotel is centrally located in downtown and close to many attractions.Amenities & Services: The hotel features a restaurant, bar, laundry, business center, and fitness center.

Galapagos Islands: Finch Bay Hotel
Location: The Finch Bay Hotel offers a seaside location surrounded by mangroves on Santa Cruz Island.Amenities & Services: Amenities include a bar, lounge, restaurant, outdoor pool, and Jacuzzi—and beachfront access. All rooms offer twin beds, private facilities, and air-conditioning.

Day 1:
Fly to Quito. Arrive late this evening.

Day 2:
Quito–Arasha Resort. Travel to the Pacific Rainforest for three nights at the all-inclusive Arasha Rainforest Resort & Spa. Surrounded by lush vegetation, tropical fruits, flora, birds, and local fauna, the award-winning Arasha offers beautiful thatch-roofed bungalows. Facilities include a large swimming pool with bar and cascading water, a Jacuzzi inside a grotto, two restaurants, theatre, mini golf, and a luxurious spa. (B,L,D)

Day 3:
Arasha Resort. During your stay, enjoy guided tours of the primary and secondary forests, birding and orchid tours, a chocolate-making demonstration, fishing, native jewelry-making classes, and much more. You may even visit one of the most colorful indigenous groups in Ecuador, the “Colorados,” and learn of their ancient traditions and religion. (B,L,D)

Day 4:
Arasha Resort. During your stay, enjoy guided tours of the primary and secondary forests, birding and orchid tours, a chocolate-making demonstration, fishing, native jewelry-making classes, and much more. You may even visit one of the most colorful indigenous groups in Ecuador, the “Colorados,” and learn of their ancient traditions and religion. (B,L,D)

Day 5:
Arasha Resort–Quito. Return to Quito. (B)

Day 6:
Quito, Ecuador. Your included city tour showcases the rich legacy left by the Incas and later the Spaniards. See Independence Square dominated by its formidable Cathedral, San Francisco Plaza Church and the Basilica with its marvelous stained-glass windows. (B)

Day 7:
Quito–Baltra–Santa Cruz. Fly to Baltra in the Galápagos. Upon arrival, transfer to the highlands of Santa Cruz and visit the Giant Tortoises Reserve and the Twin Pit Craters. These great depressions of volcanic material were formed by a long process of slow sinking of the ground, where exceptional Scalesia trees, ferns, mosses, and orchids can be seen in the surroundings. (B,L,D)

SPECIAL FEATURE: Named after the famous Darwin’s finches abundant in the surroundings, the Finch Bay Hotel offers a private seaside location surrounded by mangroves. Amenities include a bar, lounge, restaurant, outdoor pool, and Jacuzzi—and beachfront access. All rooms offer twin beds, private facilities, and air-conditioning. Guests will enjoy daily boat excursions to various Galápagos Islands, kayaking, snorkeling, bicycle rides in town, and viewing the local flora and fauna.

Day 8:
Santa Fé. Cruise to Santa Fé, where you will see the endemic Santa Fé land iguana and the large opuntia cactus forest. The beach area is covered with California sea lions, and the coastline is an excellent location for snorkeling with sea turtles. (B,L,D)

Day 9:
South Plazas. Board a yacht bound for South Plazas Island. Wildlife includes sea lions, land iguanas, and hybrid iguanas, which are the result of a cross between male marine iguanas and female land iguanas. This is also known as a bird-watcher’s paradise where you will see nesting swallow-tailed gulls, masked boobies, blue-footed boobies, red-billed tropicbirds, frigatebirds, pelicans, and audubon’s shearwaters. (B,L,D)

Day 10:
Bartolomé Island. Today’s adventure takes you on a walk on Bartolomé to the summit for spectacular views of the Galápagos. Interesting lava formations and tuff cones can be observed as well as sea lions and penguins swimming in the vicinity of Pinnacle Rock. Enjoy snorkeling or swimming from the beach. (B,L,D)

Day 11:
Baltra–Quito. Leave the hotel early this morning and visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, home to famous “Lonesome George” and many other giant tortoises. Then, fly back to Quito and transfer to the hotel for one more night in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. (B)

Day 12:
Quito–U.S. A morning flight allows for hometown connections. (B)

Don't miss our current specials: Pay Less For Your Second Vacation We charge you list price for your first vacation in the year, but for every additional Monograms vacation you take in the same year, you pay $35 under list. This discount does not apply if one of the vacations is a Monograms single city stay. Consecutive vacations can be booked with or without flights. Any flights between vacations cannot be reserved as part of the Monograms package. Discount for Young Travelers Share the pleasure of a Monograms vacation with your children and grandchildren and take advantage of the below discounts on the land-only price. For eligibility, children must meet age requirements on the departure date and must be accompanied by an adult. Please ask your travel consultant for details. The following land-only discounts apply for Young Travelers: Free of charge:     * North America Driving Vacations & Hawaii Island Getaways—Accommodations for children ages 2–11 when sharing accommodations with two adults     * All destinations—Infants under 2 years of age sharing adult’s accommodations 50% discount:     * Europe vacations—Children ages 2–11 when sharing accommodations with two adults     * North America Single-City and Multi-City Getaways—Children ages 2–11 when sharing accommodations with two adults 10% discount:     * Vacations to China, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America—Children ages 2-17     * North America Rail Getaways—Children ages 2-11     * Europe vacations—Children ages 12-17     * North America Single-City and Multi-City Getaways—Children ages 12-17 Note: We require that children under 12 years of age share accommodations with an adult. Some restrictions apply, as noted in Terms & Conditions. For Young Traveler discounts please review our Terms & Conditions.
Touring Date	Land Only	Land + Air	Single (Land Only)	Single (Land + Air)
9/9/2010 - 9/20/2010	$3,509
9/23/2010 - 10/4/2010	$3,509
9/30/2010 - 10/11/2010	$3,509
10/14/2010 - 10/25/2010	$3,509
10/28/2010 - 11/8/2010	$3,509
11/4/2010 - 11/15/2010	$3,509
11/25/2010 - 12/6/2010	$3,509
Airfare Disclaimer A NOTE ABOUT AIRFARE: We encourage you to buy your airfare from the tour operator, because if your tour cancels then your airlines tickets will be covered. Purchasing flights separately at a lesser rate and incorporating it with a Non-Guaranteed Departure Date can result in loss of total cost of your flight investment. Depending on the fare rules, flights may be Non-Refundable and/or Non-Transferable. Neither the tour operator and/or Atlas Cruises & Tours will be held responsible for loss if a tour is cancelled for Lack of Participation. If you would like to check for discounted fares on Guaranteed Departures or for competitive pricing on air and hotel packages, we invite you to follow this link. Documents TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: Necessary Travel Documents such as Passports and Visas is the responsibility of the traveler. Passports must be valid six months from your return travel date.

Price Details US
Extra nights per person in quito:in single room $118; in twin room $73; triple rooms not available

Related Tours
ISDA|Vacation with Upgraded Hotel PackageISQA|Galápagos Highlights

Pay Less For Your Second Vacation

Discount for Young Travelers

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