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    Steppes Travel is made by the people who work here. Incredible holidays are made possible because of their vast travel experience and the great enthusiasm they bring to their work.

  • Our Tour Experts

    We carefully select our experts based on their knowledge, companionship and influence, ensuring that you can travel with the most knowledgeable leaders in the field.

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Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz, GPS

Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the Galapagos and has the largest human population, living mainly in the town of Puerto Ayora.

The island is thought to have been formed in two parts, north and south. The northern section is the older part, created due to an uplift of land — you can see the layers of marine sediment and limestone as evidence of this process. The southern younger part of the island was formed through volcanic cones and lava, the landscape of which is often likened to that of the moon with craters, cones and tuffs.

Galapagos Tortoise, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands
Galapagos tortoise

A little more about Santa Cruz

The varied landscape means the island has different altitude levels and has developed seven different microclimates which have allowed vegetation to thrive and support the varied wildlife.

The island is also home to the giant tortoise, sea lions, flamingos, marine and land iguana, lava heron and boobies. By heading up to the highlands surrounded by scalesia trees, cacti and ferns, you will have the opportunity to see the giant tortoise thriving in this lush green scenery. Some can reach the grand old age of 200 years and weigh up to 250kg.

Blue-Footed Boobies, North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands
Blue-Footed Boobies, Galapagos Islands

Further north, towards Las Bachas, you will find white sandy beaches and if you take a closer look, you’ll see marine iguana and turtle trails created by their climb out of the sea onto the beach. You may also see the iconic blue-footed boobies that tend to stand on the rock edge keeping a look out.

Travelling west you will come to Cerro Dragon, one of the only spots in the Galapagos Islands where you will be able to see land iguanas.

Where to Stay

Every captivating tailor-made itinerary needs a perfect base. Our team has handpicked this collection of properties to give you luxury options in styles to suit any adventure.

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Meet our experts

A passion for travel runs right through every one of our experts - meaning they're always ready with first-hand insight about their specialist countries.

Paul Bird

The moment a blue footed booby makes its dive and plunges like a dart into the water is special, but to see hundreds do this at once was a breath-taking experience that Paul was not prepared for.

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  • 01285 880 980

John Faithfull

Half of the appeal of the Galapagos Islands is underwater, and a few minutes in the company of a five-metre manta ray off the coast of Isabela Island remains one of John’s most vivid memories of this incredible archipelago.

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  • 01285 880 980

Roxy Dukes

Wildlife is Roxy’s passion, so where better to immerse than in Darwin’s land? Having stepped on all but one of the islands in the archipelago and having personally visited our hand-picked selection of hotels and boats, there is little she does not know about the Galapagos Islands.

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  • 01285 880 980

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Roxy recommended that we should add on a trip to the Amazon ahead of our Galapagos Islands journey, and what a brilliant addition it was. We loved every moment of our time in both places, and were impressed with Roxy's advice.

Destination: Amazon & Galapagos Islands
Travel Expert: Roxy

We would recommend Steppes for anyone travelling to the Galapagos Islands- they are lovely company to deal with from start to finish, and James not only listened but went out of his way to accommodate our requests. Thank you!

Destination: Galapagos Islands
Travel Expert: James

John at Steppes has been excellent, brilliantly helpful, so knowledgeable and always happy to answer questions. He was brilliant at really listening to us in our first conversations, and tailored a trip that suited us perfectly.

Destination: Galapagos Islands
Travel Expert: John

Roxy was excellent at knowing what we needed from our family trip to the Galapagos Islands. Despite booking it with little time to spare, everything was seamlessly arranged with very little effort from us.

Destination: Galapagos Islands
Travel Expert: Roxy

What a wonderful trip. I especially enjoyed snorkelling with playful sea lions, swimming with penguins, seeing a huge manta ray and spotting the occasional shark.

Destination: Galapagos Islands
Travel Expert: Roxy

Why Choose Steppes?

Our knowledge and expertise set us apart. So too our curiosity. It is this that drives us to create a journey that is really bespoke to you, all the while ensuring we travel and operate sustainably.

Are you ready to discover extraordinary once again?


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