Our People
  • Amy Waters snow biking Our Team

    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.

  • William Dalrymple 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.

  • Liz Bonnin Heroes and Heroines

    The people who lead the way when it comes to those things which matter to us: exploration, the environment, women’s empowerment and education.

Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands

Galapagos Cruises

Cruise the beautiful Galapagos Islands and discover the fascinating wildlife they have to offer by boat, your floating hotel.

Fly from Ecuador’s mainland to the famous Galapagos Islands. Your chosen yacht will be your floating home for the week – a place to sleep, eat, relax and learn about the archipelago during evening lectures.

In the day visit the different islands that offer an eclectic mix of landscapes, from the white sandy low lying island of Floreana to the stark, steep, volcanic black lava fields of Fernandina and Isabela – all brought to life by your specialist guide.

Mary Anne, Sails, Exterior, Galapagos Islands
Mary Anne, Galapagos Islands

Sailing in the Galapagos

Choosing a boat for your Galapagos Islands cruise can be tricky with so many to choose from. At Steppes Travel we have done the hard work for you. Between our Galapagos specialist team, we have visited the islands over 15 times and been on all the boats. We can tell you which boats have more cabin space, which is more stable, which have private balconies and those that have interconnecting cabins. We have access to all boats operating in the Galapagos Islands.

sail the galapagos islands

TV presenter and wild animal biologist Liz Bonnin taking photographs from a beach in the Galapagos Islands
Liz Bonnin, Galapagos Islands

Expert-Led Cruises

For those looking to get even more out of a Galapagos holiday, our expert-led Galapagos cruises are a great option. These allow a perfect opportunity to explore the Islands with Galapagos National Park guides as well as an expert in their field. Steppes have previously offered Galapagos expert-led cruises with Richard Dawkins, Charles Clover, Liz Bonnin and Monty Halls. We have upcoming cruises with the Galapagos Conservation Trust.

Sun deck, Sea Star Journey, Galapagos Islands
Sea Star Journey, Galapagos Islands, Galapagos Islands

Private Charters

If you are looking for a really special holiday for a private group, charter your very own yacht for a week-long navigation around the Galapagos. It may not always be as expensive as you think and will make for a very memorable holiday. We’ve selected the boats we think are best suited to being chartered by private groups of friends or families.

Diving, Galapagos Sky, Galapagos
Galapagos

Diving Boats

Diving in the Galapagos Islands is an incredible experience and considered one of the best dive sites in the world due to the immense diversity of marine life. Dive with whale sharks, hammerheads, rays, sea lions, marine iguanas and even penguins to name a few. Regulations in the Galapagos National Park mean that occasional diving is not allowed on the naturalist live-aboard cruises, those that make the guided daily land excursions. However, it is possible to forego a regular group excursion and travel with a dive instructor to nearby islands at an additional cost.

Galapagos holidays

About our boat selection

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Natural Paradise

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Infinity

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Evolution

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Seaman Journey

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Origin & Theory

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Isabela II

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Ocean Spray

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Petrel

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La Pinta

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Solaris Motor Yacht

Experiences in the Galapagos Islands

Tell us what you love doing and we’ll curate a journey that’s perfect for you.

Galapagos marine iguanas on a beach, Tortuga Bay, on Santa Cruz Island.

Snorkelling with sea lions and marine iguanas in the Galapagos

Blowing bubbles back and forth with Sea Lions whilst they gracefully showed me their underwater acrobatics, whilst Penguins darted past me with great speed. I swam a little further out to sea and came across the unusual sight of a Marine Iguana swimming with a unique upright technique, and a green turtle gracefully gliding past me.  Incredible – such unusual and amazing marine life encounters in just one snorkelling adventure

Charles Darwin Research Centre, Santa Cruz, GPS

Charles Darwin Research Centre

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Centre to learn about the biology, ecology and conservation of the archipelago.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Beach, Scalesia Lodge, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands

Walk Barefoot on Sandy Beaches

Stroll down red or white sand beaches, stopping to sit next to slumbering sea lions and watch penguins frolic in the turquoise surf.

Galapagos Brown Pelican Eating, Galapagos Islands

Puerto Fish Market

Visit Puerto Ayora’s little fish market to watch as cheeky pelicans and sea lions wait for scraps.

Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands

Kayak in the Ocean

Move around the bays, stopping to watch sea lions and turtles, while kayaking over the tranquil water.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Rays, Genovesa Island, Galapagos Islands

Snorkel with Marine Life

Don flippers and jump in the water to swim with playful sea lions, curious penguins and resting whitetip reef shark.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Volcan Chico, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands

Volcanic Tunnel Adventure

Walk (and crawl) through giant hollow lava tunnels, long tubes left behind by the liquid magma that formed these islands.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Lunch on deck, Galapagos

Dine on Deck

Indulge in fresh and tasty meals served al fresco, perhaps washed down with a chilled glass of white wine, while the boat sails past dramatic coastlines.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Land Iguana, Galapagos, Ecuador

Wildlife Spotting

Travel around the islands, totting up the impressive list of species spotted during a single day, from land iguanas and sea lions to blue footed boobies and sunfish.

Suggested Holiday Idea

Galapagos Habitat, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands

Live the Island Life

Instead of (or in addition to) cruising, stay on one of the archipelago’s four inhabited islands for a slower paced experience and more interaction with the locals.

Suggested Holiday Idea

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.

John Faithfull

My love affair with travel began in a vintage Italian train carriage at sunset on a hot and sticky September evening in 1983. Sardined into a two-bench compartment, I’d spent five hours sharing sweaty thighs, broken-Italian pleasantries and furtive glances while rattling towards Turin, stopping at every wisteria-draped village along the way.

Talk with our experts
  • 1 800 571 2985

Roxy Dukes

I love to squeeze as much out of my day as possible. An outdoors fanatic, I love to delve into harsh environments having summited numerous mountains and trail running into the unknown whenever I get the chance – whether at home or overseas. Funnily enough, it didn’t start like that. It took a few years for the burning fire of adventure to truly take light with my eyes opened by the adventures travel could afford.

Talk with our experts
  • 1 800 571 2985

Paul Bird

It wasn’t part of the script, career plans were quite different but after four global trips visiting such exciting destinations, travel became a passion that eventually led to me entering the industry. The more I have travelled the greater the desire has been to see and do more.

Talk with our experts
  • 1 800 571 2985

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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

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

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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