Trogon Photo Tours

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

May 27-June 6, 2019

Summary:  On this tour you will have lots of time and opportunities with Blue-footed Boobies, 2 species of Frigatebirds, Marine and Land Iguanas, Galapagos Sea Lions, Galapagos Tortoises (in the wild) and many other species of birds including many of Darwin's finches.  We will have a day trip to visit Hood Island and photograph the nesting Galpagos Albatrosses.  On isabela Island we should have some nice opporunties with Galapagos Penguin and we will try for Galapagos Hawk as well as Galapagos Rail.   The vast majority of the wildlife in the Galapagos is tame, so you don't need a monster lens, I use an intermediate zoom most of the time. During your extra day in Quito you will be staying at a lodge where you can photograph hummingbirds.  This is a hotel based Galapagos photo tour.  We will stay in highly rated hotels on 3 different islands, San Cristobal, Isabela and Santa Cruz and visit several other islands on this tour.  Staying in lodges versus on a boat gives us the advantages of being able to spend more time at the right time of day for photography in many locations and it gives us more comfort with larger rooms.  It's also much less expensive for those wanting a single room.

Tour Leader: Charles Gangas.  Charles is a full time nature photographer based out of Stowe, Vermont.  He has done this trip on a previous Trogon Photo Tours Galapagos tour.  Our Galagagos guide Peter has more than 20 years experience guiding in the islands and is an excellent birder. 

What to Expect: We will be staying in highly rated hotels on San Cristobal, Isabela and Santa Cruz Islands.  Our activities will include morning and afternoon photography sessions either on the islands we are staying or on boat trips to smaller islands which are nearby.  A zoom lens is perfect for much of the photography.  In the past I have mostly used my Sigma 150-500 zoom.  Although especially with the tortoises I often use a wider lens as well.  There will be plenty of opportunities for snorkeling if you are interested in that, the water starts to warm up in late January so it's an ideal time of year for snorkeling. 

Maximum participants: 10 total with a maximum of 6 photographers. 

Cost: $5,700, single supplement of $900.  Nonphotographer spouse $4,900, Deposit $1,000.  Cost includes all lodging including 8 nights on the islands and 3 nights in Quito, Ecuador.  It includes all meals, activities, transportation besides flights, guiding and instruction.  Cost doesn't include flight to/from Ecuador from your home, Quito-Galapagos-Quito flights Galapagos National Park entrance fee, drinks, tips and items of a personal nature. 

Contact: Nate Chappell at nchappell@trogontours.net or 281-778-1486 to sign up or if you have questions.