Austin-Lehman Adventures Expands Galapagos Island Programs
Austin-Lehman Adventures´ popular Galapagos Island program expands for this fall and the coming year with weekly departures every Sunday for 8/day-7/night excursions aboard a fleet of three identical, private, luxury 20-passengar yachts.
The program utilizes three identical sister ships to assure that a cabin is available to fit vacation schedules, says Dan Austin, Director.
"While offering increased flexibility we´ve also been able to lower our prices," Austin says, noting that a cruise-only package starts at just $1,950 per person, double occupancy (value season Apr 30 - Jun 10, Aug 27 - Oct 14, and Nov 26 - Dec 16) and $2,295 per person, double occupancy (regular season Jan 1 - Apr 29, Jun 11 - Aug 26, Oct 15 - Nov 25, Dec 17-31).
An optional pre/post cruise add-on package includes three nights lodging in Quito (pre-cruise) and one night lodging in Guayaquil (post-cruise) with all airport transfers, Quito and Guayaquil city tours, and a full day Otavalo Indian Market tour. Rates are $565 per adult and $300 for children 11 and under per person, double occupancy.
As befits an Austin-Lehman Adventure, the cruise offers affordability and luxury in a small group setting. Two highly trained naturalists will be on board to accompany guests on the water and on shore. Compared to the norm of larger scale Galapagos cruise programs, Austin-Lehman´s offers the lowest guide to passenger ratio in the islands to ensure that each guest enjoys a flexible and personalized voyage.
The itinerary includes all of the most sought-after and popular island locations including Playa Ochoa where guests can snorkel and swim with a sea lion colony; viewing red-footed and masked boobies along Darwin Bay; riding the motorized panga (small wooden boat) to observe red-billed tropic birds, frigate birds and herons; cruising to Isabela and Fernandina for close encounters with penguins, red and turquoise-blue zayapas crabs, marine iguanas, and flightless cormorants; hiking to the marine grottos of South James Bay for an ascent to the summit of Bartolome; touring the Giant Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Research Station on Santa Cruz and the Tortoise Reserve, and more.
