Explore this package
- 12 Days
- Starting at USD 11,152 Price for 2026
Overview: Why Our Machu Picchu and Galapagos Tours Are the Best Choice in 2026
Venture on an unforgettable escape with Machu Picchu and Galapagos tours! Begin in Quito, Ecuador’s enchanting capital, known as the “Middle of the World” for its unique location and rich history. Next, sail to the Galapagos Islands, where remarkable wildlife and pristine landscapes create an unparalleled experience. From there, immerse yourself in Peru’s Sacred Valley, a region brimming with culture and history. Finally, cap off your adventure with the awe-inspiring Machu Picchu, a wonder that will leave you speechless. This carefully curated tour blends natural beauty, ancient marvels, and vibrant cities for the trip of your dreams!
We also recommend: How much time should I spend in the Galapagos Islands?
What you get
- Airport Transfers
- Half-day Quito's Old Town + Middle of the World Private Tour
- Galapagos National Park Entrance Fee
- 5-day Galapagos Islands Itinerary aboard any of our expedition vessels
- 1 night of accommodation in Cusco
- 2 nights at Casa Gangotena Boutique Hotel in Quito
- Roundtrip Domestic Airfare (Quito-Galapagos-Guayaquil)
- INGALA Transit Control Card
- 2 nights of accommodation in Lima
- 1 night of accommodation in the Sacred Valley
A Sneak Peek
Explore a blend of history and nature with luxury Machu Picchu and Galapagos tours. Visit the charming city of Quito, cruise the wildlife-filled Galapagos Islands, and uncover the Sacred Valley and iconic Machu Picchu in Peru. This incredible package takes you to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites for a memorable adventure! Where will your next journey take you?
What’s Included in Your Machu Picchu and Galapagos Tour?
A professionally guided tour of:
In Quito:
- Quito’s Historic Quarter
- Middle of the World Monument
In Galapagos:
- Unique endemic species
- Wonderful uninhabited islands in the National Park
- Multi-guided expeditions
- Small groups per guide
- Most extraordinary Expedition Vessels in the Galapagos Islands
Peru:
- Half-day Cultural Tour of Lima
- Half-day Walking Tour of Cusco
- Full-day excursion of Machu Picchu
- Tour of the Sacred Valley:
- Pisac Market and Ruins
- Awanacancha Textile Center
- Chinchero
- Maras Salt Pans
- Ollantaytambo Fortress
and…
The following aboard Yacht Isabela II*:
- Accommodation in a Classic Twin double cabin
- All meals (We cater to all diets: vegetarian, vegan, celiac, gluten-free, etc.)
- FREE unlimited soft drinks package
- Island sightseeing with a Naturalist Guide
- Snorkeling
- FREE use of wetsuits
- Glass-bottom Boat
- Kayaks
- Paddleboards
- Onboard Medical Officer
*Please note that this is a sample vessel and itinerary.
Ask your Destination Expert about our fleet and our 5-day itineraries!
Where You'll Travel: Itinerary Map of Galapagos and Peru
Day-by-Day Itinerary: Galapagos Cruise & Machu Picchu Highlights
Day 1: Arrive in Quito / Transfer to Hotel
Welcome to Quito, Ecuador! You will be greeted at the airport by a member of our staff who will assist you with your luggage. You’ll take a transfer to your hotel in Quito – Casa Gangotena Boutique Hotel. During the ride, you will receive a brief introduction to Quito and Ecuador and valuable information regarding your stay there.
Day 2: Quito + Middle of the World Tour
Quito’s Historic Center – South America’s most significant and best-preserved Colonial Quarter – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On this day, we will stroll through the Independence Plaza, flanked by the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, the Municipal Building, and the Archbishop’s Palace.
After that, we will visit the La Compañia de Jesús Church and admire its gilded interior before continuing to the San Francisco Church and Convent – one of the most significant architectural structures within a historic center in the Americas. Its impressive façade and atrium lead into its equally impressive Baroque interior. Afterward, you’ll head to the Middle of the World and get to place both feet on each side of our planet’s equator!
At the end of the tour, you’ll be taken back to Casa Gangotena Boutique Hotel. Overnight in Quito.
Day 3: Arrive in Galapagos / Transfer to Boat / Santa Cruz Island
This morning, you’ll be transferred to Quito’s airport to board your flight to the Galapagos Islands!
Please note that the following Northern Galapagos Islands Itinerary aboard Yacht Isabela II is one of the many options for your Galapagos adventure. Ask our Destination Experts about our fleet and available itineraries.
Baltra Airport and Santa Cruz Island
After landing at Baltra Airport, we drive to the Itabaca Channel to take a ferry across to Santa Cruz Island. A 30-minute bus ride takes us to the island’s fascinating, more humid Highlands, where we’ll learn about its unique ecosystems and biodiversity. Lunch is served at a local restaurant.
Highlands of Santa Cruz Island
After lunch, we drive to a nearby reserve, one of the best places in the archipelago, to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. The tortoises are easy to spot, lumbering around, munching on grass and leaves, and wallowing in small pools. There are several lava tunnels to explore in the reserve, too. A short bus ride takes us to Puerto Ayora to board Yacht Isabela II.
Day 4: Santiago Island & Chinese Hat Islet
Puerto Egas (Santiago Island)
Following a wet landing on a black, sandy beach, our trail takes us to enjoy close-up encounters with recently reintroduced land iguanas, plus land and marine birds amid a landscape of tuff-stone layers, craggy rocks, and lava flows. At low tide, marine iguanas graze upon the algae beds. We can also observe a colony of fur seals, usually dozing in the shade of some rocks.
Chinese Hat Islet
This islet, formed only recently, makes for a beautiful afternoon visit as we explore the wildlife along its 1,312 ft-long (400 m-long) trail, which begins at a crescent-shaped, white sandy beach. The cove offers excellent swimming and snorkeling opportunities amid white-tipped reef sharks and Galapagos penguins.
Day 5: Genovesa Island
Prince Philip’s Steps (Genovesa Island)
We start with a scenic ride along the cliffs of “Bird Island,” as Genovesa is known, followed by a walk up a stone staircase that takes us into the island proper. From here, the trail winds its way through large colonies of Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, great frigatebirds, and storm petrels. This is a bird watcher’s paradise! Those who do not wish to disembark and walk within the island can enjoy a longer panga ride along the cliffs or snorkeling and kayaking.
Darwin Bay (Genovesa Island)
We land after lunch at the white beach of stately Darwin Bay. We can enjoy a leisurely walk through the winding path and gaze at the resident birds, which include frigatebirds, red-footed and Nazca boobies, as well as gulls, herons, finches, and mockingbirds.
Day 6: Santa Fe & South Plaza Islands
Santa Fe Island
We take the dinghy to this idyllic sandy-white beach populated by colonies of sea lions. Galapagos hawks, perched atop salt bushes, are often easily observed. The Santa Fe land iguana may be spotted during our exploration. Following the walk, we can snorkel and swim along a natural wave barrier or ride the glass-bottom boat.
South Plaza Island
Following lunch and a rest, we disembark (dry landing) in this channel, whose turquoise waters contrast brilliantly with the shoreline’s white sand and black lava. Beyond, a carpet of scarlet Vesuvius succulents serves as ground cover for a grove of luminescent green prickly-pear cactus. Yellow-grey land iguanas sit beneath these, waiting quietly for pears to drop. We find sea lion colonies along the coastline while frigates, swallow-tailed gulls, and shearwaters glide, playing with the thermals.
Day 7: Transfer to Airport / Arrive in Lima / Transfer to Hotel
Baltra Island
Disembark at Baltra Island, transfer to the airport, and fly to the mainland.
Guayaquil
Once you arrive at Guayaquil’s Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport, you’ll have a brief layover before catching your flight to Lima.
Lima
Upon arriving at Lima International Airport, our representative will meet you, and you’ll take a transfer to your hotel*, where they will assist you with check-in and provide you with all the information and vouchers you will need for your time in Peru. Overnight in Lima.
*Double Tree El Pardo Hotel or similar.
Day 8: Lima City Tour
On this day, you’ll experience a half-day tour of Lima’s historic center: Plaza San Martin, Plaza Mayor, Government Palace, the Santo Domingo Convent, and the Museum of the Central Reserve Bank, which displays various eras of Peruvian art.
The tour continues at the Larco Herrera Museum and Hacienda, where you’ll admire one of the country’s best collections of pre-Columbian art. You’ll also get to walk around the hacienda, which was built over a sacred pre-Incan site in the Pueblo Libre District. Afterward, you’ll enjoy a delicious lunch at the museum’s café.
You’ll be transferred to your hotel at the end of the tour. Overnight in Lima.
Day 9: Sacred Valley Tour
Our representative will meet you in the hotel lobby, and you will be off to the airport to catch your flight to Cusco. Once you arrive in Cusco, you’ll begin your tour of the Sacred Valley.
Today, we visited an Andean textile center. Here, you’ll learn about the dyeing techniques and instruments used for hundreds of years. Next, we’ll head to the Sacred Valley’s Pisac Market, where regional artisans gather to exchange, buy, and sell products. You’ll have plenty of time to explore and barter for all the typical handicrafts from this area.
Our last stop is Pablo Seminario’s Ceramic Workshop, where you can observe the ceramics process and meet artist Pablo Seminario, as this is his year-round studio.
Lunch at Hacienda Huayoccari
Opens its doors in a unique and privileged place in the Sacred Valley, surrounded by green areas and beautiful gardens with vegetables, flowers, and trees. It has an admirable collection of Peruvian art, housed in different rooms according to era: pre-Incan, Incan, Viceregal, and Republican, which you can appreciate before lunch.
After the tour, we will go to the hotel.
Overnight in the Sacred Valley
Day 10: Machu Picchu
We pick you up from your hotel in the morning and take you to the train station, where we will take the train to Aguas Calientes. Along the way, we’ll enjoy the changing landscape as we travel from the Andean highlands to the beginning of the jungle before finally reaching the town of Aguas Calientes.
There, you’ll hop aboard a bus that will take you on a 20-minute ride to Machu Picchu (3,400masl/11,15ft) or the Lost City of the Incas. Here, we take a guided tour of the Citadel, probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire, with its giant walls, terraces, and ramps appearing as though they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments.
Lunch Buffet at Tinkuy Restaurant – Belmond Sanctuary Lodge
Experience a truly unique dining experience and spoil your senses in Tinkuy Restaurant, located at the entrance of Machu Picchu.
After lunch, take the shuttle bus to Aguas Calientes and board your return train at the Ollantaytambo Train Station. Upon arrival at the train station, you will be met by our representative and a private driver who will transfer you to the hotel.
Overnight in the Sacred Valley.
Day 11: Sacred Valley Tour
Visit Ollantaytambo Fortress, Chinchero Village, Maras Saltpans & Moray Terraces (Private)
Today, we will visit the Inca fortress and Citadel of Ollantaytambo. This site was built just as the Spaniards arrived, and evidence of its construction is still visible. This fortress was believed to have been constructed to guard the entrance to this part of the valley and protect it from possible invasions of tribes from the jungle lowlands.
Afterward, we will visit Chinchero Town, an authentic Andean village with many characters. Here, we will find the colonial church that houses an extensive collection of paintings from the Cusqueñan School of Art. You’ll be amazed by the picturesque views that surround this authentic slice of the Andes Mountains. On weekends, the town’s central plaza becomes a hub for artisans to gather and sell their wares.
Following that, we’ll head to the Maras Salt Pans. This impressive site offers visitors breathtaking views of countless terraces where salt (extracted from nearby springs) is produced. It takes about a month for the terraces to create thick, crystalized salt that varies in color.
We continue our excursion to admire the Moray terraces. Moray was thought to be used for plant adaptation to new climatic environments thanks to its circular terraces in immense cone-shaped depressions resembling giant fingerprints. These created a series of microclimates at the different heights of the terraces, which enabled the Incas to improve a variety of crops experimentally.
Lunch at Rancho Wayra with Peruvian Paso Horse Demonstration – Hotel Sol y Luna (set menu)
Lunch will be served at a local ranch with a Peruvian Paso Horse demonstration; with its elegance and noble spirit, the Peruvian Paso Horse symbolizes a centuries-old tradition of cultural and folkloric fusion that defines and enriches Peru. In this presentation, the Paso horses from the ranch’s stables demonstrate their fluid gait and elegant movement to the ‘la marinara’ rhythm.
After the experience, we will drive to your hotel in Cusco.
Overnight in Cusco
Day 12: Cusco City Tour / Transfer to Airport / Farewell!
Cusco City tour, main surrounding ruins & San Blas Artisan Neighbourhood (Private Service)
Today, we will visit Cusco City’s surrounding ruins. The Sacsayhuaman Fortress is a ceremonial compound and a magnificent example of Inca military power that boasts a panoramic view of the city. We also visit the Qenqo Amphitheatre, a ritualistic site with subterranean galleries that form an underground maze. Then, we continue to the Red Fortress of Puca Pucara and the Inca Baths of Tambomachay, consisting of aqueducts, canals, and waterfalls running through the terraced rocks that seem frozen in time.
Then, head to Cusco, South America’s Imperial City and archaeological capital, where we can admire the finest Inca history and architecture examples. Visit the city’s most important historical monuments that reveal the influence of different cultures: The Main Square, the Cathedral, and the Santo Domingo church built upon the foundations of the Inca temple Koricancha, dedicated to worshiping the Sun God. From this point, we head to the district of San Blas, which has winding streets, whitewashed houses, and blue balconies. This bohemian neighborhood has artisan workshops where we can find everything from ceramics and sculptures to textiles.
After the visit, we will return to the hotel or your preferred restaurant for lunch.
Transfer Hotel / Cusco Airport (Private)
Our representative will meet you in the hotel lobby at the appropriate time and transfer you to Cusco Airport to board your next flight. Our representative will assist you with check-in procedures and all departure formalities.
Safe travels!
Pre-Booking Checklist Ensure a Seamless Experience Every Time!
- Choose expedition vessels for an authentic and intimate experience.
- Consider the comfort level with the ideal space-to-guest ratio during your journey.
- All our itineraries allow you to discover 11 to 12 of the Big 15 iconic species and the top 4 islands in just 5 to 7 days.
- Take part in the multi-guided itineraries for a unique experience of the Galapagos Islands.
- Our carefully designed itineraries guarantee exclusivity and optimal wildlife viewing opportunities during island visits.
- Enjoy multiple activities around the islands at no extra cost during your Galapagos expedition.
- Rest assured, our Galapagos cruise ships have onboard medical professionals to attend to any medical needs.
- Ensure the Galapagos National Park authorizes your cruise for activities and island visits.
Conditions
- Subject to availability
- Published rates don’t apply on Christmas & New Year’s departures.
- Listed prices are based on double occupancy. For child rates and single supplements, please get in touch with your destination expert.
- A minimal deposit of 15% per person is required to confirm your reservation.
- Credit card payments are exempt from additional fees.
- Breakfasts and taxes are included for the Quito Hotel.
- Galapagos Itineraries are subject to change due to weather, logistical, and operational reasons, as well as Galapagos National Park restrictions (temporary or otherwise).
- All entrance fees are subject to change without prior notice.
- Restrictions may apply.
- Please be aware that you can combine this Package with our Galapagos Cruise itineraries. Our Destination Experts will customize the package and send you a quote based on your request.
Not Included
- International flights to Quito (Ecuador), to Lima (Peru), and from Cusco (Peru)
- Domestic flights in Peru (Lima-Cusco-Lima)
- Alcoholic beverages
- Tips
- Wi-Fi (due to the Galapagos’ remote location, internet connection is intermittent and low-bandwidth. The cost for accessing Wi-Fi is $40 + taxes/per device).
- Personal expenses (late checkout, laundry, gifts, etc)
- Meals not described in the program.
- Fuel Surcharge*
*ETICA Empresa Turistica Internacional CA reserves the right to charge a fuel supplement without prior notice should the closing price of West Texas Intermediate Fuel increase above $70 per barrel on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index). If a fuel supplement is charged, ETICA Empresa Turistica Internacional CA will have sole discretion to apply the supplementary charge to existing and new bookings, regardless of whether such bookings have been paid in full. Such supplementary charges are not included in the cruise fare. The fuel supplement charge will be approximately USD25.00 per passenger per day.
Why Travelers Love This Tour
“I just experienced an amazing trip on the Santa Cruz II. The staff is exceptional… it’s all top-notch. For our first cruise experience, it feels like we started at the top… so many amazing memories. This is a 5-star experience.” ~Noeau Kamakani
FAQs About Machu Picchu and Galapagos Tours
What’s the best time of year to visit Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands?
The best time to visit Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands depends on your preferences for weather and activities:
Machu Picchu: The dry season (April to October) is ideal for clear skies and comfortable trekking conditions. June to August is the peak tourist season, so expect more crowds. The wet season (November to March) offers fewer visitors and lush green landscapes, but occasional rain may occur.
Galapagos Islands: The warm season (December to May) features calm seas, warmer water, and vibrant wildlife activity, making it great for snorkeling and diving. The cool season (June to November) brings nutrient-rich waters, attracting unique marine life, though seas can be rougher.
Combining these destinations, April and May or September and October are excellent choices for favorable weather and fewer crowds.
How many days do I need for the best Machu Picchu and Galapagos tours 2026?
For a combined Machu Picchu and Galapagos tour, you typically need 10 to 14 days to enjoy both destinations fully. Here’s why:
Machu Picchu: To explore the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and Machu Picchu, you’ll need around 4 to 5 days. This allows time to acclimate to the altitude and experience the rich Inca history.
Galapagos Islands: A 5—to 7-day itinerary is ideal for visiting multiple islands, snorkeling, and observing the unique wildlife.
Including travel time between destinations, a 12-day itinerary is often recommended for a well-paced and immersive experience.
Should I visit Machu Picchu or the Galapagos first?
Deciding whether to visit Machu Picchu or the Galapagos first depends on your travel preferences and priorities:
Start with Machu Picchu: If you prefer to tackle the higher altitudes first, visiting Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley before heading to the Galapagos is a good choice. This allows you to adjust to the altitude early in your trip and then relax with the sea-level adventures in the Galapagos.
Start with the Galapagos: If you want to ease into your journey with a more laid-back experience, begin with the Galapagos Islands. After enjoying the wildlife and island activities, you can transition to the cultural and historical exploration of Machu Picchu.
Ultimately, both options work well, but many travelers prefer starting with Machu Picchu to handle the altitude early and ending their trip with the relaxing Galapagos experience.
Are flights between Galapagos and Machu Picchu included in your tours?
The tour packages do not include flights between Machu Picchu (via Cusco or Lima) and the Galapagos Islands. However, the team can assist you in coordinating and booking these flights to ensure a smooth travel experience. Check your package’s specific terms and conditions for more details.
What wildlife can I expect to see in the Galapagos Islands?
In the Galapagos Islands, you can expect to encounter an extraordinary array of wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. From iconic species like giant tortoises and marine iguanas to playful sea lions and vibrant birdlife, the islands offer a unique opportunity to observe animals in their natural habitats, often at remarkably close range. The Galapagos’ diverse ecosystems, both on land and underwater, make it a haven for nature enthusiasts and wildlife lovers.
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