Galapagos Photography Tour

Galápagos Photo Tour– East

In Galapagos Photo Workshop, Upcoming Workshops by Matt Shetzer

Galápagos Photo Tour – East

TABLE OF CONTENTS
  • Trip Highlights
  • Itinerary/Details
  • 2025
    Dates: May 1 - May 9, 2025
    (SPACE AVAILABLE)
    Register for the Workshop

    Locations: Galápagos Islands, Ecuador and Quito, Ecuador

    Fee: $7,995 USD PP.

    Single supplement (private cabin) option of $2,995. Limited Availablity

    Deposit: $1,000

    Limit: 14 guests with 2 photo guides

    Duration: 9 days/8 nights. 8 day/7 night Galápagos cruise

    Skill Level: Beginner to Pro

    Non-Photographers Discount: $250

    Trip Leader: Matt Shetzer

    Trip Origination: Quito, Ecuador

    Trip Discount: Save $500.00. Can’t decide on our Galápagos East or West Itinerary? Do both together at a savings on our Two-Week Galápagos Photo Workshop.

    Trip Discount: Save $500.00 when you book a Galápagos Photo Tour with one of our Ecuador Hummingbird Photo workshops:
    Hummingbirds of Ecuador Photo Workshop #1
    Hummingbirds of Ecuador Photo Workshop #2 – Mindo and Beyond

    Ask Questions about the Workshop

    TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

    Galápagos Photo Tour

    The Galápagos Islands are one of nature’s most stunning works of art. With wild scenery, rare birds, and abundant animal habitats, they practically demand to be photographed. Our Galápagos Photo Tour is the best way to get close to these stunning sights.

    The volcanic islands of the Galápagos have the largest number of endemic species in the world: reptiles like the famous giant tortoise, mammals like the Galápagos fur seal, and birds like the Galápagos penguin — the only penguin that lives in the Northern Hemisphere! — can be found nowhere else.

    Only four of the Galápagos Islands are inhabited by humans, making them one of the best places in the world to see nature in its true wild state. Animals on the wild islands have no fear of people. They will walk, fly, or swim directly up to you, almost like they are posing for that perfect photograph.

    Trip Discounts: Save $500.00 when you book the Two-Week Galápagos Photo Tour combining our Galapagos East and Galapagos West itineraries.

    Save $500.00 when booking one of our Ecuador hummingbird photo workshops:
    Hummingbirds of Ecuador Photo Workshop #1
    Hummingbirds of Ecuador Photo Workshop #2 – Mindo and Beyond

    The landscapes and scenery of the Galápagos are entrancing as well, with stark volcanic rocks, teeming mangrove bays, awesome marine sunsets, and the rare sight of both northern and southern constellations in the sky on clear nights.

    The Galápagos Photo Tour will not just give you the chance to experience the majesty of the islands. You will also learn how to take photographs and bring that majesty home with you. With professional instruction, and a luxury yacht whose crew works diligently to keep you safe and comfortable, you will have nothing to worry about but taking the best photographs of your life.

    Even non-photographers will find the Galápagos Photo Tour a thrilling experience, as they get the chance to hike, snorkel, and explore in landscapes unlike any other on Earth.

    The trip starts in Quito, Ecuador, a lively and historic city where we will meet up to fly to the Galápagos Islands. After meeting the yacht on Balta Island, we will set off to tour the eastern isles of the Galápagos.

    Using two eco-friendly zodiac rafts, we will cruise into narrow inlets and up to remote islands.

    At each destination, trip leader professional wildlife photographer Matt Shetzer (Read more about Matt) will be onhand to give you personal guidance on taking the best possible photograph, while our trip’s Galápagos naturalist will discuss the history, geology, and ecology of this unique archipelago paradise.

    Full Itinerary and Details for the Galápagos Photo Tour – East

     

    Galápagos Photo Tour – East Route

    After the sun goes down, and we have enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by the onboard chef, we will gather for photography workshops in the comfortable salon. Matt will draw on his decades of experience to teach you about composition, lighting, camera settings, and other techniques to bring out the best in your photographs.

    At every stop along the way, we will be following best practices to preserve the Galápagos ecosystem for future generations. Our expert crew of Galápagos locals will make sure we photograph the landscape and scenery with a respectful, low-impact approach — so you can return to the Galápagos Islands again and again to make new memories.

    With a maximum of 14 guests served by 8 crew, and 2 photography instructors, we can promise you that our Galápagos photography workshop is like no other trip you will ever take.


    The First Class Yacht – Our Galápagos home for the week

    Our luxury yacht for the week blends luxury and comfort over its entire 104-foot length and 40-foot beam. Taking only 14 guests supported by 8 crew the yacht provides excellent service, accommodations, and fine dining.

    There’s nothing rustic about our floating base for this Galápagos adventure. The yacht combines the luxury of a fine hotel with the ability to go places a bigger cruise ship could only dream of. Featuring 10 passenger cabins , air conditioning, and private bathrooms, the yacht also includes a beautiful sundeck and a combination dining-room salon. Two 12-person zodiac rafts will ferry us to and from our destinations every day.

    Our First Class charter for the week. A 104′ beautiful catamaran.

    The crew includes a captain, a mate, an engineer, two deckhands, two cooks, and a naturalist, many of whom are native to the Galápagos Islands.

    Full Itinerary and Details for the Galápagos Photo Tour – East

     

    The Galápagos Photo Tour Route Species List – East Route

    The Galápagos East Route takes us to some of the best locations in the world to photograph rare birds in nature. On the islands we visit, you will see great frigatebirds nesting and displaying their red pouches, blue-footed boobies trying to impress mates with their striking blue feet, and Galápagos penguins leaping into the water to fish. Catch a glimpse of the Galápagos finches, whose distinctive beaks inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

    Galápagos Photo Tour – East Route Species List.

     

    • Galápagos Penguin (endemic)
    • Blue-footed booby (native)
    • Red-footed booby (native)
    • Nazca booby (native)
    • Galápagos Fur Seals (endemic)
    • Galápagos Sea Lion (endemic sub-species)
    • Greater flamingo (native)
    • Waved albatross (endemic)
    • Great frigatebird (native)
    • Magnificent frigatebird (native)
    • Galápagos Short-eared Owl (endemic)
    • Great blue heron (native)
    • Galápagos flycatcher (endemic)
    • Galápagos mockingbirds (endemic)
    • White-cheeked pintail Duck (native)
    • Darwin’s Finches or Galapagos Finches (endemic)
    • Elliot’s Storm Petrel (native)
    • Galápagos Dove (endemic)
    • Galápagos heron or Lava heron (endemic)
    • Galápagos petrel (endemic)
    • Sally Lightfoot Crabs
    • Santa Fé Iguana (endemic)
    • Yellow-crowned night heron (native)
    • Lava Cactus
    • Galápagos petrel (endemic)
    • Semi-palmated plover (migrant)
    • Española marine iguana (endemic)
    • Española lava lizard (endemic)
    • Black-necked stilt (native)
    • Giant Tortoises (endemic)
    • Galápagos Green Turtle (endemic sub-species)
    • Land Iguana (endemic)
    • Lava Lizards (endemic)
    • Marine Iguana (endemic)
    • Española Mockingbird (endemic)
    • Brown Noddy (native)
    • Brown pelican (native)
    • Cattle egret (native)
    • Galápagos Gull or Swallow-tailed Gull (endemic)
    • Large cactus finch (endemic)
    • Large Ground-finch (endemic)
    • Lava Gull (endemic)
    • Medium ground finch (endemic)
    • Red-billed Tropicbird (native)
    • Semi-palmated plover (migrant)
    • Sharp-beaked ground-finch or Vampire finch (endemic)
    • Small ground finch (endemic)
    • Small tree finch (endemic)
    • Warbler-finch (endemic)
    • Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (native)
    • Bottle-nosed Dolphin
    • Short-finned Pilot Whale
    • Lava Cactus
    • Galápagos Shear-water (endemic)
    • Yellow Warbler (endemic)
    • Sanderling (migrant)
    • Whimbrel (migrant)
    • Red-billed Tropicbird (native)
    While we won’t be able to photograph all the species listed above during the Galápagos Photo Tour – East (we can always hope) this lists provide a good sample of the wildlife that visit the locations we will be photographing.

    GALÀPAGOS PHOTO TOUR - EAST


    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Sign up for a Galápagos Photo Tour today, and experience what it is like to photograph wildlife so unafraid of humans that you will not even need a long lens.

    If you have been looking for a chance to see new vistas while growing in your favorite hobby, our Galápagos Islands expedition is the trip you have been looking for.



    Two-Week Galápagos Photography Workshop
    Want to see even more Galápagos and save $500.00 USD


    Consider joining us for both of our Galápagos workshops, and explore the East and West of the Galápagos Islands at a discounted rate.

    We offer two different itineraries for the Galápagos Islands as there is much diversity in the islands and each location is very unique.

    Consider the Two-Week Galápagos Photography Workshop experience as we explore the East and West over two weeks.

    The Red route is our West Itinerary, with the Yellow route being our East Itinerary

    Ultimate Galapagos Photo Workshop



    Galápagos Photo Tour– East was last modified: February 21st, 2023 by Matt Shetzer