Natural Habitat Adventures’ Tortoise Camp Features New Upgrades: An Exclusive Stay Included on All Galapagos Trips

Guests on upcoming Natural Habitat Adventures (http://www.nathab.com/) Galapagos cruise itineraries will enjoy an exclusive stay in newly upgraded accommodations at its private Tortoise Camp in the lush highlands of Santa Cruz Island.

Included in its one-of-a-kind itineraries on each of Nat Hab’s four privately chartered yachts, a one-night stay at the camp offers guests a singular opportunity to spend an optional night ashore in the midst of native wild tortoise habitat.

Guests enjoy accommodations in new, spacious, walk-in tents that merge comfort with nature, African-safari-style. More like cabins, the canvas-walled tents are elevated on wooden platforms, with large screened windows and a glass door that provide a view on the surrounding meadows and forest. Ensuring every comfort, tents have real beds and en suite facilities. Guests can step out onto a private veranda to look for the giant tortoises that often amble right past the door. The camp also features unique treehouse accommodations that have recently been upgraded with full facilities. Meals are served in the thatch-roofed common area warmed by a log fire.

This kind of immersive experience in nature is Nat Hab’s stock in trade. It is the only company operating in the Galapagos to offer this unusual deluxe camping option to cruise guests, and only Nat Hab guests have access to this exclusive property.

The camp sits on a remote parcel of private mountain land near a volcanic cave, surrounded by lush scalesia forest, endemic to the Galapagos. The setting is home to several dozen giant tortoises, seen here from June through February. During off months when fewer tortoises wander about, guests are driven to a nearby reserve to see them.

World Wildlife Fund, Nat Hab’s conservation travel partner, has pioneered important conservation work in the Galapagos Islands. WWF provides exclusive training resources for Nat Hab Expedition Leaders, who enhance their guests’ encounters with the tortoises through expert interpretation.

Nat Hab’s Galapagos itineraries are designed to provide small groups with close-up wildlife viewing experiences in the most personalized manner possible. Each vessel carries from 14-20 guests, who are then divided into two smaller groups, each with an Expedition Leader, for nature walks and snorkeling excursions. This translates to the best guest-to-guide ratio in the Galapagos.

All Nat Hab itineraries include visits to some of the most remote natural areas in the outermost Galapagos Islands. In addition to wild tortoise encounters at its private camp, Nat Hab guests can expect to snorkel with sea lions, turtles and penguins, sunbathe with iguanas, hike among blue-footed boobies and other seabirds, and scout for whales and dolphins on panga (motorized raft) excursions.

All of Nat Hab’s programs include the overnight at Tortoise Camp.

Galapagos Hiking & Kayaking Adventure is a 10-day catamaran-based odyssey for just 14 guests per departure year-round. Rates in 2017 are from $5,995 per person, double occupancy. Activities take place on foot, by kayak and motorized raft. Guests travel aboard a 75-foot luxury motor sailing catamaran, Nemo III, with a classic, sporty style and nimble quality that perfectly complements the active focus of this adventure.

Classic Galapagos: The Natural Habitat Experience is a 9- or 10-day adventure offered year-round from $6,295 per person, double occupancy. Guests wander lava-strewn shorelines thick with passive wildlife nonchalant about human presence, and cavort with sea lions and other marine creatures on daily snorkeling excursions. Guests can choose their preferred cruise style: the motor yacht Letty was purpose-built for exploring the Galapagos in comfort; Petrel is a new luxury motorized catamaran; Xploration offers contemporary luxury via motorized catamaran; and Origin is also a recently launched high-end yacht with sleek details.

Classic Galapagos Photo Adventure is a 10-day photography-focused version of the Classic Galapagos experience. The per-person double rate is from $7,495. Exceptionally close, unhurried encounters with wildlife place this high on nature photographers’ bucket lists. Up to 20 guests per departure, accompanied by two Expedition Leaders who are both naturalists and highly accomplished photographers, enjoy accommodation aboard the Letty.

Family Galapagos Adventure is a 10-day itinerary offered throughout July from $6,995 per person based on double occupancy. A dedicated children’s guide is aboard to lead a variety of activities designed especially for kids on this multi-generation-focused adventure. Accommodation for 20 guests aboard the Letty.

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2017 catalog.

About Natural Habitat Adventures

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.