Channel Your Inner Charles Darwin
THE GALÁPAGOS!
Step into a world untouched by time, where luxury meets legend. Follow in Darwin’s footsteps as you capture once-in-a-lifetime moments: blue-footed boobies mid-dance, giant tortoises in golden light, and marine iguanas basking like prehistoric models. Indulge in fine dining under the stars and unwind in secluded comfort where the only crowd is a curious sea lion or two.
Join us in the Galápagos Islands, a living museum of natural history and one of the most protected ecosystems on Earth. Straddling the equator 600 miles off Ecuador’s coast, this volcanic archipelago is home to species found nowhere else, like the Galápagos penguin, Darwin's finches, and the flightless cormorant.
Experience it all aboard a luxury expedition catamaran, where Ari and our expert naturalists will guide your journey through lava fields, mangrove forests, and crystalline waters. Enjoy five-star service, gourmet cuisine, and exclusive access to restricted sites, all while retracing the path that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution.
This isn’t just travel, it’s evolution, elegance, and extraordinary photography in one unforgettable escape.
“The Galápagos is a playground for explorers, where curiosity knows no limits.”
Charles Darwin
Photography Workshop
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DATES | 9 DAYS
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May 21 - 29, 2026 SOLD OUT- Waitlist Available
ADDITIONAL DATES COMING
(9 days/8 nights)
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PRICE
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Price Per Person: $12,945 based on double occupancy
Single Supplement: $9,345
We have chartered a luxury catamaran in the Galápagos for our personal and private use. The Endemic only has 8 rooms.
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WHAT'S INCLUDED?
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- All accommodations
- On location classes, demos, and assistance in the field
- 4 Classes/edit & critique sessions
- World class dining
- 6 Dinners
- 7 Lunches
- 8 Breakfasts
- Roundtrip airfare from Quito to Baltra
- Internal transportation to and from locations
- Wildlife, landscape, travel photography
- Naturalist Guides will accompany us on all excursions
- Wetsuits, snorkeling gear & masks
- Crew gratuities
- Complimentary WiFi
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WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED?
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- Round trip airfare to and from Quito, Ecuador
- Transportation to and from airports
- Additional nights before or after the start and finish of the Workshop
- Travel Insurance
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OUR LOCATIONS
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ISLANDS WE WILL EXPLORE AND PHOTOGRAPH
- Barolomé Island with its unique volcanic landscapes, including the iconic Pinnacle Rock
- Santa Cruz Island, its the giant tortoises and the town of Puerto Ayora
- San Cristobal Island, snorkeling, sea lions and frigatebirds
- Española Island and the blue footed boobies and albatrosses
- Santa Fé Island with sea lions and iguanas
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HOTELS
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In Quito, we will be staying in luxury at the 5 Star The JW Marriott Boasting modern accommodations, an on-site spa, resort-style pool, city views, ideal location and 5 restaurants, the JW Marriott is the premier hotel to celebrate the vibrant city center.
We start our Galápagos adventure on land for 2 nights in Santa Cruz at the historic Angermeyer Hotel located at the water's edge of Puerto Ayora. This four star hotel has a wrap around deck with incredible views of the bay and makes a perfect place to explore this bustling little town.
Our next 4 nights are aboard the luxury Endemic Catamaran. We have an exclusive, private charter for our group. There are only 8 staterooms and all cabins have private balconies, private bathrooms, private individual climate controls and ample storage space for clothing and luggage. Staterooms are 32 sq. meters/344 sq. feet.
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WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP RIGHT FOR?
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- Beginning, amateur and semi-pro photographers
- Photographers with an interest in learning in landscape, wildlife and birdlife
- DSLR, mirrorless, compact camera users
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TRAVEL INSURANCE
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We strongly suggest you purchase travel insurance for your trip.Aside from medical care, travel insurance can protect you in the case of lost or stolen luggage, equipment, and personal effects, trip cancellation, personal liability, funeral expenses (we don't mean to sound morbid, but dying overseas can be very, very expensive), emergency dental treatment and evacuation back to your country of residence. All that being said, please read the policy carefully (especially the exclusions) to make sure that it covers what you will need, especially trip cancellation.
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HOW DO I REGISTER?
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We provide personalized service and you can sign up for a workshop by emailing us directly at liza@lizapoliti.com
The Team
About Ari Espay
Award-winning photographer, Ari Espay, has shot documentary pieces, campaigns and editorial essays for magazines in the US and all over South America including; Architectural Digest, Vogue Latin America, Que Pasa, and ED. He has worked for Maybelline, Gillette, Corpbanca and Ferouch and has shot portraits for Presidents, internationally known actors, Emmy Award winning directors, Broadway performers, politicians and high profile business people. Ari has won Chile’s prestigious Fondart Grant, was a finalist in National Geographic’s Photo Competition, “Luces de America” and in 2018, 2021, 2022 he was a ‘CHOSEN Winner’ in Latin American AI-AP. He has received an Honorable Mention in IPA's Deeper Perspective Category in 2023 for his series, "Butterfly Children".
With numerous gallery exhibitions, Ari’s most recent show, “A Glimpse of Southeast Asia” was featured at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, a museum in Cento, Italy. Other exhibitions include; “Mingalabar Myanmar”(Rome and Bologna, Italy) and “The Faces of EB” in New York City. He has published 4 books. As a photographer, his work can be seen in "Colors of San Miguel" and he was the editor for Erin Feinberg’s "Diehards"(2013) with foreword by Bruce Springsteen and afterword by Neil Peart and for the multi-award winning, “2020 Unmasked”. For 10 years, he taught photography workshops for National Geographic, working with their legendary photographers.
Additional Information
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WEATHER | SUNRISE/SUNSET
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May in the Galápagos - Temps 85/75, we are nearing the end of the rainy season
May in Quito – Temps 49/66 F
Sunrise 6:00am | Sunset 6:30pm
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AIRPORT & TRAVEL INFO
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Airport: Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO)
Transfer time is about an hour to downtown Quito, depending on traffic
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FUN FACTS
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The Galápagos Archipelago are located 600 miles off of the coast of Ecuador and they are one of the most volcanic regions of the world. There are still 13 active volcanos in the area with the most recent eruption happening in 2018. 97% of the Galápagos are National Parks.
They were discovered in 1535 by "accident" when a Spanish ship captained by Tomas de Berlanga, a noble, by was blown off course. He was not impressed and called them "worthless".
Charles Darwin spent 5 weeks here in 1835 and the Galápagos made quite an impression on him. He famously observed that the islands’ finches (later named in his honor) had beaks that varied from island to island, depending on local conditions and food sources. He later used this research as evidence for the basis of his ground breaking work for his theory of evolution by natural selection, On the Origin of the Species.
The Galápagos Islands are uniquely located on both sides of the equator in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The giant tortoise is probably the most emblematic species of the Galápagos. In fact, the name Galápagos comes from the old Spanish word for saddle, a reference to the tortoise’s shell. These giants can easily live up to 150 years and weigh 595 pounds.