Pikaia Lodge
Santa Cruz highlands, Galápagos, Ecuador
Location
Santa Cruz highlands
Atop two extinct craters in a private giant-tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands, with ocean views on three sides — the most luxurious land lodge in the Galapagos.
Transfer
A Galápagos transfer
Reached via Baltra, GPS, flying in from Quito, UIO, or Guayaquil, GYE — then a transfer up into the Santa Cruz highlands.
Villas
14 keys
Fourteen contemporary keys — sixty-one-square-metre rooms and seventy-four-square-metre suites, including a private-plunge-pool suite — behind floor-to-ceiling glass framing the craters and the sea.
Best For
Who it suits
Couples, families and active travellers wanting a land-based Galapagos — the most luxurious land lodge in the islands, atop two craters in a private tortoise reserve, with a crater-rim infinity pool, full-board programmes and its own hundred-foot yacht for day voyages, a genuine alternative to a cruise.
Board Basis
Full board
Full-board exploration programmes of three, four and seven nights, with meals, transfers and land-and-yacht excursions aboard the M/Y Pikaia I — the Evolution Restaurant plating Peruvian and Ecuadorian cooking with a walk-in wine cellar.
Overview
The Galápagos' most luxurious land lodge
Pikaia Lodge is the most luxurious land lodge in the Galapagos — a carbon-neutral, contemporary building set atop two extinct craters in a private giant-tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands, with ocean views on three sides. Fourteen keys run sixty-one-square-metre rooms and seventy-four-square-metre suites, one with a private plunge pool, behind floor-to-ceiling glass that frames the craters and the sea. A crater-rim infinity pool, the Sumaq spa and the Evolution Restaurant with a walk-in wine cellar anchor the lodge, and full-board exploration programmes of three, four and seven nights include both land excursions and day voyages aboard its own hundred-foot yacht, the M/Y Pikaia I. That combination makes it a genuine land-based alternative to a cruise: you sleep in the same bed each night and still reach the outer islands by sea. The Galapagos were the first place inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the lodge sits among their giant tortoises, with the Charles Darwin Research Station and the wider archipelago within reach, via Baltra from Quito or Guayaquil — made for couples, families and active travellers who want a land-based Galapagos in real comfort.
Accommodation
Rooms & suites
Fourteen contemporary keys run sixty-one-square-metre rooms and seventy-four-square-metre suites, one with a private plunge pool, behind floor-to-ceiling glass that frames the craters and the sea. The lodge is carbon-neutral and set in a private giant-tortoise reserve, the most luxurious land base in the archipelago, every key turned to the craters, the highland forest and the ocean beyond.
Entry
Terrace Room
Sleeps two. Around 61 square metres with floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace, over the reserve.
61 sqmTerrace
View
Ocean View Room
Sleeps two. Around 61 square metres with ocean views across the highlands.
61 sqmOcean view
Suite
Suite
Sleeps two. Around 74 square metres with a sitting area and craters or ocean views.
74 sqmSitting area
Top
Pool Suite
Sleeps two. Around 74 square metres with a private plunge pool, over the reserve.
Plunge poolTop suite
Food & Drink
Dining
The Evolution Restaurant plates crater-edge Peruvian and Ecuadorian cooking with a walk-in wine cellar, and the DNA bar pours after the day's exploration, all on full board. It is ambitious island dining at altitude, the craters and the ocean filling the windows.
Signature
Evolution Restaurant
Evolution Restaurant, crater-edge Peruvian and Ecuadorian, with a walk-in wine cellar.
Bar
DNA bar
The DNA bar, after the day's exploration.
Full-board
Full board
Full board, meals and excursions included.
Wellbeing
Sumaq Spa
The Sumaq spa keeps treatments at altitude, and a crater-rim infinity pool looks out to the coast on three sides, with the lodge's own hundred-foot yacht, the M/Y Pikaia I, waiting for day voyages. Wellness here pairs the highland calm of the craters with the reach of the sea.
Sumaq Spa
The Sumaq Spa, treatments at altitude.
A crater-rim infinity pool
A crater-rim infinity pool, coast views.
Its own yacht
Its own yacht, the M/Y Pikaia I.
Activities & Experiences
Signature Experiences
Tortoises, craters and the islands define a stay — walk the private giant-tortoise reserve on the grounds, sail to the outer islands aboard the M/Y Pikaia I, hike the craters of the highlands, and swim the crater-rim infinity pool. The lodge's yacht reaches outer islands such as North Seymour, Bartolome and South Plaza, and the Charles Darwin Research Station and the lava tunnels of the highlands are within reach.
A tortoise reserve
A tortoise reserve, giant tortoises on site.
Its own yacht
Its own yacht, day trips by sea.
Crater hikes
Crater hikes, in the highlands.
Island excursions
Island excursions, land and sea.
The infinity pool
The infinity pool, on the crater rim.
Getting There
Location & transfers
By air
Via Baltra (GPS)
Via Baltra, flying in from Quito or Guayaquil, then up to the highlands.
In the highlands
Santa Cruz
Atop two craters in a private tortoise reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands.
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Good to Know
Good to know
Board basis
- Full board, three to seven nights.
Made for couples
- Made for couples, families and active travellers.
Setting
- A private giant-tortoise reserve.
Getting there
- Via Baltra, from the mainland.
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Dates, party size, villa preference and budget.
Dates & party
Date flexibility
Adults
2
Children
0
Budget & accommodation
Budget per person (flights + hotel)
£4,500
£500£50,000+
Villas Preference
Flights
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