Santa Cruz II

Designed to operate in remote areas, hosting just 90 guests in 48 staterooms, guests on Viking’s new Galápagos voyages will sail on board Santa Cruz II, a vessel chartered exclusively for Viking and renovated to reflect the clean, elegant Scandinavian design for which Viking is known.

With some of the most unique wildlife in the world and the presence of islands so young that they are still forming, the Galápagos Islands are an evolutionary time capsule. The absence of natural predators on the islands has led to a wealth of wildlife, which can be observed in its natural setting. The minimal presence of humans—97% of the archipelago is a national park—has led to a pristine and biologically isolated cluster of islands. They are also the conceptual birthplace of Darwin’s theory of natural selection and an equatorial crossroads for many other explorers.