Metropolitan Touring, in partnership with the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), has announced that it will be offering a charity charter through the Galápagos Islands departing October 30, 2026, aboard the Isabela II.

“This voyage is a rare opportunity to experience the Galapagos through the eyes of Peter and Rosemary Grant, whose work on Darwin’s finches transformed our understanding of evolution in action,” said Jim Boyle, chief development officer, Charles Darwin Foundation.

The seven-day, six-night voyage will be joined by evolutionary biologists Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant, subjects of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Beak of the Finch” by Jonathan Weiner.

The sailing coincides with Peter Grant’s 90th birthday, following Rosemary’s birthday in early October, and proceeds will support the newly created Endowed Chair in Evolutionary Biology, a position established to secure the future of evolutionary research at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Throughout the voyage, the Grants will give onboard talks recounting their story in the Galápagos.

Guests will also be able to interact directly with the Grants, learning from their decades of fieldwork in intimate, informal settings not typically available to the public.

Limited to just 39 guests, the itinerary includes:

• A welcome reception at the Charles Darwin Foundation Research Center in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island
• Onboard talks and storytelling sessions with Peter and Rosemary Grant
• Landings at Punta Pitt and Cerro Colorado, San Cristóbal Island
• Gardner Bay and Punta Suárez, Española Island, and
• A circumnavigation of Daphne Major, the island where the Grants conducted more than five decades of research now considered among the most influential long-term studies in contemporary biology.

Rates for the October 30 charity charter start at $16,900 per cabin, based on double occupancy, and include all shore excursions, meals and onboard activities.

It also includes arrival-day accommodation at Wyndham Quito Airport, dinner that evening, and domestic flights.

A portion of each fare directly benefits the Endowed Chair in Evolutionary Biology at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Image: Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant in the Galápagos Islands. (Photo credit Juan Manuel Garcia)