by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 10:45 AM ET, Wed July 22, 2026
Evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant are headlining a conservation cruise in the Galápagos Islands.
The seven-day, six-night charity charter, which departs October 30, is being offered by Metropolitan Touring and the Charles Darwin Foundation. Proceeds from the voyage aboard Yacht Isabela II will support the newly created endowed chair in evolutionary biology at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora.
The Grants, whose decades-long study of Darwin's finches made them the subjects of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Beak of the Finch” by Jonathan Weiner, will give onboard talks throughout the journey, offering guests a firsthand account of the research that reshaped modern understanding of evolution. Guests will also be able to interact directly with the Grants in intimate, informal settings not typically available to the public.
The cruise, which is capped at just 39 guests, coincides with Peter Grant's 90th birthday and will take place shortly after Rosemary Grant's birthday in early October.
Travelers will enjoy a welcome reception at the Charles Darwin Foundation Research Center, followed by at Punta Pitt and Cerro Colorado, San Cristóbal Island; Gardner Bay and Punta Suárez, Española Island; Cormorant Point and the Floreana Ecological Restoration Project, Floreana Island; Punta Moreno, Isabela Island and Punta Mangle, Fernandina Island; and North Seymour Island and Eden Islet. The voyage also includes a circumnavigation of Daphne Major, the island where the Grants conducted more than five decades of research.
Rates start at $16,900 per cabin, based on double occupancy, and include all shore excursions, meals and onboard activities, as well as arrival-day accommodations at the Wyndham Quito Airport, dinner that evening and domestic flights.
“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,” says Jim Boyle, chief development officer for the Charles Darwin Foundation. “As they celebrate their 90th birthdays, guests will join an intimate journey through the islands that shaped their research, including a special circumnavigation of Daphne Major.”
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