Galapagos (Ecuador) - wildlife, water and waves

Galapagos Islands – Ecuador

Time spent: 9 days (2026)

Population: 30,000 people, 30,001 Sea Lions

Currency: US Dollar

Itinerary: Santa Cruz Island, Isabela Island, Santa Cruz Island, San Cristobel Island

If you love nature, animals, volcanic landscapes, water-related activities and seafood then this is the best place on earth.  

Before we start, it is important to point out that for the first time I outsourced the arranging of the trip to a company called Travel Local who arranged everything from the flights, boat rides, hotels and taxi pickups to the adventures, excursions and local guides who were absolutely amazing. They were very flexible with our interests and availability and scheduled an incredible trip to our tastes. I am certain you could arrange all this yourself and save some money but it would be a huge undertaking and the quality of service was totally worth it. Check out the interactive map below.

Secondly, before you enter the Galapagos from Quito airport, you need do quite a lot of admin, some of which can be done in advance of the departure gate (1, 2 and 4) and some which need to be done there (3). This is a list of things you need to arrange before you set foot on the Galapagos:

1: You will need to fill out this form for a Transit Control Card (TCT) to allow you entry to the Galapagos Islands ($20 per person)

2: You will then need to fill out the declaration of goods using this form (no cost).

3: You then need to take your bags to the Agencia De Regulaciony Control de le Bioseguridady and get them checked and tagged by an officer to prove you don’t have any foreign items which may disrupt the ecosystem on the Galapagos (no cost here but there is often a queue).

4: Withdraw $200 in cash per person travelling to the Galapagos Islands (under 12s $100 each) for your National Park entry fee which you will hand to the passport control officer when you land.

5: Get through airport bag drop, security and boarder control as normal and enjoy the flight.

To get to the Galapagos Islands you need to fly from either Quito or Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland, to Seymour airport on Baltra Island or San Cristobel Island airport. Each island has a main centre where hotels, restaurants and a port can be easily walked to and there are taxis everywhere to pick you up. Water taxis all cost $1 per person each way and they will take you to whatever incredible water-based adventure you’ve got planned. To book an inter-island ferry, the schedule is here and you can book what you need for $60 per person each way. Because we flew to Baltra Island which is connected to Santa Cruz via a 2-minute boat ride and Santa Cruz is in the middle of the three main islands; we had to get 3 ferries in total to be able to see as much as possible in 9 days (Santa Cruz – Isabela, Isabela – Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz – San Cristobal). You can visit the three main islands in any order you want, just plan ahead with ferry crossings as they often have set times for departure each day. Below are the 3 main islands written in the order we visited, plus the uninhabited island tour.

Santa Cruz Island

Staying in the town of Puerto Ayora next to the port is a good place to base yourself for your visit on the island as there are ferries and taxis a plenty, not to mention you’ll be greeted by a colony of friendly (and sleepy) Sea Lions. Our flight landed on Baltra Island to the north of Santa Cruz where we caught a quick water taxi to the shore before heading to the El Chato Ranch Giant Tortoise Reserve ($10 per person) a 25-minute taxi ride away. There were dozens of Giant Tortoises just wandering around the beautifully kept wildlife reserve alongside all manner of indigenous birds and a lovely restaurant for lunch. After this, we went straight to the Charles Darwin Research Centre half-an-hour away which is free to enter but you might need a specific time slot to visit so check their website if you don’t book with an agency. Here you’ll meet marine iguanas, baby sea turtles and the taxidermy remains of Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, in an air-conditioned room designed to preserve his body forever. There is wildlife all over the island so we spent the evening walking along the coastline marvelling at the crabs, sea lions, turtles and sea birds everywhere we looked.

The next day, we walked down to Tortuga Bay Beach which takes 40-minutes from the centre of Puerto Ayora and starts here at the Centro de Energia Renovable. Once you’ve walked the path of shady trees, the ocean eventually reveals itself along with bright white sand on a beach that is incredibly popular with surfers (and you can see why). Walking 1km or so along the idyllic sand beach, we spotted wildlife everywhere, including pelicans fishing for their breakfast on the open ocean, sandpipers trying to avoid the wash of the waves and Sally Lightfoot crabs scurrying down into their burrows. If this isn’t enough, after 25-minutes, Playa Mansa (a sheltered bay full of mangroves) reveals itself where white-tip reef sharks, eagle rays and sea turtles hang out in the incredibly warm and calm waters. We swam and hired a kayak for 2 hours ($10 an hour per person) before heading back into the town for lunch. In the afternoon we caught a water taxi ($1 each way) across the harbour and walked along Playa los Alemanes which leads to Las Grietas ($10 each), one of the best snorkelling spots on the island but you must have a guide lead you while you’re there.

On our third day, we arranged surfing lessons ($100 for 3 hours) down at Tortuga Bay Beach where we learned how to catch waves in the 25°C water which was absolutely amazing. Our guide was great and the company managed to fit us in last minute which was amazing. On our last day on Santa Cruz, we visited Izla Plaza Sur, an uninhabited island off the east coast. We were booked onto a full-day tour ($365 each) which included great food, a luxurious boat with crew, snorkelling gear and a guided tour of the island where we saw yellow land iguanas, blue footed boobies, sea lions and frigate birds among the tall cacti on this enchanting, uninhabited island. The place was incredibly special and a real highlight among many, in particular the snorkelling after the visit to the island was incredible. The sea was warm and clear and we swam with sea turtles, reef fish and sting rays.

Isabela Island

The only way to get to Isabela Island is via ferry from Santa Cruz (twice daily, 7am and 3pm $60 per person) as there is no airport on the island. The ferry crossing can be really choppy and lasts for 2 hours so my advice is to not eat much before you get on board and be prepared to be uncomfortable (try staring at the horizon, this helps a bit). Upon arrival, you’ll also notice how much smaller the main town of Puerto Villamil is compared to Puerto Ayora which brings with is fewer restaurants and places to stay so plan this well in advance. We were booked onto a tour to the Tintoreras islands ($90 each) which included a walk around the volcanic rocky islets to see all the iguanas and sea birds and an hour snorkelling around the clear, warm waters. The  next day, we booked onto hiking tour to climb up Sierra Negra volcano ($70 per person) which takes 2 hours each way through enchanting trees and fairly easy terrain until you stumble across a view of the largest caldera in the Galapagos (10km across) amongst lava lizards and Darwin finches. There are a few hiking tour groups to difference volcanoes so shop around but this hike was pretty easy and didn’t require too much in terms of fitness.

San Cristobal

We headed to San Cristobal Island for our last stop on a ferry ride ($60 each, twice daily from Santa Cruz, 7am and 3pm) and were picked up at midday for our Lobos Islands tour ($270 per person, 5 hours trip). We headed north up the coast to Isle Lobos to see the blue footed boobies nesting alongside a colony of sea lions (including some very cute baby ones) before we spent 2 hours snorkelling in the most incredibly clear blue water imaginable. It was here that a playful sea lion spent half-an-hour with us underwater, creating one of my favourite memories from the trip. 

On our final day in the Galapagos, we booked onto the San Cristobal 360 tour ($360 per person) which included a stop with a wet landing at Rosa Blanca Bay to snorkel in the crystal clear lagoon which included up-close and personal meetings with white-tip reef sharks, seat turtles and sting rays. From there we headed north and around Punta Pitt in what were quite rough seas before circling round the top of the island where the waves were not as vigorous. From there we headed south towards Kicker Rock and an incredibly special snorkelling experience. The water here was colder and the sea much rougher and it does require a good level of swimming ability here due to the challenging waves. Once through the gap, we swam alongside the cliffs descending into the ocean and saw shoals of reef fish, black-tip reef sharks, sea turtles and a large colony of sea lions hanging out on the sheer cliffs. An incredible end to the trip and something that was worth the choppy seas of the morning boat ride.

We returned to the mainland via a flight out of San Cristobal airport the next day and spent a couple of days in Quito. The Galapagos Islands has to be the best place I’ve ever visited, and despite the difficulty (and cost) of getting there; it is totally worth the effort. Use our advice or not, remember: it’s what you know, not who you know.