Every Galapagos trip begins with the same decision: which islands. People live on only a handful of them. Meanwhile, the rest are national park with fixed visitor sites, and no single route covers the whole archipelago. So the useful question is not which island is best. Instead, ask what lives on each and how you move between them.
Below you will find what each main island offers, and how you get to it.
Santa Cruz: the island almost everyone lands on
Most programmes start at Baltra Airport and cross the Itabaca Channel to Santa Cruz. There, nearly all the hotels, restaurants and boat connections cluster around Puerto Ayora. Also, three of our four island hopping routes start from Baltra. They begin with an 11:00 pick-up and reach the highlands that same afternoon. What the island itself holds:
- El Chato highlands: giant tortoises roaming free, plus the lava tunnels: huge volcanic formations that tell how the islands took shape.
- Los Gemelos: two vast volcanic sinkholes ringed by endemic vegetation where Darwin’s finches feed.
- Charles Darwin Research Station: giant tortoises in captivity, the hatchling breeding centre, Lonesome George and the exhibition hall.
- Las Grietas: deep volcanic channels of clear water, a 20-minute walk from the hotel. You visit them the same afternoon as Playa de los Alemanes.
- A day at sea: 50 minutes’ sailing to Pinzon and Santa Fe for two snorkels with reef sharks, sea turtles and sea lions. After that comes La Fe beach, where turtles nest from November to February.
Isabela: penguins, flamingos and Los Tuneles
Isabela is the largest island in the archipelago. Also, it is the strongest of the inhabited four for wildlife you can reach from a hotel bed. It sits two hours by speedboat from Puerto Ayora. Our Santa Cruz and Isabela programme, in turn, gives it two days.
- Tintoreras islet: a 45-minute walk among nesting marine iguanas, white-tip reef sharks and sea lions. Then comes a snorkel in the bay and a short boat ride out to the penguins and blue-footed boobies.
- Arnaldo Tupiza Breeding Centre: one of the best giant tortoise breeding centres in the archipelago.
- The wetlands: a large brackish lagoon holding the biggest flamingo population in Galapagos.
- Los Tuneles at Cabo Rosa: a maze of small lava islets where sharks and sea turtles nest, and one of the best places anywhere to swim with Galapagos penguins. Calm water, so it works with children.
One detail people forget: there are no ATMs on Isabela. So carry cash in US dollars.
San Cristobal: sea lions, and the only hammerhead snorkel
San Cristobal has its own airport, so it usually opens or closes a trip. Punta Carola and La Lobería both hold large sea lion colonies you swim into straight from the sand.
The draw, though, is Kicker Rock. Forty minutes’ sailing from town, it is the only site in Galapagos where you can snorkel with Galapagos hammerhead sharks. On top of that, the same day adds Cerro Brujo and red-footed boobies at Punta Pitt. A swim in the lava pool at Rosa Blanca Bay rounds it off. All three routes we run through San Cristobal include it. The five-day Santa Cruz and San Cristobal route covers it, and so does the six-day that adds Española. The six-day that starts here includes it too. Of course, no one can guarantee sightings.
Española: the albatross island
Española sits two hours’ sailing south of San Cristobal. It is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago and the best single day of a six-day programme. The walk lasts around two hours over uneven volcanic ground. Along the way you pass nesting marine iguanas and blue-footed and masked booby colonies. From May to December the waved albatrosses nest there too, flown in from the mainland. Then it is 30 minutes to Gardner islet to snorkel with turtles, sea lions and rays.
Bring closed shoes with grip, and binoculars if birds are why you came. It gets a full day on our six-day Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and Española route. Meanwhile, cruises land at Gardner Bay and Suarez Point, with its blowhole and red marine iguanas.
Genovesa and Fernandina: cruise only
These two are the reason people pay for a cruise. Because neither has a town, you have to sail through the night to reach them.
- Genovesa: the seabird island of the north, a full day split between Darwin Bay and El Barranco. It is day two of the four-day A route on the Nemo II.
- Fernandina: Espinoza Point, the rawest volcanic corner of the archipelago, always paired with the western coast of Isabela. The Eden reaches it on the six-day B route, departing Tuesday, and the eight-day D route, departing Sunday. Both routes also add Moreno Point, Elizabeth Bay and Tagus Cove.
If the west is the point of your trip, check the route length. The western volcanoes only appear on the longer programmes. For example, the Treasure of Galapagos covers them on a seven-day route out of Baltra on Saturdays. That itinerary also adds the Wall of Tears and Vicente Roca Point.
Floreana, Santiago and the smaller stops
Cruises also fill their days with islands you do not stay on.
- Floreana: the flamingo lagoon and green-sand beach at Cormorant Point, then Post Office Bay, where the wooden barrel still works. You leave a letter, and another traveller hand-delivers it.
- Santiago: the black lava fields of Sullivan Bay, usually paired with Rabida or Bartolome.
- North Seymour: frigatebird and blue-footed booby colonies at close range, often combined with the volcanic cone of Chinese Hat.
- South Plaza and Santa Fe: land iguanas, prickly-pear cactus forest and a sheltered snorkelling bay, usually on one day.
So which ones do you actually book?
If your list is Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristobal and Española, island hopping works and you sleep on land. The package brings a hotel with air conditioning, breakfast and lunch, daily departures, snorkel gear and towels. A naturalist guide licensed by the Galapagos National Park comes with it too. If Genovesa, Fernandina, Floreana or Bartolome are on it, you need a cruise instead. Cruise routes run from four to fifteen days, with a fixed departure day for each itinerary.
Either way, you pay two fees separately on arrival. The Galapagos National Park entrance costs USD 200 (USD 30 for Ecuadorian nationals), and the Transit Control Card costs USD 20. Also, the trip does not include flights to the islands, and you need your passport for the card.
Build your island list with us
We are a Quito operator with fifteen years of Ecuador behind us, and you book direct. So there is no marketplace in the middle, just a straight answer about which islands fit your days. Start with the Santa Cruz and Isabela programme, or compare every route on our tours page. You can also send us a WhatsApp at +593 98 094 2338.
