The Galapagos Islands have always been a mystery to me. I knew the islands were located close to the equator in South America and the animal life unique, but to be honest, that was all I knew! I began researching the Galapagos Islands after I saw a Facebook post of a friend that traveled to the islands last year. I immediately thought...these islands would be great for a wildlife photographer and and an exciting adventure!
Sea Lion on the beach of Playa de Oro, a few minutes from central Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
The Galapagos Islands are made up of 19 islands, also known as an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands are the result of volcanic activity that occurred approximately 5 million years ago. Typically you hear about people vacationing on a cruise ship traveling throughout the islands but my husband will NOT cruise! Therefore, my challenge was to figure out a way to tour the Galapagos; stay on the islands; and sightsee the amazing islands through day tours. Even if you stay on the islands, taking a boat is part of the island way of life so plan to be on the water! Another important thing to plan on...there is a good deal of walking on volcanic rock!
“The Galapagos Islands are magical! The atmosphere is relaxing; the sights are unforgettable; the animals are mesmerizing; and snorkeling with the sea lions, sharks, marine iguanas, and eagle rays are a once in a lifetime experience."
Traveling to the Galapagos islands is an expensive endeavor. A land-based trip to the Galapagos is lessor expensive than a cruise or boat based tour but much of your time will be spent on a boat even if your trip is land-based. Hotels and bed and breakfast stays can be found on Santa Cruz island in Puerto Ayora; San Cristobal island in the capital city of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno; and on Isabella island in Puerto Villamil. Land-based tour provides the opportunity to travel at your own pace, pick and chose the tours you want, and you decide your length of stay on each island. The downside to a land based tour, you must do your own research to determine which tours meet your expectations for the animals and sights you want to see, and you cannot access some of the remote areas that the cruise-based tours reach on their tours. The popularity of land based tours are growing in the Galapagos, therefore, with simple Google searches, you can find all the information you need for hotels and tours based on each of the three islands that are inhabited.
Santa Cruz Island
To travel to the Galapagos, we flew from Chicago O'Hare to Miami and then to Guayaquil, Ecuador. From Guayaquil we took a two-hour flight to Balta Island where the airport is located and access via water ferry to Santa Cruz Island. It took some research and reading to determine the most time effective route to get to our hotel in Puerto Ayora from the Balta airport. As you arrive in the Galapagos, a $100 per person entry fee is required and must be paid in cash. Proof of vaccinations were not required. The fee is paid at customs upon entry. We decided to book a tour with Ecuador Trails to pick up up at the airport, handle our water ferry transfer from Balta airport to Santa Cruz, and to stop at the El Chato Ranch
in the highlands to see the giant tortoises. It was a bright, sunny and hot day when we arrived at the Balta Airport, but when we reached the El Chato Ranch in the highlands, it was downpouring rain. The highlands experience rain year round but more during the summer months in the Galapagos which are the months of December through March. The rain didn't stop the tour...the tour guide outfitted us with rain jackets, rain boots and umbrellas and away we went walking through the trails and fields looking at the gigantic tortoises. The rain doesn't phase the giant tortoises in the least! By the time we arrived at our hotel a couple of hours later in Puerto Ayora, it was hot and sunny again!
After our giant tortoise tour, the guide dropped us off at the Captain Max Bed and Breakfast located in downtown Puerto Ayora. Captain Max was very clean; spacious rooms; had a wonderful location in the downtown; near the main dock; and had a wonderful breakfast every morning. Rates were very affordable and we enjoyed our stay. We could walk to
restaurants, shopping and the port area. The food was very reasonable with a wide variety of eateries. Near the dock area, there is an outdoor amphitheater with music and food stands on the weekends. The fish market is another location just a few blocks from the main docks with many restaurants along the way as well as shopping. It is definitely worth seeing and an easy walk. Since it is a fish market, the sea lions are hanging out as well as the herons and pelicans waiting for fish scraps! One of the charms of the three islands we visited were the abundance of sea lions. The sea lions are not fearful of people, swim in the dock area and lay on the docks and benches making themselves at home. People respect the rules of staying at least 20 feet away from them but sometimes it is difficult as they have no fear in approaching you. The sea lions are playful with each other and are fun to watch!
The main form of transportation on Santa Cruz Island are taxis, motorcycles, or mopeds. Very few people own their own vehicle and renting a vehicle does not make any sense. Taxis are reasonable, quick, and there are very few roads to drive on. There is no need to rent a vehicle or motor bike. There are plenty of great restaurants within walking distance of the hotels. Captain Max prepared a hot breakfast for us daily with omelets and toast. The boat tours feed you snacks and lunch so we only had to eat out once a day in the evening.
Santa Cruz Island, from the arrival at Balta Airport to the sea lions at Puerta Ayora.
Prior to arriving to Santa Cruz, we decided on the day trips based from the island. Our first full-day on Santa Cruz, we decided to explore the island on our own and took a water taxi across Academy Bay from the main port and tell the water taxi you want to disembark at Finch Bay. You follow trail past the Finch Bay Hotel. You’ll see a beach, a lava field, a cactus forest, and some abandoned salt mines. At the entry of Las Grietas, you will pay a $10 per person fee and will have to join a guided tour. The trail with the tour guide is hot, rocky and uphill. I didn't enjoy the trail walk at all! But once we arrived at Las Grietas, it is a beautiful inland stretch of crystal pure emerald green water located at the bottom of an earth fissure. The water was amazing but cold. There are approximately 150 steps down to the water but there is a platform to leave your water shoes and towel. Personally, this is a tour I could have skipped. Other than the amazing view from the top of the hillside, the snorkeling was cold and we only saw a few fish. While beautiful, I wouldn't do that day trip again. There is a wonderful beach, Playa de Los Alemanes, that you reach just before the hike to Las Grietas. The beach is worth a stop to snorkel but there are not many shade trees in the vicinity. This is where we saw our first swimming black iguana.
Finch Bay Hotel dock, Las Grietas, and Playa de Los Alemanes
Later in the day, after our hike to Las Grietas, we were able to get on an afternoon tour from Academy Bay port area to a beautiful white sand beach, Tortuga Bay Beach. It is only a 10 minute boat ride from the port but you can also walk there with a 45 minute hike. After ouyr last hike, we chose the boat! Tickets are necessary for the boat ride since the water taxis
do not make the trip. The cost $10 per person and the boats make the trip every two hours. You can purchase them in advance. The boat ride is beautiful and the beach is a beautiful white sand beach gorgeous palm trees. This is also the location where we saw a baby Hammerhead Shark in knee deep water! Other than the shark, the snorkeling is not good at this beach unless you snorkel near the rocks. There are sharks along the rocks and we saw them when the boat was docking. Without a snorkel guide, we opted to not snorkel over to the rocks.
My favorite trip from Santa Cruz was a day trip we booked through Ecuador Trails that took us to Pinzon Island for the day. They picked us up by taxi from Captain Max, dropped us at the water taxi stand at the port, and guided us to our boat for the day. The entire day was perfect. The boat ride to the island is about 40 minutes each way. The waters are crystal clear for snorkeling and the underwater views were incredible. The underwater animals were abundant from sea lions swimming close to you, to sharks, sea turtles, underwater iguanas, and beautiful colorful fish, there was plenty to see! The water during February is warm, around 75 to 76 degrees and the air temperature is 85 to 90 degrees daily. The tour included lunch and non-alcoholic drinks. I would highly recommend this day tour that we booked through Ecuador Trails. Below are a few underwater photos of our snorkeling trip to Pinzon. Also pictured are a few of the famous Blue-footed Boobies. They are an amazing sight and make the entire trip worth the time and adventure. The feet and beak are a bright turquoise blue!
Isabella Island
We also booked in advance a day trip to Isabella. I booked the trip through a different company, not Ecuador Trials and it was not as well planned and we were not as fortunate. It is a two our boat ride to Isabella from Santa Cruz and half way through the trip, the boat broke down! One of the three engines failed. They were able to get us to Isabella on two engines but it was a slow go! By the time we arrived our snorkel tour had already left and we had to join a different snorkel tour. We had booked an English speaking tour but we were the only people that spoke English. We were fortunate our snorkel tour guide was bilingual. The rest of the day went well with a trip to the turtle ranch on Isabella and for lunch at the ranch. We also toured a look out point on the island with a beautiful view of the entire landscape.
The favorite part of our day tour on Isabella for me was the walk on the Islote Tintoreras. A small island off of Isabella This small islet gets its name from the white tip shark, locally known as tintoreras. This is a location to observe the Galapagos penguins who nest in this area depending on the season. Unfortunately the waters were too warm when we ere visiting, therefore, we didn't see one penguin. However, we observed many nesting iguanas, white tip sharks, sea lions and sea turtles, and sting rays. The waters are crystal clear and the landscape is lava rocks. Definitely worth the time to visit!
At the end of the day, when we went to depart on the water taxi to get back on our boat to travel to Santa Cruz, we were told they didn't have or name or reservation. With the language barrier, we struggled to understand what the Navy police were telling us but our bus operator for the day translated and we were told we had to pay another $70 to catch the last boat back to Santa Cruz. Needless to say, we were happy it was only $70; paid the money; and boarded the water taxi and then the boat as fast as we could! Lesson learned...really check out who you book a tour with online before booking it! We were able to get a full refund of our tour once we returned to the United States. In hindsight, if I had to do this again, I would spend 2-3 nights on Isabella Island to enjoy the island and stay in the main town of Puerto Villamil. We talked to a couple about their experience on Isabella and they stayed a few nights and found a wonderful snorkeling area from shore that was free! I would recommend staying a couple of nights on Isabella. It is more remote and not as modern as Santa Cruz or Isabella but it is a beautiful island.
Now that we have been to the Galapagos, at least on Santa Cruz, you can wait and book your tours when you get there at one of the local agencies. I would not do it in advance. Just know the tours are expensive, approx. $150 to $190 per person per day no matter if you book them in advance or on the island. If I had to do it over again, I would spend two additional nights on Santa Cruz Island to take two more day trips to the islands of North Seymour, Santa Fe, or Floreana. We heard good reviews from people on our other day trips about these islands especially the variations of birds and the good snorkeling. One other thing to note with the day tours, the boats for the tours are fishing type boats. They are not large catamarans or luxury boats. There were restrooms on the boats and plenty of seating but climbing on and off the boats for snorkeling was not easy for me with bad knees. The ladders were small ladders dropped off the side of the boats and were difficult to climb up without hitting my knees on the side of the boat causing alot of pain. I never dreamt this would be an issue for me but it did cause me alot of anxiety and pain getting into the boats.
San Cristobal Island
After four days on Santa Cruz Island, we took a fast ferry from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal. The dock early in the morning is crazy in Santa Cruz at Puerto Ayora! They tell you to be there by 6:30 for a 7:00 departure. Be there by 6:15! They are boarding many ferries and day trips so to find your line and get on the right boat, be early! It was a 2 to 2 1/2 hour trip from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal. We were there plenty early to enjoy the day in San Cristobal.
The amazing island of San Cristobal from the beautiful beaches to the sea lions.
San Cristobal was not as busy as Santa Cruz. The island has a beautiful dock area with the famous sea lions laying all over the rocks. As we got off the fast ferry and onto the dock, a Blue-footed Bobbie was waiting for us! There are taxis on San Cristobal too so we were able to catch a cab to the Hostal Tongo Reef, a few blocks away from the port. The Tongo Reef was small, very clean and within walking distance of the main port area and restaurants in the downtown area of Puerto Baquerizo Morena. They prepared a hot breakfast every morning and cleaned our room daily. They had fresh water in the lobby to fill our water bottles. It was a very comfortable.
Playa Mann is near the port area and easy walk from the dock and from the Tongo Reef. There is a colony of sea lions living on the beach, rocks and steps. They were fun to watch swimming in the water, baby seal lions nursing and playing, and iguanas sunny themselves on the rocks. We walked past this beach almost every day to enjoy the view and the sea lions.
Our first day on the island was saved for touring the island, not taking a boat tour, and finding a beautiful free snorkeling site, Cerro Tijereta. There are spectacular views over Las Tijeretas, and the snorkeling was nothing short of amazing! Snorkeling at Las Tijeretas is the best snorkeling in San Cristobal Island that you can do on your own. It is a protected bay area where the water is warm and calm. Beware that if you chose to walk the Point Carola Beach route, the path is very rough with large lava rocks and almost all uphill. You need good walking shoes. We had snorkel gear, cooler with water and our beach bag, and it was
a tough walk! But Point Carola Beach is a white sand beach and is gorgeous. A sea lion was swimming and playing in the water with the swimmers. We kept walking to reach the top of the hill to the viewpoint overlooking the well-protected bay with dark blue transparent water where people are snorkeling. You just have to make your way down through a well-marked path that leads you there. There are a series of steps, lots of people trying to get ready to snorkel and of course those that are taking glamour Instagram photos at the bottom of the steps where the water meets the rocks. it is slippery so I advise to wear water shoes. I eased myself down the steps, onto the rocks and into the water. Within minutes we saw a shark, the sea lions swimming up to us wanting to play, and the sting ray and turtles were easy to find. Definitely work the hike and the sweat and complaining along the way! We asked several people on the way out if there was a better route to take to get back to the Point Carola Beach, and of course, there was. We followed a well marked and paved path up and down hills with some very pretty vantage points, to the San Cristobal Interpretation Center. Once we reach the Interpretation Center, we were on the main road system again and it was a 15 minute walk to Tongo Reef.
Earlier in the day, we took a cab to Loberia Beach. It is about a 15 minute trip from the port area. While it was a pretty beach, it sure was not worth the trip. It was very rough water and we were unable to snorkel. Plenty of sea lions on the beach but not much for shade trees so it was very hot! If you make your way to Loberia Beach, I would recommend going early in the morning before the waters get rough.
Our second day, we took the San Cristobal 360 degree Around Island Day tour – Booked and Pre-Paid with Aquaventures Dive Center cost was $195 each. We got on a boat and circled the entire island with several stops including snorkeling and bird watching. Three or four days before we did our tour, there was an accident at one of the main snorkeling sites, Kicker Rock. Typically you snorkel through the opening between the two rocks but the rocks fell on a few snorkelers due to heavy rain the night before. Three were injured with broken arms, legs, and cuts to the head. All survived, thank God. The first stop on our tour went to Kicker Rock. We were a bit apprehensive but new we wouldn't be snorkeling through the crack in rocks but the water was very deep and rough. We have snorkeled all over the Caribbean, Belize, and Hawaii, but this was very different. The water was over 130 feet deep based on the reading on the boat. We jumped in and honestly, it was so rough and deep, all
we could see was darkness. I never get sick snorkeling but I was sea sick. We swam along the rocks but saw nothing! I couldn't wait to get back in the boat! There were a couple of other snorkelers feeling the same way, with one feeling sick the rest of the day. We stopped at several other locations on the tour where snorkeling was wonderful and in water that you could see the sharks sleeping on the bottom and large sea turtles swimming with you. We didn't experience what everyone talks about with the Kicker Rock snorkeling site but the remaining stops on the tour were beautiful. We were also fortunate to see the Frigate Birds and the Red-Footed Boobies at Punta Pitt. We enjoyed the tour enough, that we went again the next day but the tour took us in the opposite direction around the island with Kicker Rock last. We were smart enough this time to not jump out of the boat. We had experienced enough snorkeling at the other sites with sharks swimming past us and sea lions swimming with us that we didn't need to experience the deep blue sea of Kicker Rock! A bonus of our 360 tour was the dolphins following the boat! Jumping and swimming in the wake. Photos of our 360 Tours are below.
We left San Cristobal and headed back to Guayaquil,and on to Costa Rica for the next chapter of our vacation! More to come on my next Costa Rica 2023 post!
ITEMS TO PACK FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Well, I am not sure what I expected but we were in South America near the Equator, so it was hot! It was near 88 to 90 daily with some humidity. You don't need much but swimsuits, cover ups, t-shirts and shorts. The dress is very casual.
Water shoes
Beach towel if you plan to do a day on your own. The boats have them for you when on a tour
Walking sandals or good study hiking shoes
Water bottle - both hotels had water coolers to fill your bottles. You CANNOT drink the water on the islands. Buy water at the grocery store or take a water bottle and refill.
Small cooler to carry snacks and extra water.
Backpack for your snorkel gear if you prefer to use your own. I have prescription goggles so we bring our own snorkel gear but all boats provide it for you.
Swim shirt either long or short sleeve to protect against sunburn and to keep you warm in the cooler water.
Boats will provide wet suits but in the months of January, February and March, you do not need wet suits. The water is warm.
Sun hats and sun glasses. Preferably a hat with a tie so you don't lose it off the boat.
Underwater camera, there is so much to see and photograph, I use an old iPhone in a underwater case and it works great!
Camera or iPhone with a zoom.
30 and 50 SPF sun screen that is eco-friendly. Don't forget some for the face and also Aloe Vera gel should you get a little red!
We always bring on all of our trips some of our favorite snacks. There are small grocery stores on the islands but they are expensive. We brought snacks.
TIPS TO TRAVEL ECONOMICALLY AND GET THE MOST FOR YOUR TIME AND MONEY
I also get asked many times, "How do you travel so often and keep it affordable?" A few tips are below:
For me, planning and researching is part of the excitement of the trip! Visioning is so much fun!!!
I plan all of my own trips and research, research, research on the internet. I utilize TripAdvisor, Frommer's, and blogs from other travelers to find the information I need for my trip. I do ALOT of reading and researching. It takes patience to plan a good affordable trip!
I have a budget in mind for each trip and challenge myself to stay in the budget. Depending on the location, I typically start planning and booking hotels, cars, etc., approximately 9 months out. Hotel prices usually get more expensive the closer to the trip unless you are willing to do a last minute internet deal. Car rental and airline prices also go up the closer it is to your trip. Occasionally you can get a last minute deal but something else may be more expensive and you are really not saving. I like to plan!
For hotels, I use Booking.com, Hotels.com or Priceline.com. I look for hotels with good reviews, pay when you stay, and free cancellation in advance.
We have done all-inclusive in a couple of tropical locations years and years ago but found that we do not eat and drink enough to make it worth the extra expense. We like to go off site from the hotel and experience the local cuisine and traditions. We have not done all-inclusive in the last 15 years. However, all-inclusive is wonderful if you want to stay at the resort for all meals, not rent a car, and have the hotel shuttle you to your destinations. That has worked for us in Jamaica and it was very relaxing! But I would not drive in Jamaica so all-inclusive was the smartest option! If you enjoy all-inclusive, the earlier you book the trip the lower the price. Unless you are game and are not a planner, and are willing to travel where the last minute deal is advertised. Then you could get a great all-inclusive deal!
If we are flying, I use the Skyscanner app to check airfare prices and I try not to buy until about 60 to 75 days out. There are times where I will by earlier if the price is super reasonable. I usually do not book on Skyscanner. It will tell me the site that is the most affordable to purchase the tickets and if it is a more well known trust site, I go directly to the site to purchase the tickets. Many times Skyscanner will take you right to the airline website. Skyscanner will search all airlines and will sort by price, times, shortest trip, etc.
Have a credit card that gives you miles or hotel points. We will use points for many of our trips. We are American Advantage members and have an Advantage credit card. We try to fly American as often as we can to earn points and then use those points for future airline tickets. Our credit card is tied to our Advantage numbers and awards points as well.
We drive if the location is in the United States and we can drive and sightsee along the way. If we need to rent a car, we reserve online using Booking.com, Orbitz.com, or Priceline.com. They are usually the most reasonable. I watch for specials and never book a luxury vehicle! We also have a credit card with a low limit that we use for vehicle rentals that provides insurance as a credit card benefit. We always decline the insurance when we are in the United States. If we are traveling out of the United States, we check with the credit card if the insurance is valid internationally. We have found it is valid in Europe, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, but in other locations, we are forced to purchase the liability insurance from the rental car company.
While there are free maps online for most destinations, I always go onto Amazon and buy a map of my destination, especially if it is international. I do not buy maps for tropical Caribbean islands. I just get one when we arrive. But for countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, England, Canada, Germany, France, etc., I always purchase a good map. As you do you research, you can use the map to highlight the places you want to visit and the sites you want to see. I have it as a reference later for putting my memories and photos into a photobook!
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