Tag: Galapagos

Our Galapagos Cruise Itinerary

There are so many different cruises available in the Galapagos islands that It can be really difficult to choose just one: See my post here on How to: Plan your Itinerary to the Galapagos to narrow down what you would like to do.

Here is our itinerary for our cruise so you can see what the places we went were like – Bear in mind that the underwater visibility, wildlife and weather will vary from day to day so areas that may have been perfect on my trip may be a little less so on another. Everywhere we went was AMAZING and out of this world though so I’m sure you cant go too wrong!

We took the Golondrina which is one of very few very budget backpacker boats in the Galapagos but is the one with the best itinerary (in our opinion).

DAY 1

On the first day, we met the cruise at Baltra Airport to embark on the yacht and got settled. After having lunch on the boat we headed to Mosquera Island. This Island has a long stretch of soft white sand and many rock and tide pools. It has a flat look rather than the cone shape of the volcanically formed islands of the Galapagos.

Mosquera Island is a great place to stroll on the beach, snorkelling and enjoy the animal life. You are most likely to see sea lions and many shorebirds here. It is a quieter island with less tourists than some of the nearby locations.

DAY 2

On the morning of the second day, we visited Vicente Roca Point on Isabela Island via a small motorized boat. You are not permitted to land on the coast here. Vincente Roca Point is a large bay consisting of two seperate coves with amazing sea life. You may spot seahorses, sea turtles, rays, puffer fish, sunfish, sea lions, sharks, penguins, blue-footed boobies and nazca boobies.

Note: Although Isabela Island is technically inhabited (it has a very small rural settlement) the island itself is HUGE and there are many very isolated locations with lots of wildlife on the other side of the island that are inaccessible by land and too far for a day trip by boat as they are reached from the other side of the island (such as Vicente Roca Point) so this is a good location for a cruise to visit.

In the afternoon, the cruise visits Espinoza Point on Fernandina Island where you have a short hike along the coast to see lava flows and lava cactus, marine iguanas (during nesting time January to June), penguins, pelicans, and cormorants. After hiking there will be time to do some snorkelling from the beach.

DAY 3

On Day 3 your cruise will disembark at Urbina Bay on Isabela Island (again an area inaccessible by land). This bay lies at the foot of the Alcedo volcano. At Urbina Bay you will take a 2 hour walk passing shells and coral visible above the water along with a lot of wildlife: land iguanas, darwin’s finches, giant tortoises and flightless cormorants. After the hike you will snorkel surrounded by penguins and flightless cormorants.

  

In the afternoon, the cruise visits Tagus Cove on Isabela Island. We again take a walk here that begins from the shore and takes you high up a hill to provide incredible views over Darwin’s Lake (a round salt water crater) through a small forest. After the walk, you will take a boat around the cliffs and then snorkel in the cove. Around the water you are likely to see wildlife such as penguins, flightless cormorants, boobies, pelicans and Sally Lightfoot Crabs.

DAY 4

On the 4th day the cruise will visit Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. We will take a motorboat to land on the beach here. The beach here has gorgeous black rock formations and lots of wildlife. You are likely to see the Darwin finches, Galapagos hawks, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, fur seals and sea lions. You will be able to swim and snorkel from the beach here.

After lunch you will visit Sombrero Chino which for me was the highlight of this cruise. This is an island that looks like a wide brimmed hat and is very picturesque. The beach area is flat and rocky with lava tunnels and lava cactus all over the place. You will do a short walk then swim and snorkel here and the snorkelling is absolutely excellent.

DAY 5

Lastly, before departure your cruise will take you to the Charles Darwin Reasearch Station on Santa Cruz Island. Although this Galapagos tortoise breeding centre is in the main town of Puerto Ayora and easily accessed on an independent journey it was a useful last stop for us as we could leave straight for the town from here and didn’t need to return to the airport with the others on the cruise. Had the cruise finished elsewhere, we would have been dropped at the airport afterwards.

Let me know if you have been to any of these locations or if you have any suggestions for the best itinerary stops on our next cruise!

Erika xx

Itinerary: 3 days on Isabela Island

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Isla Isabela is the largest Galapagos Island but it only has a very small population and feels very secluded. It’s a great spot for wild, beautiful landscapes and up close and personal wildlife encounters. If you aren’t able to do a cruise on the Galapagos then the next best thing is to spend some time on Isabela Island. Its also a great option if you don’t like organised tours (like me). I don’t mind them on occasion but I definitely prefer to explore on my own.

GENERAL INFO

See my post here on travelling the Galapagos Islands for general information about the Galapagos.

As always, I recommend comparing accomodation and prices on booking.com. We stayed at Hostal Cerro Azul which was great as it had a kitchen for us to cook in and lots of places to relax.

There is no airport on Isabela Island – the only way in or out is via the small passenger ferries which travel at set times twice a day. Landing on Isabela Island requires an extra $10 docking fee (ontop of the cost for the ferry).

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Concha Perla 

Concha Perla is a secluded little snorkelling spot right next to town. To get here, walk 10 mins out of town towards the main dock. Just before you reach the wharf; there is a little slightly hidden boardwalk with a sign that leads to Concha Perla – a short way along this boardwalk you will end up reaching a small ladder leading into the water.

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles is a great snorkelling spot close to Isabela Island – tours head here daily. We took a half day tour with Rosadelco and it was well worth the trip! We saw seahorses, octopus, mating turtles, stingrays and dived into a cave filled with sharks. On the way back we also saw giant MANTA RAYS which was the coolest thing ever. They were larger than our boat.

Sierra Negra

Sierra Negra is the second largest active volcano in the world and it last erupted in 2005. Rosadelco (the same company as the tour above) takes a tour here so you can hike the volcano. It’s about a 5 hour hike with 45 minutes travel across the island each way. The landscapes are gorgeously wild.

Tortoise Breeding Centre and Pozas de Las Diablas

The Isabela Tortoise Breeding Centre and Pozas de las Diablas (some ponds with flamingoes) are just a short walk outside of town. You walk along a boardwalk that passes the 3 ponds with flamingoes to get to the breeding centre.

Playa Grande

Relax at the beach right in front of the town. Plenty of wildlife can be observed here such as sea lions, penguins and iguanas.

Bike to Muro de las Lagrimas

Hire some bikes for the day to bike to Muro de las Lagrimas to see a wall that prisoners built (at one point there were prisoners on Isabela Island). Supposedly thousands of prisoners died during the wall’s construction. The wall is about 5 km from town. There is a beautiful lookout point here above the wall. Follow the path leading up the mountain on the left side of the wall up until the final lookout post.

On the way back there are lots of stops to take along the bike trail: Cerro Radar, Cerro Orchilla, Tunnel de Estero (best visited at low tide), Playa de Amor, Pozas Verdes, and La Playita. There are signs along the way.

I hope you love Isla Isabela as much as I did!

Erika xx

Itinerary: 2 days on San Cristobal Island

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

San Cristobal is the alternate ‘main island’ of the Galapagos. Not as populous as Santa Cruz but still feels like a centre of civilisation. San Cristobal is particularly picturesque – the town is right on a nice beach and it feels like a good place to have a vacation.

GENERAL INFO

See my post here on travelling the Galapagos Islands for general information about the Galapagos.

As always, I recommend comparing accomodation and prices on booking.com.

If you need to get into San Cristobal town from the airport its only a 20 minute walk into town. You may not want to walk with your luggage so taxis are also available.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Las Tijeretas

This is a lookout with beautiful views out to sea which leads down to a calm, sheltered cove where you can swim or snorkel. To get here, start from the Centro de Interpretacion and keep walking up the path that goes past. Follow the signs to Las Tijeretas on the right. When you reach the split in the path keep walking straight and up the stairs to reach the lookout. Once you have had enough time soaking in the views you can take the stairs down to the cove. The walk takes about 30 minutes.

When returning from the jetty at the cove, take the path rather than the steps back up. When this joins back to the previous path head right to walk back to town (this path goes along the waterfront past Punta Carola).

Punta Carola

Punta Carola is a beach just outside of town. It’s a beautiful sandy beach which is home to many sea lions lazing by the water. It’s a great spot to watch the sea lions going about their day or have a dip in the water. Playa Mann (closer to town) is also nice but smaller than Punta Carola.

Tour to Kicker Rock

Many companies take tours to Kicker Rock from Isabela Island. Kicker Rock is a rock that forms a narrow crevice which you can snorkel through. this Tour is most popular as you can see sharks swimming below you between the rocks – often these will be Hammerheads. It’s unlikely to see Hammerheads anywhere else unless you are diving. The day we went the water here was not very clear (nature is always a game of chance) but the tour was still great and we did spot a few sharks far below and come across some blue-footed boobies. We also stopped at a really lovely little beach where we saw pelicans and sea lions. The tour starts early (approx. 8am) and ends at 3 or 4pm.

Erika xx

Itinerary: 3 days on Santa Cruz Island

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Santa Cruz Island is the main inhabited island in the Galapagos Islands. It’s main town Puerto Ayora is warm, charming, very walkable and home to so much wildlife you will feel like you don’t even need to venture further afield (until you see the rest of the Galapagos!).

GENERAL INFO

See my post here on travelling the Galapagos Islands for general information about the Galapagos.

As always, I recommend comparing accomodation and prices on booking.com. We stayed at Hostal Vista al Mar which was lovely and right next to Laguna de las Ninfas.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you need to get to or from Seymour Airport that this is on a different island. Commuting here requires taking the airport shuttle from the airport, then a water taxi over to Santa Cruz, then a taxi or bus into Puerto Ayora (or the reverse to get to the airport).

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station

Here you can observe the Galapagos Giant Tortoise and learn about the Galapagos Tortoises. The Research station also functions as a breeding centre so you will see tortoise babies also!

Have Dinner on Fish Fry Road

This is a collection of street food stalls selling and cooking fresh seafood. Head here for dinner and a beer. It’s pretty touristy but still more affordable than eating at a restaurant (and the seafood is amazing!).

Snorkel and Swim at Las Grietas

Las Grietas is a calm, deep inland lagoon where you can swim and snorkel. There isn’t a huge amount of wildlife here but if you snorkel you can see some big fish and it’s a cool place to explore.

To get here, take a water taxi to Punta Estrada/Las Grietas. Once dropped off there is a clearly marked path along the boardwalk and past some pink salt flats. Follow the path until it ends at Las Grietas (a 15 minute walk). There are 3 pools in the lagoon. You can carefully climb over the rocks at the end of the first pool into the second and then again over more rocks for the third pool (or dive down and swim through the underwater cave). There are often lots of fish swimming in this third pool (when it’s quiet). To get back to Puerto Ayora wave down one of the water taxis waiting offshore. 

Sit at the waterfront after dark

If you wait patiently you will see nocturnal marine animals attracted to the lights shining in the water along the waterfront. It’s calm and peaceful and even better if you bring a beer and take some time to relax under the stars or walk along the waterfront.

Visit the Fish Market

The best time to go to the Puerto Ayora Fish Market to see the action is 4pm. You can watch the local fisherman bringing in their catch and see the animals it attracts. The market gets swamped by birds, pelicans and sea lions hoping for a freebie. From late afternoon a little barbeque stand will cook any of the fresh fish for you.

Walk through Laguna de las Ninfas

Laguna de las Ninfas is a quiet estuary surrounded by 3 different types of mangroves and many birds. Its a very short walk from the pier (less than 15 minutes). Make sure to take some insect repellant.

Hike to Playa Tortuga

The hike to Playa Tortuga is short and relatively easy (apart from the extreme heat – I suggest going early in the morning) and the reward is well worth the trip. There are a couple of beaches here – the first is stunning and filled with marine iguanas but is too dangerous for swimming and there is also a calm lagoon for swimming in.

To get here, walk all the way to the west end of Charles Binford Street. At the end of the street there is a staircase up a short hill where the kiosk is to sign in and enter the park (it opens at 6am). There are no toilets at the beach so go here if needed. You will then walk along an easy, flat cobblestone path for about 40 mins. At the end of this path, turn right and walk for approximately 15 minutes and you will have reached Playa Tortuga. Continue up the sand another 1 km or so and you will find a beautiful shaded lagoon half hidden behind the last section of beach. The walk is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes each way.

Erika xx