Ecuador
Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
The one place on earth where the wildlife ignores you: an equatorial volcanic archipelago that handed Darwin the theory of evolution.
The Galapagos are a volcanic archipelago roughly 1,000 km off the Ecuadorian coast, where giant tortoises, marine iguanas and sea lions have no fear of people and simply let you walk past. Charles Darwin's five weeks here in 1835 fed the theory of evolution by natural selection, and the whole archipelago is now a national park and marine reserve visited on fixed sites with licensed guides. Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz is the main town and the base for day boats, dive trips and cruise departures.
Suggested stay
5–8 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
USD
Timezone
UTC-6
Why you'll love Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
The wildlife Sea lions sprawl on the harbour steps, blue-footed boobies dance on the trails and marine iguanas sneeze salt at your feet - nothing here has learned to run from people.
Snorkelling Slip off the back of a boat and swim with penguins, turtles, eagle rays and sea lions that spiral around you for the fun of it.
The volcanoes Black lava fields, collapsed craters and one of the widest calderas on earth, all young enough that the islands are visibly still being built.
Strict protection Fixed landing sites, capped numbers and licensed naturalist guides mean the islands still feel wild rather than processed.
Best time to visit
all year
Warm, wet · 26-31° days
0.747° S, 90.313° W
UTC-6 · Pacific/Galapagos
whenywhere contains ads and partner links that we think are helpful and that earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Weather & when to go to Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best all year
Conditions Jan Warm, wet · Feb Warm, calm seas · Mar Warmest · Apr Warm · May Cooling · Jun Cool & dry · Jul Cool, wildlife · Aug Coolest · Sep Cool & dry · Oct Cool · Nov Warming · Dec Warm, wet starts
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
There is no bad season, just two different ones. December to May is warm and mostly calm, with the clearest, warmest water for snorkelling. June to November brings the garua - cool mist over the highlands, choppier crossings and colder water - and with it the richest feeding, the most active wildlife and whale sharks in the far north. Peak crowds come mid-year and around Christmas.
Top things to do in Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
-
Charles Darwin Research Station - see the giant tortoise breeding centre
nature wildlife history 👍 PopularA short walk east of the Puerto Ayora waterfront, the station's corrals hold giant tortoises from several islands, including hatchlings reared until they are too big for rats to touch. Lonesome George, the last Pinta tortoise, is preserved here. The displays cover the finches, the introduced-species eradication programmes and how close the tortoises came to going altogether.
-
Tortuga Bay - walk out to the white-sand beach
nature wildlife scenic 👍 PopularA paved trail of about 2.5 km runs from the edge of town through cactus forest to a long surf beach lined with marine iguanas, then round to a sheltered lagoon where you can swim among turtles, rays and reef sharks. Free to enter and one of the few places in the park you may visit without a guide.
-
Bartolome Island - climb to the Pinnacle Rock viewpoint
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularThe most photographed view in the archipelago: a boardwalk of wooden steps up a cinder cone past spatter cones and lava flows to a summit looking down on the pinnacle and two crescent beaches. Snorkelling below the rock usually turns up Galapagos penguins, the only penguins living on the equator.
-
Los Tuneles - snorkel the collapsed lava arches off Isabela
nature wildlife adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedA maze of lava arches and channels sits half-submerged in shallow, glass-clear water off Isabela's south coast. You walk across the bridges spotting blue-footed boobies, then snorkel the tunnels among sea turtles, seahorses, golden rays and white-tip sharks asleep under the ledges. The crossing out through the surf line can be rough.
-
Multi-day cruise - reach the outer islands
nature wildlife adventure diving ⭐ Highly recommendedEspanola's waved albatross, Genovesa's seabird cliffs, Fernandina's iguana fields and the far-north dive sites at Wolf and Darwin cannot be reached on a day boat. A live-aboard itinerary of four to eight nights sails overnight and lands at first light, which is the only way to see the archipelago whole.
-
Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) - snorkel the channel off San Cristobal
nature wildlife divingA sheer tuff cone split by a narrow channel, rising straight out of open water. Boats drop snorkellers and divers to drift through the gap, where Galapagos sharks, hammerheads, eagle rays and turtles pass below. Deep water, cool current and no bottom in sight - the archipelago's most exhilarating snorkel.
-
Sierra Negra - hike the caldera rim on Isabela
hiking adventure scenicOne of the widest volcanic calderas on earth, a black bowl several kilometres across whose lip you walk on an easy but exposed trail. Push on to Volcan Chico for steaming fumaroles and rust-coloured lava fields, with the island falling away to the sea on both sides.
-
Gordon Rocks - dive the hammerhead site
diving adventureA sunken crater rim about an hour by boat from Puerto Ayora, and the benchmark day dive from Santa Cruz: strong current, surging channels and schooling hammerheads, with eagle rays and sea lions in the mix. Advanced certification and recent experience are expected, and the conditions decide the day.
-
Santa Cruz highlands - wild tortoises at El Chato
nature wildlife scenicAbove Puerto Ayora the lava gives way to green farmland where giant tortoises wander freely through the reserves and across the road. The same trip takes in Los Gemelos, two enormous collapsed craters in the scalesia forest, and lava tunnels long enough to walk through underground.
-
Las Grietas - swim the flooded fissure
scenic adventureA water taxi across Puerto Ayora's harbour and a rocky twenty-minute walk past old salt pans lead to a deep crack between two lava walls, filled with cold clear water where salt and fresh mix. Wooden stairs and platforms make the swim easy; locals jump from the ledges.
Best areas to stay in Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz)
Most day trips $$Busy island port, most boats and beds
Explore hotels in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) →
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal)
Calmer island base $$Quiet provincial capital, sea lions on the pier
Explore hotels in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal) →
Puerto Villamil (Isabela)
Slow island days $$Sandy streets, flamingo lagoons, end-of-the-road feel
Explore hotels in Puerto Villamil (Isabela) →
Santa Cruz highlands (Bellavista and Santa Rosa)
Rural lodges $$$Green misty farmland above the port
Explore hotels in Santa Cruz highlands (Bellavista and Santa Rosa) →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
Getting to & around Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
Getting there
Fly from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra for Santa Cruz, or to San Cristobal; there is no other way in.
Flight
Seymour Airport, Baltra (GPS)
Baltra is a separate island, so the transfer is a small journey: a shuttle bus to the Itabaca Channel, a passenger ferry across to Santa Cruz, then about 45 min by bus or taxi over the highlands into Puerto Ayora, roughly 1.5 hr in all.
Flight
San Cristobal Airport
The other mainland gateway, and the easier arrival: the runway sits on the edge of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, a few minutes from the waterfront.
Cruise
Baltra or Puerto Ayora
Most cruises and dive live-aboards begin with a mainland flight to Baltra or San Cristobal and board the same day; some smaller boats pick up in Puerto Ayora.
Getting around
Walking
Puerto Ayora's hotels, restaurants and tour offices line one waterfront street; nothing in town needs wheels.
Free
Water taxi
Small boats run all day from the main pier across the harbour to the Angermeyer side and the Las Grietas trailhead.
TBC
Inter-island speedboat
Public ferries link Santa Cruz with San Cristobal and Isabela, about 2-2.5 hr on open water, morning and afternoon.
TBC
Inter-island flight
Light aircraft hop between Baltra, San Cristobal and Isabela in around 30 min, worth it if the crossings do not appeal.
TBC
Taxi (white pickup)
White pickup trucks are the only taxis, flat-rate for short hops in town and hired by the hour for the highlands.
TBC
Day trips from Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
Santa Cruz highlands
Half dayTortoise reserve and craters
The green half of Santa Cruz: farmland where giant tortoises graze in the open, the twin sinkholes of Los Gemelos in mossy scalesia forest, and lava tunnels you can walk through by torchlight. The easiest half day on the islands and the one you can do without a boat.
Getting there
car | bus
About 30-45 min each way by taxi or public bus
Bartolome Island
Full dayVolcanic cone and pinnacle
The archipelago's signature view, reached by wooden steps up a cinder cone to a summit of spatter cones and lava. Penguins and turtles patrol the water below Pinnacle Rock, and the two beaches either side of the isthmus are among the best snorkelling on a day trip.
Getting there
tour | ferry
About 2 hr each way by day boat from Puerto Ayora
North Seymour
Full dayFrigatebird and booby colony
A flat, low island packed with nesting seabirds: male frigatebirds inflating scarlet throat pouches, blue-footed boobies performing their foot-lifting dance on the path, land iguanas under the palo santo and sea lions on the landing rocks. Short walk, extraordinary density.
Getting there
bus | ferry | tour
About 45 min by road and ferry to Baltra, then a short boat crossing
Santa Fe and South Plaza
Full dayLand iguanas and cliffs
Two small islands usually paired: Santa Fe for its giant prickly-pear forest, its own endemic land iguana and a turquoise bay full of sea lions, and South Plaza for a carpet of red sesuvium along cliffs where tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls nest.
Getting there
tour | ferry
About 1.5-2 hr each way by day boat
Floreana
Full dayPirate history and snorkelling
The strangest human story in the islands, from the whalers' post barrel at Post Office Bay, where you still leave a card and carry someone else's home by hand, to the vanished German settlers of the 1930s. Devil's Crown, a sunken crater offshore, is the snorkelling draw.
Getting there
ferry | tour
About 2 hr each way by speedboat
Isabela (Puerto Villamil)
1-2 daysVolcano and lagoons
The biggest island and the least developed, worth an overnight rather than a rushed day. Sierra Negra's caldera, Los Tuneles, penguins and white-tip sharks at Las Tintoreras, flamingos on the brackish lagoons behind town, and a sand-street village that stops at dusk.
Getting there
ferry | flight
About 2-2.5 hr each way by speedboat, or 30 min by light aircraft
A little history of Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
The islands were sighted by accident in 1535, when Tomas de Berlanga, the bishop of Panama, drifted onto them in a becalmed ship and reported tortoises large enough to carry a man. For the next three centuries they were a hideout and a larder: buccaneers, then whalers and sealers, took tortoises aboard by the thousand because the animals survived months in a hold without food or water. A barrel on Floreana served as an unofficial post office for passing crews, and still does.
Ecuador annexed the archipelago in 1832 and used it for penal colonies and thin settlement. Three years later the Beagle spent five weeks surveying, and its naturalist noticed that the mockingbirds and tortoises differed island by island - the observation that would surface decades later as natural selection. Serious protection came slowly: a national park in 1959, World Heritage listing in 1978 and a huge marine reserve in 1998. The park now caps visitor numbers, fixes landing sites and requires a naturalist guide almost everywhere, which is why the animals still behave as though people are furniture.
Tomas de Berlanga, blown off course en route to Peru, makes the first recorded sighting and names the giant tortoises the islands are later called after.
British whalers set up the post barrel at Post Office Bay on Floreana, and the islands become a provisioning stop for the Pacific whaling fleet.
Newly independent Ecuador annexes the archipelago and plants a penal settlement on Floreana.
HMS Beagle surveys the islands for five weeks with Charles Darwin aboard, collecting the finches, mockingbirds and tortoises.
On the Origin of Species is published, drawing on the island-by-island variation Darwin recorded here.
Ecuador declares the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation is created, a century after the Origin.
The islands are inscribed on the first UNESCO World Heritage list.
The Galapagos Marine Reserve is established, one of the largest protected marine areas in the world at the time.
Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, dies at the research station, ending his subspecies.
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Limited
Wifi
Limited
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+593
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Ecuador eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Galapagos (Puerto Ayora)
▸ When is the best time to visit the Galapagos?
There is no bad month. December to May is the warm season: hot sun, short showers, calm seas and the warmest, clearest water for snorkelling, with tortoise hatching and courtship displays. June to November is the garua season, cooler and misty in the highlands with choppier crossings, but the plankton-rich water brings the most active wildlife and whale sharks to the far north.
▸ How many days do you need in the Galapagos?
Five to eight. A land-based trip around Santa Cruz gives you the highlands, Tortuga Bay and two or three day boats; adding Isabela or San Cristobal needs a full week. Cruises run four to eight nights, and it is the longer itineraries that reach the outer islands.
▸ Is a cruise better than staying on the islands?
They are different trips. Cruises sail overnight and reach islands no day boat can, with naturalists aboard and dawn landings, and they cost far more. Staying in town is cheaper and more flexible, with good snorkelling, the highlands and a handful of day-trip islands, but you sleep in a port every night.
▸ Do you need a guide in the Galapagos?
Almost everywhere, yes. Most visitor sites can only be entered with a licensed naturalist guide on a set route, with capped numbers and fixed landing times. The exceptions are the inhabited islands: Tortuga Bay, Las Grietas, La Loberia and the town beaches are open to walk-up visitors.
▸ Is the Galapagos expensive?
Yes, unavoidably. The mainland flight, the transit control card, the national park entrance fee and boat trips stack up before you have eaten, and almost everything is shipped in. Staying in the towns and taking day boats costs far less than a cruise, and Isabela is gentler on a budget than Santa Cruz.
▸ How do you get to the Galapagos?
Flights leave Quito and Guayaquil daily for Baltra, which serves Santa Cruz, and for San Cristobal. You register a transit control card at the mainland airport and pay the park entrance fee on arrival. There are no international flights and no passenger ships from the mainland.