Galapagos Islands, Top Tips and What You Need to Know

Well it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this blog (almost 4 years, to be exact), but I was inspired to write this after my hiatus, as the Galapagos is such an amazing place and it is difficult to find much up to date and in-depth information online when planning a trip to this unique and incredible part of the world. Plus, with so many people asking questions after posting pictures to my social accounts, this will be easier for everyone. 🙂

Quite a few friends have started traveling to the Galapagos in the last couple of years, and so I became even more curious and wanted to head there myself soon, before it started to get overrun with tourists and changed too dramatically. I’m the type of traveler who really wants to spend time in a place, get to know the locals, and understand the culture and what it really feels like to live there instead of jumping in and out and doing the more surface Coles notes version of tour after tour (I’ll walk and get lost through a village any day before choosing to go to a specific tourist site most times).

Tourism appears to be in it’s infancy stage on the islands, as it has been very limited in terms of access for many years, to ensure that the National Parks and Unesco World Heritage Site doesn’t get destroyed in the process. Many species of animals have become extinct over the years since the islands were discovered and then inhabited, as new species have been introduced and humans have overused the land and ocean for their own food and resources (such as turtle oil to provide electricity and eating those creatures that are limited and unique to these islands).

As a result, when making bookings, I found that one person would introduce me to the next, to figure out and put together what it was we were looking for in a trip – from day tours of various uninhabited islands, to boat or cruise packages, to accommodations, and more. Each family or generation in the travel business seems to have a combination of agency, hotel or B&B, tours, and boats and guides that they work together with – each part being piecemeal and not streamlined together as you would find in other countries where tourism is a lot more mature.

This is how I started looking for accommodations on San Cristobal Island, found a great place I wanted to stay at at some point, and ended up getting introduced around to an agent on Santa Cruz Island, while also having an eye on the lookout for me on best 8-day cruise itineraries and availability. If you know what you’re looking for (land or ocean-based trip or combo, level of quality, length of stay, what you’d like to see and do generally), I think it’s best to specify and tell your initial contact, and they will figure out and introduce you along the way to the rest of the people on what you need (if you initially like and trust them, of course).

Keep in mind that Galapagos is far behind developed nations and the mainland in Ecuador, lacking in accessibility with very weak wifi (don’t worry, your cell phone reception data will work on the islands way better than any wifi when you need to work or check-in at home – you can use your local phone if it allows decent roaming options, or buy a Claro sim card on arrival like I did, if your phone is unlocked). Santa Cruz is the most developed of the 3 islands I stayed on (Puerto Ayora is the village on it, and Baltra / Galapagos is both the same airport, but takes a short 5 minute boat ride then 45 min taxi to get to the village). We did the most back-to-back tours in Santa Cruz, since it was the beginning of our trip and we weren’t yet in need of some downtime before heading back to Vancouver, although I also loved spending time on the islands of Isabela and San Cristobal the most.  What surprised me after arriving to the archipelago is that it is actually quite developed with towns and hotels on 4 different islands – Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and less so on Isabela, and even Floreana (which is even less inhabited and we never went there, as again, we had no idea you even could stay on the island until after arriving).

Note that it’s quite costly in general in the Galapagos, due to the fact that they’re over 1,000 km away from the Ecuadorian mainland, and supplies have to be flown in or ferried over to the more remote islands.

Byron Rueda was my contact for the most developed island of Santa Cruz (he is also the owner of the company “Galapagos A La Carte”). His agency seems more forward-thinking than most, and has an online spin to it compared to the others.

His family owns the Santa Fe III Yacht (which took us on the Bartholome and South Plaza Island tours and is perhaps a 51 foot boat, at my best guess), and also the Santa Fe Hotel for generations (which is a very clean, highly rated family-style resort, with breakfast. There was one 5-star hotel I noticed called Red Mangrove that looked quite lovely as well, and there was one other high end eco-resort in the highlands (inland, around the center of Santa Cruz). Everything in the Galapagos is very family oriented, and if you ask for what you need, Byron will be the right person to get things organized for you.

Not on this itinerary but I heard widely recommended by others was the North Seymour day trip. You’d get to travel to and from on the Santa Fe III yacht from what I understand, as only smaller operators go to Pinzon nowadays (I don’t know why – it was the best snorkeling with sea lions, white tipped reef sharks, and turtles swimming with us)!

Otherwise, when staying on the island, definitely head to Tortuga Bay for a morning where it’s quieter and more animals are out and you can swim and snorkel (2.4 km walk each way in heat, or take a water taxi there and back). There is one white sand beach is unreal. Animals everywhere, a lagoon on one side. Fine fine sand (the pic of me “sitting” behind the pelican is there). Such a quiet and serene place and you can also watch surfers on one side or snorkel on the lagoon side with turtles and iguanas. And also head to the Charles Darwin Tortoise Research Center for some interesting learning also lots of tortoises and iguanas.

And if anyone gets seasick, make sure to have some Gravol or anti-nauseant meds with you and take them if the seas may be rough (the boats don’t always have them on-board).

We stayed on 3 different islands and loved San Cristobal the most, where we spent a full week of our 16 days. We’ve spent a long time throughout the islands compared to many, but I think you could hit the main highlights going quickly and doing daily tours in 5-6 days. I tend to spend longer in places to get more of a local feel of the area and also have more downtime. You can stay on islands and then do day tours from there to have more evening flexibility for meals and not be on a boat with others for 5-8 days (unless you book out your own charter of one but it may be tough last minute). The 8 day tours seem the best overall option, although quite costly, as it generally takes a full day to onboard and also to offboard, so you don’t get to see the more far-reaching islands of Darwin or Wolfe (if they are on the specific itinerary).

There are so many animals everywhere and so unique to anywhere else in the world. My favourite were the marine iguanas. They aren’t afraid of you since the islands have a strict 2-meter rule to not go towards them that people respect, so they don’t run away. You can just be right by them and watch them and sea lions will swim by you depending on where you are. The furthest island that we traveled to for a day trip was Espanola, which is the oldest of the islands, and had the brightest-coloured iguanas, most playful sea lions, and such a pristine environment since the number of people that visited is very limited. Usually, from April to December, the entire population of Albatross inhabit the island, which I was hoping to see, but we were likely a few weeks too early still on our visit. Overall, Espanola was a great day trip – since you’re going into the deep ocean, it can be quite rough, and I would highly recommend taking an anti-nausea medication before you go if you’ve ever gotten any kind of motion sickness before, or are unsure if you will. Bring these with you, as the boat operators don’t generally have them available. They do have plenty of garbage bags they’re willing to hand out though!

The Santa Cruz main island itinerary is your best bet for a 4-5 day trip. The 3 best tours we did off of Santa Cruz were Bartholome, South Plaza Island, and Pinzon (which was pretty much a day of snorkeling in different spots, but such amazing ones with so many incredible animals, like sea lions, turtles, white tipped reef shards, and large schools of fish). If longer, I would suggest to stay on more islands and do day tours, mixed with days for relaxing. If you prefer a faster all-in-one boat/cruise option, you can book one and do a 4, 5 or 8 day option where you stop at multiple islands and do multiple day trips depending on the itinerary, but you sleep, eat, and stay on the boat the whole time besides the actual tours. You won’t get the opportunity to see what the local life is like though, and I think there is a lot to be missed if you opt to go only that route or are limited on time.

Note that there is really bad WiFi – access is via a satellite only connection since 2002 (apparently a cable will be installed within 3 years or so – betting on the “or so” from what I’ve heard) and mornings seem best (perhaps with less usage very early in the days, or tendency for better and more clear morning weather). There is only one internet company on San Cristobal, for example, and people are constantly calling it to complain so it’s hard to get a hold of anyone.

The food isn’t something to write home about, but there are some better local options where you can find meals that should help you through your trip – not a foodie paradise by any means.  🙂 We enjoyed eating often at the fried chicken and french fry food stalls on San Cristobal, or grilled meat and corn BBQs we found near various beaches.

Make sure to buy things like bathroom necessities and bug spray or sunscreen with you – these are excessively priced on the islands and are definitely considered a luxury. Many locals just cover up from head to toe if they are spending a lot of time outside, to make sure they don’t get too much sun on their skin.

I’ll continue to write a few posts with more details about where to stay and eat on each island, and tips on getting around from place to place…