Which Galapagos islands to visit?

NZ Scott · Aug 29, 2022

Hi team,

My girlfriend and I are visiting the Galapagos Islands for 7-10 days in March next year as part of a much longer trip.

We're travelling independently (rather than taking a cruise).

We will only have time to visit 3-4 islands, so I'd appreciate recommendations from people who have been there as to which ones might be best.

I'm asking this question more from a tourist point of view, rather than a photographer's point of view (I'm taking my RX100 VII, rather than my M43 kit, so will max out at 200mm).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Cheers,

Scott

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lokatz · Aug 29, 2022

You may get more feedback on the Landscape/Travel or Nature/Wildlife forums.

Brandon birder · Aug 30, 2022

NZ Scott said:
Hi team,

My girlfriend and I are visiting the Galapagos Islands for 7-10 days in March next year as part of a much longer trip.

We're travelling independently (rather than taking a cruise).

We will only have time to visit 3-4 islands, so I'd appreciate recommendations from people who have been there as to which ones might be best.

I'm asking this question more from a tourist point of view, rather than a photographer's point of view (I'm taking my RX100 VII, rather than my M43 kit, so will max out at 200mm).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Cheers,

Scott

Don’t you have to be with an official guide to go on any island except the main populated island? The guided tours are often set in quadrants. North south or east west.

When we went we explored the NW and SW groups. Very good, great variety of birds and animals and on the whale super highways. We went on a guided tour on a wooden schooner. Smaller boats can get on to the beaches earlier than the cruise boats which anchor further out. We were always first on in the morning. Wonderful..

Hope you have fun.

--
Cheers, Brandon.
Olympus OM1, EM10 mII, Sony RX10 M4, RX100 M7
Nikon V1,V3, D500, D810
FlickR Photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon_birder/

NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

Brandon birder said:
NZ Scott said:

Hi team,

My girlfriend and I are visiting the Galapagos Islands for 7-10 days in March next year as part of a much longer trip.

We're travelling independently (rather than taking a cruise).

We will only have time to visit 3-4 islands, so I'd appreciate recommendations from people who have been there as to which ones might be best.

I'm asking this question more from a tourist point of view, rather than a photographer's point of view (I'm taking my RX100 VII, rather than my M43 kit, so will max out at 200mm).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Cheers,

Scott

Click to expand...

Don’t you have to be with an official guide to go on any island except the main populated island?

Some places you need a guide and some you don't - four of the islands are populated in any case.

S

Brandon birder said:
The guided tours are often set in quadrants. North south or east west.

When we went we explored the NW and SW groups. Very good, great variety of birds and animals and on the whale super highways. We went on a guided tour on a wooden schooner. Smaller boats can get on to the beaches earlier than the cruise boats which anchor further out. We were always first on in the morning. Wonderful..

Hope you have fun.

Tallgrass · Aug 30, 2022

Santa Cruz & Puerto Aroyo are the most populated island & city in the islands. That would be your best/easiest option for lodging, food, etc. Home of Galapagos Nat'l park & Charles Darwin Research Institue. It's a fairly diverse island with more tropical highlands in the center and then desert on the north side. Port is quite busy and easy to rent some water taxis/guides for the day.

Chris R-UK · Aug 30, 2022

Tallgrass said:
Santa Cruz & Puerto Aroyo are the most populated island & city in the islands. That would be your best/easiest option for lodging, food, etc. Home of Galapagos Nat'l park & Charles Darwin Research Institue. It's a fairly diverse island with more tropical highlands in the center and then desert on the north side. Port is quite busy and easy to rent some water taxis/guides for the day.

I think that you probably need to check what options are available from Puerto Aroyo. See what day trips you can do. The islands are scattered over a large area so there will be few that you can see in a day and your options from Puerto Arroyo will be limited.

When I was in the Galapagos 13 years ago, landings on most (all?) the other islands were highly controlled with limits on the number of boats and number of visitors allowed at each landing site at any one time. You can't just rent a boat and go off to a landing site - they are probably booked up months or even years in advance by the small cruise boats.

You will see far, far less in the Galapagos doing it on your own rather than booking a small live aboard boat cruise in advance, but, if you can't afford the cruise, just do what you can from Puerto Aroyo.

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Chris R

Chris R-UK · Aug 30, 2022

I have just looked up day trips from Puerto Ayora and they seem to be to five Islands: South Plaza, North Seymour, Bartolome, Pizon and Santa Fe. We visited the first three on our seven day cruise.

South Plaza: Very small, flat, close to where we boarded our boat. We spent a couple of hours there after boarding. A good, short introduction to Galapagos wildlife.

North Seymour: half day visit. Frigate birds, blue footed boobies and sea lions. Worth the visit for the blue footed boobies - but check whether they are still nesting when you visit.

Bartolome: dramatic landscape. Featured in the film Master and Commander. Not so much wildlife. 2-3 hours is probably plenty.

I expect that the other two islands are less interesting. Note that all these islands are small, uninhabited and barren.

If I were in your position I would certainly try to visit North Seymour if the blue footed boobies are nesting. Bartolome would be next on my list for the landscape. After that, quite a long drop to the other three. You can certainly spend 1-2 days on Santa Cruz. The Darwin Research Institute is a must.

nearly-an-old-codger · Aug 30, 2022

Loading…

bythom.com

he is mainly talking about nikon kit but eay to translate to mft. FWIW i would take 12-100 oly and 40-150 2,8 pro with tc 1.5 my om 1 and em1 mk 2

the thom hogan blog dates back to 2014 but its a good start.

NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

Chris R-UK said:
I have just looked up day trips from Puerto Ayora and they seem to be to five Islands: South Plaza, North Seymour, Bartolome, Pizon and Santa Fe. We visited the first three on our seven day cruise.

South Plaza: Very small, flat, close to where we boarded our boat. We spent a couple of hours there after boarding. A good, short introduction to Galapagos wildlife.

North Seymour: half day visit. Frigate birds, blue footed boobies and sea lions. Worth the visit for the blue footed boobies - but check whether they are still nesting when you visit.

Bartolome: dramatic landscape. Featured in the film Master and Commander. Not so much wildlife. 2-3 hours is probably plenty.

I expect that the other two islands are less interesting. Note that all these islands are small, uninhabited and barren.

If I were in your position I would certainly try to visit North Seymour if the blue footed boobies are nesting. Bartolome would be next on my list for the landscape. After that, quite a long drop to the other three. You can certainly spend 1-2 days on Santa Cruz. The Darwin Research Institute is a must.

Good info, thanks Chris.

S

NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

flbrit said:
https://bythom.com/photographic-travel/south-america/galapagos/index.html

he is mainly talking about nikon kit but eay to translate to mft. FWIW i would take 12-100 oly and 40-150 2,8 pro with tc 1.5 my om 1 and em1 mk 2

the thom hogan blog dates back to 2014 but its a good start.

Good link thanks mate, but he's more focused on the photography side of things, whereas I'm looking for tips on the best islands to visit.

I'm taking my Sony RX100 VII, which has a 24-200 zoom range.

Cheers,

Scott

phil from seattle · Aug 30, 2022

I've gone twice, the last time in 2016, iirc. So, some of my info could be dated. At that time, there were a number of islands that you simply could not visit without being on an approved cruise. In fact, I think there were only 3 or 4 that you could "roll your own" visit. Part of the problem is distance but also permits are limited. And, you won't get "Crossed the Equator at sea" bragging rights!

Frankly, I think if you are going to go all that way, a cruise is the only way to go. Pretty expensive but being able to get 3 excursions/activities a day is priceless. Most of the boats are pretty small - iirc, the largest is like 100 passengers. Our last one had 8 staterooms - 16 people max. It was a fantastic experience.

Here's the boat, "Grace". At one time owned by Princess Grace of Monaco and supposedly given to her by Aristotle Onassis (though you have to take those stories with a grain of salt).

This was our itinerary - the northern half route.

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www.flickr.com

NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

phil from seattle said:
I've gone twice, the last time in 2016, iirc. So, some of my info could be dated. At that time, there were a number of islands that you simply could not visit without being on an approved cruise. In fact, I think there were only 3 or 4 that you could "roll your own" visit. Part of the problem is distance but also permits are limited. And, you won't get "Crossed the Equator at sea" bragging rights!
Frankly, I think if you are going to go all that way, a cruise is the only way to go. Pretty expensive but being able to get 3 excursions/activities a day is priceless. Most of the boats are pretty small - iirc, the largest is like 100 passengers. Our last one had 8 staterooms - 16 people max. It was a fantastic experience.

Here's the boat, "Grace". At one time owned by Princess Grace of Monaco and supposedly given to her by Aristotle Onassis (though you have to take those stories with a grain of salt).

Thanks Phil - some good info there.

We're not taking a cruise because the Galapagos visit is only one small part of a much larger trip (1 year), and we need be careful with our spending.

Kind regards,

Scott

NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

phil from seattle said:
This was our itinerary - the northern half route.

Out of this itinerary, did anything stand out to you as a highlight?

Kind regards,

Scott

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phil from seattle · Aug 30, 2022

NZ Scott said:
Out of this itinerary, did anything stand out to you as a highlight?

Kind regards,

Scott

Just about everything stood out. I can't think of a single day that there wasn't at least one amazing thing. Usually it was the wildlife. One thing that stuck with me was the seal mom standing guard over her dead pup with 2 Galapagos Hawks waited patiently. We were about 5 feet from one the Hawks and it wasn't bothered in the least. Not the greatest shots. You don't have a lot of leeway over when you go ashore, this was mid day and the light was pretty harsh. I should go back reprocess some of those photos.

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NZ Scott · Aug 30, 2022

phil from seattle said:
NZ Scott said:

Out of this itinerary, did anything stand out to you as a highlight?

Kind regards,

Scott

Click to expand...

Just about everything stood out. I can't think of a single day that there wasn't at least one amazing thing. Usually it was the wildlife. One thing that stuck with me was the seal mom standing guard over her dead pup with 2 Galapagos Hawks waited patiently. We were about 5 feet from one the Hawks and it wasn't bothered in the least. Not the greatest shots. You don't have a lot of leeway over when you go ashore, this was mid day and the light was pretty harsh. I should go back reprocess some of those photos.

Thanks Phil - appreciate you taking the time to comment and post photos.

Cheers,

Scott

Brandon birder · Aug 31, 2022

NZ Scott said:
Brandon birder said:

NZ Scott said:

Hi team,

My girlfriend and I are visiting the Galapagos Islands for 7-10 days in March next year as part of a much longer trip.

We're travelling independently (rather than taking a cruise).

We will only have time to visit 3-4 islands, so I'd appreciate recommendations from people who have been there as to which ones might be best.

I'm asking this question more from a tourist point of view, rather than a photographer's point of view (I'm taking my RX100 VII, rather than my M43 kit, so will max out at 200mm).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Cheers,

Scott

Click to expand...

Don’t you have to be with an official guide to go on any island except the main populated island?

Click to expand...

Some places you need a guide and some you don't - four of the islands are populated in any case.

S

NZ Scott said:

The guided tours are often set in quadrants. North south or east west.

When we went we explored the NW and SW groups. Very good, great variety of birds and animals and on the whale super highways. We went on a guided tour on a wooden schooner. Smaller boats can get on to the beaches earlier than the cruise boats which anchor further out. We were always first on in the morning. Wonderful..

Hope you have fun.

Click to expand...

The best island is Isabella. This gives tour access to Fernandina, Santiago, Bartholomew and North Seymour. Most tours start in Santa Cruz.

7 years ago when we went access to all the best beaches was restricted to licensed guides on private or public tours. I doubt that has changed at all. So please do your homework. On the tour we went on we paid a premium price, but some members joined our boat having booked just a week before and got a 70% discount

. May be worth a try.

Chris R-UK · Aug 31, 2022

NZ Scott said:
phil from seattle said:

NZ Scott said:

Out of this itinerary, did anything stand out to you as a highlight?

Kind regards,

Scott

Click to expand...

Just about everything stood out. I can't think of a single day that there wasn't at least one amazing thing. Usually it was the wildlife. One thing that stuck with me was the seal mom standing guard over her dead pup with 2 Galapagos Hawks waited patiently. We were about 5 feet from one the Hawks and it wasn't bothered in the least. Not the greatest shots. You don't have a lot of leeway over when you go ashore, this was mid day and the light was pretty harsh. I should go back reprocess some of those photos.

Click to expand...

Thanks Phil - appreciate you taking the time to comment and post photos.

Cheers,

Scott

Snorkelling with sealions was top of the list on our tour.

elmanhansen · Aug 31, 2022

I have visited Galapagos twice.

Agree 100 % with Chris.

Book as much (permits, trips) as possible on beforehand.

If you have the time and money book a boat tour.

But the islands mentioned by Chris in his second entry are close to Santa Cruz and Puerto Ayora. And you can easily spend 3 - 4 days there.

I assume that the breeding season for the birds is over in march.

Chris R-UK · Aug 31, 2022

elmanhansen said:
I have visited Galapagos twice.

Agree 100 % with Chris.

Book as much (permits, trips) as possible on beforehand.

If you have the time and money book a boat tour.

But the islands mentioned by Chris in his second entry are close to Santa Cruz and Puerto Ayora. And you can easily spend 3 - 4 days there.

I assume that the breeding season for the birds is over in march.

We visited in April and there certainly seemed to be plenty of breeding birds around. I don't know whether there would have been far more a couple of months earlier.

JosephScha · Aug 31, 2022

I realize that my opinion is not popular, but people disturb the Galapagos islands. I would never choose to go there, just because I don't want to add to that.

Which Galapagos islands to visit?

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