The Galapagos Islands are a volcanic archipelago that sit about 1000 km off of mainland Ecuador. Most people probably know that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was inspired by the Galapagos’ diverse species of birds, animals and plants, but I did not realized how abundant the wild life on these islands is!

I had mostly heard of visits to the islands by either cruise or land tour, but I wondered if I could navigate visiting on my own. It turns out that it’s pretty easy to stay on 3 of the 4 inhabited islands and take water transports between them. Twelve lovely days later, the Galapagos is one of my favorite spots on the trip so far!

I started the visit on the island of San Cristobal 😀

San Cristobal Island

There are sea lions everywhere here! They climb on the rocks and boat docks, in addition to walking paths and beaches and swim next to you in the ocean! 😂 They will also yell at you if you startle them or swim too close (as I accidentally learned when I nearly ran into one on the path to town one morning🦭).
There are also black and red crabs all over the rocks along the shore!

Playa Loberia

On my first full day in San Cristobal, I visited Loberia beach and did a neat hike beyond the beach to a rocky cliff with tons of huge land iguanas! At one point, I counted 11 all together, just sunning themselves.

I was able to snorkel at the beach after the hike and saw several large turtles too! But I was only able to snap one blurry picture 😂🐢

360 Tour

I took a full day tour around the island that included snorkeling at a place called Kicker Rock, near a quiet beach, and a warm water cove. We had a nice fish lunch and some chocolate pastries prepared by the boat captain’s wife 😋

I also met several other travelers on this tour, and we exchanged numbers and continued to meet up throughout our time in the Galapagos 🎉

Playa Punta Carola

On my last day in San Cristobal, I met an Intrepid tour group at my hotel during breakfast (the same company that I toured with in Egypt and Jordan). I happened to bump into several of them again that evening while taking a short hike, and we sat together on the beach to watch the sunset after finishing the hike.

Afterward, we grabbed some super tasty street food, (including grilled corn, painted with a mayo dressing and topped with cheese) and sat together on the hotel deck for drinks 😀

Isla Santa Cruz

I took a speed boat transport that carried about 20 people from San Cristobal to Isla Santa Cruz. For a 2 hour ride, it was surprisingly smooth and most people fell asleep. The staff on board were really friendly and even gave us snacks and juice during the trip 😋

This island has tons of iguanas, pelicans and tortoises! And a really impressive array of bright flowers throughout the little town. 🌺

Charles Darwin Research Station

A guided tour here explains the history of Darwin’s first visit to the islands and subsequent research, the different species that live on the islands, and present day efforts for their protection and preservation.
They breed tortoises here and have them on the grounds in ages from 4 months up to over 100 years old! 😁

Las Grietas

I met up with a friend from the 360 Tour in San Cristobal to check out a unique snorkeling location called Las Grietas, meaning crevasses, in Spanish.

After a water taxi and a hike through a desert area and old salt mine, a split in the rocky cliffs reveals an emerald pool below! Beyond the pool is an overlook of the bay.

Las Grietas has three sections: a large pool, a small shallow area with lava rocks, and then another long pool. After carefully climbing over the slippery and sharp lava rocks in the middle, I was able to snorkel through the 3rd pool by myself with 10-15 large fish and the sunlight streaming through the clear water! 🐟

Highlands

Escaping the mid-day heat near the beach, I took a taxi with some friends to a place called Los Gemelos, or craters, in the highlands of Santa Cruz.
After a short hike there, we visited a tortoise sanctuary and lava cave (where a cute little owl lives)😀

Tortuga Beach

This beautiful, light sand beach, is about a 45 minute walk from the main town on Santa Cruz. Even though it’s called Tortuga (turtle in Spanish), we only saw 1 turtle while in the water, but we saw tons of marine iguanas who swam around near us! They look like baby dragons 😂

Almuerzo!

Santa Cruz has the best selection of inexpensive lunch options! For $5, you can get a large bowl of soup, a glass of fresh juice, and an entree consisting of seafood, rice and salad. My favorite was a shrimp in coconut sauce 😋

Isla Isabela

The 2 hour speed boat transfers between the islands leave twice daily, the first one is usually at 630am, and apparently, it was a little too early for this sleeping sea lion. 😉🦭

This second speed boat trip was less smooth and a family of four all got seasick and were vomiting throughout the ride 😢🤢 Thank goodness for non-drowsy dramamine from the states, it saved my life here!

This island is the biggest and quietest of the 4 inhabited in the Galapagos. It also seemed to have to most varied wildlife, including flamingos, penguins, sharks and sting rays.

Tintoreras Tour

Across the bay from the main docks is a small island with paths between volcanic rock, covered with white lichen. A walk through this quiet space revealed penguins, iguanas, sea lions, white tip sharks, blue footed booby birds and sea turtles! We were able to snorkel for a short time and saw several sea turtles, sting rays and a star fish.

Los Tuneles

My favorite snorkeling by far!! On a tour to this unique maze of caves, crevasses and corridors of volcanic rock, we saw huge sea turtles, eagle rays, star fish, sea lions, a seahorse and white tip sharks!!! Our guide even found an over hanging ledge hiding a cave filled with 10-15 sharks all swimming together! It was such a unique and thrilling experience! 🦭🐢 🦈

Volcano Hike

My last full day in the Galapagos was spent hiking to one of Isla Isabela’s volcanos. It was a 10 mile round trip with beautiful views, a cute packed lunch, and great company 😀

Special thanks to my sweet friend Stefan, who I was lucky enough to meet on this leg of the journey. He was a joy to share tours with, was a huge help with translating, and became my favorite person to explore Ecuadorian cuisine! I already miss you, buddy!

These islands felt really special and unique! The atmosphere is super relaxed and there are animals everywhere. I had such a good time and am feeling extra grateful for this visit 😊