Galápagos (July 2025)
Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus ssp. hassi)
The Galápagos Islands.
The raw beauty of nature.
The islands that left Charles Darwin in awe almost 200 years ago, and they continue to leave the same impression on modern visitors.
Logistically not the easiest destination to visit - especially when you live in Asia - but still a dream come true for naturalists, and certainly a perfect destination to celebrate the 10th wedding anniversary for people like us!
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 30,000 and with San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela being the main islands where visitors can stay. All of the islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.
The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species. Visitors can snorkel alongside sea turtles, stingrays and playful sea lions, or hike through volcanic landscapes. It’s a blessing to observe gentle giant tortoises grazing in the lush highlands, marine iguanas basking on warm rocks or blue-footed boobies performing their cute dance.
Santa Cruz
Western Santa Cruz tortoise (Chelonoidis niger ssp. porteri)
Santa Cruz Island, located in the central part of the Galápagos Archipelago, is renowned for its diverse landscapes. Home to the Charles Darwin Research Station, it plays a critical role in conservation efforts for the unique wildlife, such as the iconic Galápagos giant tortoises and marine iguanas. The island's largest town, Puerto Ayora, serves as a hub for visitors and it’s definitely the best souvenir shopping spot in the archipelago.
We landed in Baltra (we saw sea lions and a land iguana from the plane and dozens of lava lizards before even going through immigration…), the airport from which you take a bus, then a ferry and then a taxi to get to Puerto Ayora. While we were boarding the ferry, we were greeted by Galápagos land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus). On the way to the hotel, we visited Rancho El Chato where we encountered lots and lots of massive Western Santa Cruz tortoises (Chelonoidis niger ssp. porteri) and a variety of birds, including finches (Geospiza fuliginosa).
The next day we went scuba diving to Gordon Rocks. It’s known for large schools of hammerhead sharks and we’ve mostly read glowing reviews about this place; the visibility was very poor for us though and although there were some sharks and eagle rays, we could barely see them so we weren’t particularly impressed. Bad luck!
Scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini )
Next on our itinerary was a very successful trip to North Seymour.
On the island, we did a walk along an approx. 2.5 km trail, through the nesting sites and one of the largest breeding colonies in the islands of the blue footed boobies, the magnificent and great frigate birds as well as the swallow-tailed gull. We were lucky to encounter a few Galápagos land iguanas, the Santa Cruz racer (yaaay, although it was just a short glimpse!), Galápagos marine iguanas, lava lizards and pelicans.
Blue-footed boobies are truly special birds, not only because of their appearance but also because of their peculiar behaviours. The mating season for blue-footed boobies occurs between June and August. Mating is preceded by an elaborate courtship ritual, which begins with the male presenting the female with a small stick or stone. He then tips his beak, tail and wing tips to the sky, whistles, and marches around the female with a high-stepping motion, showing off his feet. Once a match is made, the pair will often remain together for life. They don’t build conventional nests, they lay their pale bluish eggs in a simple, bowl-shaped scrape on bare ground surrounded by a unique, defensive circle of their own excrement, known as guano, to mark territory and deter predators. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs.
The Galápagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, inhabiting the dry lowlands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Baltra, and South Plaza islands. Charles Darwin allegedly described the Galápagos land iguanas he observed as "ugly animals, of a yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance." He was wrong!
Finally, magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), with the wingspan of up to 2.44 m, is the largest species of frigatebird. The male has a striking red gular sac which he inflates to attract a mate. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food. Cute.
We then moved on to Las Bachas Beach on the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island to take a walk along the beach. We were led by our guide to a tiny lagoon where we saw flamingos.
Phoenicopterus ruber ssp. glyphorhynchus is a recognised subspecies of the American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber). The Galápagos flamingos are significantly smaller, exhibit sexual dimorphism in body shape, and lay smaller eggs.
We also had one free day on the island and we highly recommend getting a free day (meaning no day trips booked) on each island in the Galápagos, as this allows you to slow down, take the main islands in and explore their hidden gems, often on your own or with barely any people around. We visited Charles Darwin Research Station and Tortuga Bay; walked along the beach, literally stepping over masses of marine iguanas; watched sea lions dozing off in the middle of a footpath; pelicans intensely staring at the water surface to then suddenly dive down; juvenile sharks swimming by the main pier; lava lizards climbing the walls of buildings and many, many species of birds, big and small, hovering above us all the time. This is the time when you can take in the magic and thank the inhabitants of the Galápagos for giving hope and showing a way of living harmoniously with nature. It frankly did feel as if animals had more rights than humans on the islands, and no-one seemed to complain about it.
On our free day, we also rented bikes and rode towards El Chato again to say goodbye to the tortoises. It was great seeing them again, even though we returned to the hotel completely drenched as it rained on our entire way back to Puerto Ayora and we obviously didn’t take any raincoats with us, because why would you take them to the rainy highlands…
Isabela
Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)
Isabela was definitely our favourite island. The most pristine, with a tiny population of less than 3,000 people, and incredible snorkeling opportunities.
While on a water taxi from the ferry to the pier, we already saw… penguins! This was followed by an obstacle course of sea lions and sightings of sea turtles, eagle rays and marine iguanas in the water before we even got on the taxi to our hotel.
Right after arriving to the hotel, we went on our first tour - Las Tintoreras. Not very well planned out as by the time we got in the water for snorkelling, the tide was already going up and the currents were getting pretty strong. We did see the penguins up close though, a few sea turtles made their appearance while we were snorkelling and we saw seals (stinkin’ cute), sea lions and marine iguanas on land.
Galápagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis)
A couple more Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) shots.
Back on the main island, to our great delight, we discovered a spot where marine iguanas kept swimming between the rocks. It was our dream to photograph and record them in and underwater! Needless to say, we spent a substantial amount of time in that area. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Artur took thousands of photos of marine iguanas in that spot alone (see below). They were swimming, feeding, and gathering in large numbers. Such marvellous reptiles! Little Godzillas through and through.
Marine iguanas are found only on the Galápagos Islands. Unique among modern lizards, they have the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which make up almost all of their diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizards that spend time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on their own a few months later. Their nesting grounds are usually cordoned off with a sign asking humans to keep away.
A. cristatus ssp. hassi swimming in shallow water.
A. cristatus ssp. hassi feeding on algae (best with sound on!)
On our second day, we joined Los Túneles tour and it was our second favourite tour, right after North Seymour.
Los Túneles refers to a geological wonder known for its collapsed lava formations that create natural tunnels and arches in the ocean. We first stopped at Roca Unión; it’s a small rock in the middle of the sea where we saw Nazca boobies (Sula granti). We then moved on to El Finado where we were snorkelling with a huge seahorse, white tipped sharks and many sea turtles. This was followed by a short visit to the tunnels, where we saw blue-footed boobies performing their enchanting courtship dance.
While not on a tour, we spent most of the time in the marine-iguana-swimming-spot, Concha de Perla and El Estero. Concha de Perla is a safe and absolutely marvellous snorkelling spot. We went there twice, and after stepping over feeding baby sea lions we swam with sharks, different fish species, sea turtles, moray eels and sea lions. A must see spot!
An important note for those who easily get cold - Karolina tends to get cold when scuba diving in 26C; in July, the temperature of Galápagos waters drops well below 20C and she managed to snorkel for at least an hour daily without a wetsuit, so it’s not that bad! You just have to overcome the first “I’m gonna freeze to death” impression, it’s fine afterwards, especially when you’re surrounded by the wildlife.
First snorkelling experience with a playful sea lion - excitement went through the roof!
To get to El Estero, we had to rent bikes and ride along the beach and the very alien landscape of inland Isabela. That’s where we saw huge marine iguana males, a pelican mother teaching her teenage chicks how to hunt, blue-footed boobies diving for fish; sea turtles and sea lions exploring the shallow waters. A beautiful spectacle of nature, with no other humans in sight. Oh, and did we mention the giant tortoises?
While exploring Isabela on foot and on the bikes, we just kept discovering more and more wildlife of all sizes and shapes. A paradise. No wonder it was such an inspiration to Charles Darwin.
Initially, we were supposed to spend only three days on Isabela. Our plans were changed because of the 2025 Kamchatka earthquake.
Authorities ordered evacuations in Galapagos, after the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The government ordered that people living in vulnerable coastal areas make their way to safe zones established by the country’s emergency management agency. That included us.
We were evacuated by our hotel in the early morning; we knew this could happen the night before, as the local police was driving around and telling everyone through the speakers that all marine activities, including ferries, were cancelled the next day. A quick online search revealed it was because of a tsunami alert. To be frank, it was rather stressful to begin with. We had no experience whatsoever with this kind of events, and it sounded rather serious, especially considering our hotel was a 2 minute walk away from the beach. So, in the morning we took our passports, money and cameras and were escorted by the hotel staff to a higher ground. It actually was a very heartwarming experience - all residents took their pets with them and no-one was left alone. This might be mostly due to the size of the local community, which could be easily contained in just one residential block in Hong Kong!
After just over 3 hours in a safe area, we could return to the hotel. None of the islands were affected in the end, so we ended up missing a day and… spending more time with tortoises, sea lions and marine iguanas. We sadly missed our Española trip where we were hoping to see the albatross, but this just means we have to come back one day!
Tsunami evacuation.
San Cristóbal
Galápagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki)
Due to the tsunami evacuation, we arrived to San Cristóbal, our final destination, a day late.
San Cristóbal is the capital of Galápagos, and the sea lion kingdom for sure. Dozens of them sunbathing on the beach, screaming, swimming, fighting and playing.
Since it was our last day in the Galápagos, we decided to do the 360 Tour. During the trip you basically navigate around San Cristóbal island. The tour starts with snorkelling at Kicker Rock; then it’s snorkelling at Bahía Sardina beach followed by a visit to Punta Pitt and, to end the tour, there’s more snorkelling at Bahía Rosa Blanca.
Kicker Rock wasn’t particularly impressive for us (again - bad luck, as many visitors sing its praises!), but then we had fun at Bahía Sardina beach where we played with sea lions, we saw red-footed boobies (Sula sula ssp. websteri) in Punta Pitt and ended swimming with sharks, turtles and eagle rays at Bahía Rosa Blanca. The journey from Bahía Rosa Blanca back to the main port was an adventure, with sea swells and a pretty bumpy ride. The guys sitting opposite us where rather green for most of the journey; it turns of that we, luckily, don’t get seasick even in rougher conditions.
Snorkelling with a sea lion.
Snorkelling with white tip sharks.
We love Galápagos. We thought it was going to be a once in a lifetime adventure, but we just have to go back one day. Española and other smaller islands are still waiting…
P.S. Our trip was pre-booked with Academy Bay Diving so we didn’t have to worry about a single thing. They rebooked hotels for us during the tsunami event and refunded the trip we missed. Decent contact throughout the trip and no mixups (which we’ve heard are common with many other agencies, e.g. missing ferry booking, no hotel booking, wrong tour etc.) so we can definitely recommend them. It’s not true pre-booking is much more expensive than booking with agents on the islands while in the Galapagos - to us, it looked like the prices were more or less the same.
Watch the video below and relive it with us. 💚
