Guide to the Galápagos on the Cheap

The Galápagos are famous throughout the world for the plethora of animal life there. Species of plants and animals that can be found nowhere else in the world are native to the islands. Because there was never an indigenous population in the Galápagos, the animals evolved with no fear of humans. You can approach the animals closely without frightening them which is amazing. The islands themselves are gorgeous, with volcanoes, lava tunnels, and of course beautiful coastlines.

When planning my trip, I didn’t think it would be possible to go to the Galápagos since they have a reputation as being too expensive to fit into a backpacker’s budget. However, after meeting so many other tourists in Ecuador who had been to the Galápagos and said it was the best part of their trip, I knew I had to try to go. I chose to experience the islands by land rather than taking a cruise, which turned out to be amazing and not nearly as expensive as I had been warned. There are plenty of free things to do on every island, and it is possible to see nearly all of the Galápagos animals without taking a cruise. I spent two weeks in the Galápagos and visited all four of the islands that people can visit by ferry and stay overnight on. See below for details about each of the islands.

1. Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is the most developed island in the Galápagos. It is also the central point for all of the ferries – to get to any of the other islands, you need to first return to Santa Cruz. There are several things to see on Santa Cruz, but it is not quite as beautiful as the other islands.

No Tour Needed:

• Walk to Tortuga Bay – Tortuga Bay is located about an hour’s walk from the town of Puerto Ayora. It is a very pretty walk to a long white sand beach. You cannot swim at the first beach because of the riptides, but if you continue on to the second beach there is a nice place for swimming and snorkeling. It is possible to see fish and sharks in the bay there, but the water is not very clear since the bay is shallow and all of the people in the water disturb the sediment on the bottom. It is still enjoyable to swim there though.
• Visit Las Griegas – Las Griegas are an area of brackish water where the sea water flows in to mix with fresh water between two cliff faces. You can snorkel here to see a rich variety of fish and ocean plants. It is free to visit but you do have to take a short water taxi for $0.85 from the pier in Santa Cruz to the start of the trail to Las Griegas.
• Tour the Charles Darwin Center – the Darwin Center is located a short walk from Puerto Ayora. I visited on my first day and was able to see many juvenile turtles , which are raised in the center until they are big enough to release into the wild. I also saw some of the mature turtles who live at the center and toured the museum there to get more information about the animal species in the Galápagos. From the center, I walked down to the beach. There were dozens of marine iguanas on the rocks, in the path, and even swimming in the water. I was also able to see hundreds of crabs on the rocks. They are black when they are young, but turn red as they grow older/bigger.
• Rent a Bike to Visit Santa Rosa/Bella Vista – There are tours that go to the turtle ranches/lava tunnels north of Puerto Ayora but it is possible to get there by a combination of bus/bike. I rented a bike for the day in Puerto Ayora then took a city bus to Santa Rosa. From there, I biked the 4km to El Rancho, where I was able to see multiple land turtles roaming the space of the ranch. There were also tunnels there which had been formed by the lava, but these ones were relatively small. After Santa Rosa, I biked the 12km to Bellavista, where the longest lava tunnel on the island is located. It is called Los Tuneles del Amor and is almost 1km long. It is very impressive to walk through, although there is a fee to enter ($3.50).

Tours:

There are plenty of tours offered from Santa Cruz, such as Pinzon snorkeling, San Bartolome for the landscape, or Santa Fe for sea lions. I did not try any of the tours on Santa Cruz, but it is possible to book everything when you arrive to Puerto Ayora as the streets are lined with tourist offices.

2. San Cristóbal

San Cristóbal was one of my top two favorite islands. It is very beautiful, with plenty to see and do.

No Tour Needed:

• Visit the Snorkeling Point – there is a path to a great snorkeling point right underneath the Charles Darwin statue not far from Puerto Baquerizo. The trail leaves from the Interpretation Center. The snorkeling point is a small bay that is teeming with colorful fish and playful sea lions. It’s a great spot to enjoy snorkeling without a tour. I continued further up the trail from there to the mirador and then on to the second beach, called Baquerizo, which is another good spot to snorkel or just lay on the beach watching the iguanas and sea lions. It is a 2km walk from the first snorkeling point to the second beach and the path has many large rocks, so it is best to wear close-toed shoes. On the way back, you can take a trail that goes to Playa Punta Carola, where there is a lighthouse and tons of sea lions resting on the sand. It is a great place to watch the sunset.
• Walk to La Loberia Beach and Las Negritas Lookout – there is a nice beach about an hour’s walk from Puerto Baquerizo. From there, you can continue another kilometer to a lookout point over the cliffs. Dozens of blue-footed and red-footed boobies nest in the cliffs, making it a great spot to observe them up close.
• Bike to Puerto Chino – There is a road which connects the two sides of the southern part of the island. It climbs up from Puerto Baquerizo, passes the volcano at the top, then continues down to the beach of Puerto Chino. Many people hire a taxi for the day to take them to the volcano and the beach, but this costs around $70, which was out of my budget. Instead, I rented a bike for the day. It was a fairly difficult bike ride, climbing steadily uphill the entire way to the volcano, but it was a pretty ride too. At the volcano, I was able to walk up and see the lake at the top. There is also a trail that circumvents the lake which is enjoyable to walk around. From the volcano, the road goes sharply downhill before arriving at the beach of Puerto Chino. It turned out to be a great way to spend the day.

Tours:

• 360 Tour – This was my favorite tour in the Galápagos. It is a snorkeling tour, but it circles the whole island, stopping at different points along the way. The guide was great too, pointing out all of the different sea creatures. At the first snorkeling point, we saw sea turtles, sharks, giant stingrays, and many varieties of fish. It was a bit disconcerting swimming right over the top of five sharks at once, but my tour guide assured me they aren’t dangerous. After the first snorkeling point, we passed by a special rock formation where hundreds of bird nest. We saw red and blue footed boobies, pelicans, cormorants, and plenty of other birds. After this, we stopped for lunch and had an hour and a half to enjoy a beautiful white sand beach with a bay for snorkeling. The last stop on the tour was kicker rock, which is a famous snorkeling/diving spot on San Cristóbal. We were lucky enough to swim with an entire family of about fifteen sea turtles at once. We did not see any hammerhead sharks there, but they are often in the area. The tour ended back at Puerto Baquerizo, completing a full 360 degrees around the island.

3. Isabella

Isabella was another of my favorite islands. The town was much smaller than I expected, less developed even than San Cristóbal, but there was a very nice, laid-back vibe there. There was plenty to see on the island, but it was also a nice place just to relax and enjoy the scenery.

No Tour Needed:

• Walk/Bike to the Wall of Tears – There is a path that goes from the far side of the town along the beach for 7km. It passes by several points of interest, including swamps, beaches, snorkeling points, and overlooks on the way to the Wall of Tears, which was constructed by prisoners when the island was a penal colony. You can rent a bike to take on the path, but I chose to walk the whole way. It was a very pleasant walk, with plenty to see along the way. I saw several wild land turtles along the path foraging for food. It was wonderful to see them in their natural environment.
• Snorkel at Concha Perla – There is a great snorkeling spot close to the ferry terminal in Isabella. I went there with my snorkeling gear and saw plenty of beautiful fish. It is also possible to see sharks, turtles, and even penguins there, although I didn’t see any of these when I went.

Tours:

• Los Tuneles Tour – Los Tuneles are a part of the island that were formed by the flow of lava from the volcano. It is an area where lava rock meets the sea. There is a snorkeling tour which goes first to Los Tuneles to see the terrain then continues on to a different snorkeling point. I took this tour my last day on Isabella. The Los Tuneles area was gorgeous, with unique formations where the water flowed under the lava rock. It is also a nesting area for blue-footed boobies. I was lucky enough to see a mama booby with a chick no older than a couple of weeks nesting on the rocks. It was absolutely adorable. The snorkeling was wonderful too. We saw tons of different tropical fish, two varieties of sea turtles, white-tipped sharks, lobsters, baby black-tipped sharks, and seahorses.
• Hiking Tour to Sierra Negra Volcano – This tour was closed when I visited the island because the volcano had just erupted a few days earlier, but it is possible to hike up to the volcanoes in the high part of the island. You have to go with a tour group as the trail is regulated.

4. Floreana

Floreana is the most remote and undeveloped of these four islands. There is only one ferry departure and it does not run every day, so it is necessary to arrange return tickets before heading to the island. However, it is very pretty and it was nice to experience an island most tourists don’t visit.

No Tour Needed:

• Visit the Turtle Center and Pirate Caves – There is a small center with some giant turtles in the high part of the island, about 10km outside of the town. Near the turtle center are several old pirate caves which are fun to see. It is possible to take a bus which runs at 6 am from the main street of the town to the upper part of the island.
• Climb Cerro Allieri – There is a lookout point called Cerro Allieri you can climb to for a great view of the terrain in Floreana. Unlike most of the other islands, Floreana has a more rolling terrain, with multiple smaller mountains rather than sloping up to one large volcano. The lookout point is 4km outside of the town but when I went, I was able to take the local bus up to the turtle center at 6am, then from the turtle center down to Cerro Allieri at 7am, which was just enough time to see the turtles and the caves. After Cerro Allieri, I walked back to town.
• Visit Black Sand Beach/La Loberia – Black Sand Beach is very close to the town. This is where the famous Wittmer Family Hotel is located. From the beach, there is a trail that goes down to several other small beaches and inlets. The area is called La Loberia. There are tons of sea turtles in the water here, and several birds/sea lions on the sand.

Tours:

• Post Office Bay – It is possible to walk to Post Office Bay via a path from Cerro Allieri. Post Office Bay is a pretty spot with very velar water great for snorkeling, although when I went the beach was overrun by wasps, which made the experience less pleasant. It is a decently long walk along the trail, taking about 2.5 hours each way. As of now, the trail is only open for guided tours.

I very much enjoyed my time in the Galápagos. I loved getting to see all of the different animals, as well as the scenery on each of the islands. Overall, I would recommend the Galápagos to anyone traveling through Ecuador. It is truly a unique place unlike any other I’ve seen.