Need some inspiration for a travel itinerary to the Galapagos Islands?
You’ve come to the right place! I wanted to share our 7-day Galapagos travel itinerary and experiences below. We managed to cram just about everything we wanted to see into 7 days and didn’t break the bank in the process with expensive tours. We stayed on both Santa Cruz and Isabela islands. Our itinerary is perfect for independent travellers wanting to see as much as possible while minimising unnecessary costs.
For more travel tips & advice, please see my other blog post on the Galapagos 🙂
Day 1: Arrive on Galapagos and head straight to Tortuga Beach, here you can see iguanas on the beach. Tortuga beach is the most pristine beach we visited in South America. If you follow the beach round it leads to another beach in a cove, this is the perfect place for snorkelling and kayaking.
Day 2 Morning: Walk to Charles Darwin Research centre – you can learn more about tortoise conservationism, did you know that each island on the Galapagos has a different native species of tortoise only found on that island, conservationists take the eggs from these islands and protect the young tortoises whilst vulnerable at the research centre then once mature they reintroduce them back to their native island. We saw huge tortoises fighting amongst themselves and the carcass of Lonesome George himself!
Walk back via the fish market. It’s just along the seafront, here you can see seals and large sea birds (not sure what they’re called) fighting for the scraps leftover from the fish market. If you want to take a rest, make sure that the bench is free from any seals before sitting down, trust me you don’t want to wake up a sleeping seal.
Afternoon: Snorkeling in Las Grietas. Head down to the docks and catch a boat to Las Grietas. You need to follow the trail for about 15-20 minutes to get to the entrance of the park. You also need to pay an entrance fee for a guide, it’s non-negotiable (we tried!) you have to pay for a guide in order to enter the park. You can rent snorkeling equipment at the park entrance rather than in Puerto Ayora, itself. Snorkeling in the gap between the rock-faces (Las Grietas) is pretty cool plus there are interesting fish that you can see. The guide is very informative about the area, plants and animals, I will begrudgingly admit.
Negotiate with a taxi-truck to take you around the northern part of the island. Make sure you agree on a price to take you to the following: Rancho Primicias – Giant Tortoise Reserve and Los Gemelos. It’s common for tourists to ask for this service, the taxi-driver will wait for you whilst you go around the reserve and take in the view at Los Gemelos. Admission to the Giant Tortoise reserve also includes the lava tunnels, which you can walk through although it’s very dark with uneven ground inside.
Head to the ferry dock for sunset. Many bars and restaurants along the seafront offer food and drink deals such as 3 cocktails for $15. You can also spot small sharks, turtles, fish and rays in the water on the Malecon. Don’t just look at the boats, look down!
Day 3: Kayaking at Tortuga Beach. We rented snorkels but we had a much better experience by renting a kayak which you can do too on the beach. At first I thought that we were surrounded by snorkelers in the sea as I kept seeing black tubes (or so I thought) but they were actually sea turtles coming up for air. Once you hear the unmistakable gasp of a sea turtle it’s impossible not to be fascinated by these marine creatures and try to spot them from the kayak. We were even lucky enough to see sea turtles mating, it was such a unique experience. We also spotted, in true Jaws fashion, young sharks with their fins gliding through the water towards our kayak, yeesh!
Day 4: Early morning ferry to Isabela. You can book your ticket either online (like us) or at any tour agency in the town. We pre-booked our boat tickets online whilst still on the mainland in Ecuador and had some problems as no one seemed to have a record of our booking, much to our frustration very early in the morning. We asked around and eventually a helpful man from another company came to our rescue and sorted it out. You will be given the name of the boat you’re booked onto, each boat will have a stand next to the harbour, you need to check in with the person at the correct stand and get a pass before you board. Your luggage will again need to be scanned for foreign plants or animals before boarding. Our boat ride to Isabela was very nauseating as the seats didn’t face the direction of travel and we were really crammed in, especially as we’d boarded last. They also refused to open the toilet until 5 minutes before the boat docked in Isabela much to my frustration as I eyed up a nearby sick bucket and resisted the urge to vomit. However the ride back to Puerto Ayora was plain sailing, it’s just the luck of the draw when it comes to the boats I guess.
Afternoon: Snorkeling at Concha de Perla. Concha de Perla is very close to the passenger pier where boats land on the island, when walking from town you turn left just before the pier area and follow the path. You can rent snorkelling equipment at most tour agencies in the town however we did notice that sometimes the tour agencies were unexpectedly closed during the day. We swam with a very playful sealion here and admired the colorful fish.
A walk along the western coast, visiting various beaches and lagunas including the Beach of Love (Playa de Amor), the Wall of Tears and climbing the Cerro Orchilla. Most people choose to hire a bike to explore this coastal path however we walked the entire route and made it back just before sunset. If biking, there’s some uphill and downhill. We found it rewarding to walk as we often saw cyclists soaring past wild giant tortoises hidden in the scrub, we only spotted them by ambling slowly and paying close attention. The path is well signposted and not challenging.
Day 5: Our one and only group tour to Tintoreras with Rosedelco Tour Agency (we booked when we arrived on the island). We boarded the boat and made pit-stops to see blue-footed boobies and penguins. During the snorkeling part of the trip, we observed sharks resting, rays, a solitary sea-horse, turtles swimming so close they almost touched us and so many colourful fish. The landscape of the Tintoreras nature reserve was also captivating.
What better way to end the day than with a cocktail at Isabela Sunset Bar on the beach at sunset. Truly magnificent.
Day 6: Visit the Flamingos at Posada De Flamengos. This is a short walk from town in Puerto Villamil, the flamingo pool is next to what looks like a factory or large industrial plant of some sort. There are only a few flamingos here, but another Galapagos animal to check off the list. Head back to Puerto Ayora on the afternoon ferry.
Day 7: Say goodbye to the Galapagos!
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