Choosing a Tour in Puerto Ayora

If you only have time for one tour

Pick by the animal you most want to see.

  1. Giant tortoises in the wild: the highlands tour.
  2. Giant tortoises being raised: the Tortoise Route.
  3. Seabirds: a yacht day to North Seymour.
  4. Snorkelling: Las Grietas.
  5. The harbour from the water: the Tour de Bahía from the municipal pier.
  6. A second island: a licensed speedboat day to Isabela.

Why every tour comes with a guide

More than 97% of the archipelago is national park, and its visitor sites admit people only with an authorised naturalist and a licensed operator. The town beaches, the Tortuga Bay path and the waterfront promenade are the exceptions. Because of this rule, tour prices and itineraries vary from operator to operator, and it pays to ask what is covered.

The tours in detail

Highlands

The route normally strings together the El Chato and Rancho Primicias reserves, a lava tunnel and the Los Gemelos twin craters by the highway. The reserves are neighbours on the Santa Rosa road and about 30 to 45 minutes’ drive from Puerto Ayora. Reserve entry is about USD 10 each with a guide, and the paths can be wet, so lent boots are common. Wild tortoises have the run of the place, and visitors stay 2 m away.

Tortoise Route

The Fausto Llerena Breeding Center belongs to the Park Directorate, with its own guided route and its own hours of 8 am to 4:45 pm. A guide costs about USD 10. The trail also reaches the room dedicated to Lonesome George, whose remains have been on show since 2017. He died on 24 June 2012.

Las Grietas

A short water taxi (USD 1 to 2) from the pier, then a 15 to 20 minute walk beyond Playa de los Alemanes, brings you to the site. Visits are guided, cost about USD 10 per person and last around 1.5 hours with the tour. The number of visitors may be capped, so go through a licensed operator rather than arriving on the day.

Yacht and bay tours

For North Seymour, a licensed day yacht carries a naturalist who will point out frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies. The Tour de Bahía is the gentle alternative, leaving the municipal pier for a spin around the bay.

Isabela

The speedboat takes about 2 hours each way. Squeezing the round trip into one day is tight, which is why an overnight is the more comfortable plan. Non-nationals pay an extra USD 10 visitor fee on arrival at Isabela.

Foreign adults pay USD 200 park entry in cash at the airport, which is on top of any tour. Keep small US bills for taxis. Seasickness tablets are wise for speedboats. Bring reef-safe sunscreen and no single-use plastic into protected places.

Before booking, read the UK’s Ecuador travel advice . The Galápagos are not among the mainland areas it advises against.

Read more: sightseeing in Puerto Ayora explains each sight, and the Galápagos Islands guide covers the wider archipelago.

Sources: the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Park Directorate . Compare operators at GetYourGuide .