SPOTTING WILDLIFE:

Spotting tortoises, iguanas and other animals is the main reason why people visit the Galapagos. But still we were often surprised by how abundant and friendly the animals were.

Sea lions rest in benches at the port, rays swim next to you by the shore, sharks can be spotted in any snorkelling trip. There’s so much to see that sometimes you don’t know if you watch a colony of marine iguanas or focus on the sea turtles swimming in the distance.

Unlike any other place I’ve visited, in Galapagos you can always be sure that you’ll see lots of animals close by anywhere you go – from beaches full of sea lions with pups to tortoises grazing next to a main road. Time and again we were surprised by the wildlife everywhere we went.

PUERTO AYORA:

There are three main towns in Galapagos – we stayed in Puerto Ayora in the island of Santa Cruz. The main road is Charles Darwin Street, which has some souvenir shops, tour operators and a few bars and restaurants.

Charles Darwin Research Station is a short walk from the centre and the main thing to see in Puerto Ayora. At the main port water taxis drive tourists to their hotels while reef sharks and sea lions hang around.

WHERE TO STAY – Finch Bay Hotel:

Because this was our honeymoon, we splashed out and stayed at the Finch Bay, which is a lovely hotel with a beach at its doorstep.

We booked the 8D/7N package which included boat trips to four nearby islands and land excursions to the highlights around Santa Cruz – you really don’t need to do any planning of your own with this package.

It included all meals (breakfast, lunch either aboard their boat or in the hotel, and a 4-course dinner every night) and not only did they know from the start that we were veggie, but also they were happy to adapt the menu to accommodate for vegans.

In the evening we often had a cocktail by the swimming pool, taking advantage of their happy hour deals on daiquiris, caipirinhas and other drinks from South America. Our room was bright and spacious and had a beautiful view of the bay.

The boat excursions were done aboard the Sea Lion, Finch Bay’s nice yacht. We were always accompanied by a naturalist guide (sometimes two) and travelled in small groups.

The staff at the Finch Bay were absolutely fantastic – not only was the service very good, but they were genuinely friendly and helpful. The Finch Bay is very expensive though, so it’s definitely a choice for special occasions. We booked it through Metropolitan Tours, a travel agency that manages the hotel.

GALAPAGOS BY BOAT:

We chose to stay in land as a week on a boat seemed a bit much for us, but visiting Galapagos by boat is the best way to see more islands and cover a bigger distance. There are lots of options to choose from with many different itineraries.

MONEY:

Galapagos is an expensive place to visit, and no matter how you do it, you need to be prepared to spend. Everything is quite expensive, as places are full of tourists and there aren’t many options around.

Tipping is welcome at tours and for services, but it’s not mandatory. Although the currency of Ecuador is the US Dollar, you should take small notes only, as it’s hard to change larger notes. Tours are usually all inclusive, so once you’ve paid for those there isn’t much else to spend.

FOOD:

Ecuadorian food is definitely not veggie, but in the Galapagos they are used to vegetarians. Even in Ecuador mainland people are always happy to adapt dishes and keen to ensure that you have a proper meal, so there are always good alternatives (and speaking Spanish goes a long way).

There’s lots of exotic fruit which is great, and of course Ecuadorian coffee and chocolate are world-famous.

GETTING THERE:

Getting to the Galapagos from the UK is quite the journey: firstly, there are no direct flights from the UK to Ecuador (we flew via Miami on the way there and Madrid on the way back). You can get flights to Galapagos from capital Quito or the country’s largest city Guayaquil (most flights from Quito have a short stopover in Guayaquil), and it’s safer to allow at least one day each way in Ecuador in case there are problems with flights. Flights from the UK to Ecuador start at £550 return; from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos it’s about £250 return.

Our Galapagos adventures are here: Day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5; day 6; day 7.

For our last day in the Galapagos we went to nearby beach Tortuga Bay. From Puerto Ayora the beach is accessible by a mile-long trail through a dry area covered in cacti. Along the way you spot lots of lava lizards and mockingbirds.

Arriving in Tortuga Bay is amazing, the beach is picture perfect by itself, but there are also marine iguanas walking around, which makes the scenery even more remarkable.

Walking to the end of the beach we reached Playa Mansa, a quieter beach which is good for swimming and snorkelling. We rented a kayak ($10 per person per hour) and went exploring the mangroves. We spotted herons and marine iguanas, a few fish, and a shark. Just as we were leaving on our boat, we saw a sea turtle in the distance!

This really was the trip of a lifetime. Galapagos is a unique place and it was a great choice for our honeymoon. Every place we visited had something different to offer, and tourism restrictions mean that most of the time the only people you see are those in the same (small) tour as you.

More on our Galapagos trip: Day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5; day 6.

We were back aboard the Sea Lion for our last trip – this time we sailed to Bartholomew.

On the way there we passed the small islet Daphne, where we could see Nazca boobies nesting. The boat continued its journey and we were soon joined by dolphins that swam right next to us and jumped out of the water – amazing!

After a couple of hours we reached Bartholomew, a young volcanic island that looks very impressive, with jagged rocks contrasting with the deep blue sea and sandy beaches. We were greeted by sea lions on landing as per usual.

We followed the steps up to the highest point of the island, where we had the most breath-taking views.

We then went snorkelling around the Pinnacle, an impressive rock formation which is also an ideal home for lots of fish. We spotted starfish, a colourful parrot fish and – as usual – a reef shark! This was a unique site for snorkelling, a fitting place four our last island trip. And so it was back on the boat and to the hotel.

Our Galapagos adventures are here: Day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4; day 5.

We got back aboard the Sea Lion and headed to South Plaza for a hike. We were greeted by playful sea lion pups swimming by the pier.

We walked across this small island stopping to look at sea lion and iguanas along the way.

We stopped near the cliffs on one side of the island where we could see lots of birds: Nazca boobies, shearwaters with chicks, pelicans and frigatebirds which were manoeuvring impressively trying to get some food off the cliff.

This is a small but very pretty island, and the day was just beautiful! We went back to the boat to find a good place for snorkelling in Punta Carrion. We were a small group this time, which was good because we could do lots of exploring by ourselves.

We saw loads of colourful fish, some in large schools, spotted a shark, and were greeted by a sea turtle swimming nearby – amazing! Then it was back on the boat and to the hotel.

More on our Galapagos adventure is here: Day 1; day 2; day 3; day 4.

Our fourth day in the Galapagos started with a trip to Divine Bay in Santa Cruz. We hiked across lava terrain to find a colony of marine iguanas. There were loads of them nesting, and we also saw a few of them swimming which looks quite awkward.

In the distance we spotted sea turtles – Galapagos is hard work like that.

We then went snorkelling in an area that was full of whitetip reef sharks – nearby we also found a sea turtle that was happy to swim near us!

After having lunch back at the hotel with finches coming to watch us, we went to Puerto Ayora to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. There was saw lots of tortoises which are part of conservation projects, and a land iguana from another island. There’s also a small museum where you can learn about conservation projects and management of invasive species.

We went back to the port to get a water taxi to the hotel.

In the few minutes we were waiting we saw sea lions, white and blacktip reef sharks, a large school of golden rays, marine iguanas and lots of birds!

You can see more of our Galapagos adventures here: Day 1; day 2; day 3.

We got aboard the Sea Lion, the nice yacht that belongs to the Finch Bay hotel. We sailed through the choppy sea for a couple of hours until we reached Santa Fe island.

Even before we got off our dinghy we spotted the Galapagos hawk, lots of sea lions on the beach, colourful fish swimming next to the boat and lots of sharks by the shore.

We landed on the sandy beach where many sea lions with tiny pups were playing around. We spent some time taking photos and watching as they played around.

We continued out hike across the island, and were greeted by a hawk that was just chilling by the main path. The track continues through a terrain full of shrubs (under which you can often find a sea lion resting) then reaches another beach – again we saw many sea lions, and this time we even saw two bulls fighting each other!

Continuing our walk we spotted a few Santa Fe iguanas – a different species of land iguana. These feed on the unusual cacti which grow all over the island.

We changed into our snorkelling gear and swam around colourful fish. We found a spot with playful sea lions, and they came to swim around us, which was really amazing! Then it was back to the boat for lunch before we made our way back to the hotel.

As it was early, we went to Puerto Ayora, the local town. Charles Darwin Street is the main road, but there isn’t much to see. The local fish market is quite unusual, with sea lions and pelicans fighting over scraps of fish.

Our other Galapagos adventures are here: Day 1; day 2.

On our second day we took a boat trip to islands near Santa Cruz. We started at Isla Mosquera, a tiny island full of sea lions, many of them with pups. We spent an hour leisurely exploring and taking photos – everywhere you go there are more and more animals to see, it’s so incredible!

This island is also good for spotting marine iguanas and red crabs.

We then went snorkelling nearby – we saw lots of colourful fish, eels, but most importantly, sharks! This was definitely not on my list of things to do, but sharks here are not dangerous to humans, so this was a great experience.

Our boat (the Narel) then took us to nearby North Seymour. As soon as you get out of the boat you are greeted by massive birds, as Nazca and blue-footed boobies and frigate birds hover on the sky.

We went for a walk around this impressive island, where you can see tons of birds nesting everywhere (and sometimes getting into fights too). Frigate birds make unusual displays inflating the red membrane above their chest. Blue-footed boobies mostly just look cute and a bit comical.

This island is also home to many land iguanas – this is a large species with colourful males that like to hang out under cacti.

At the end of our walk we found another spot full of sea lions with tiny babies (so cute!) – this was a perfect ending to an amazing day full of adventures!

You can see day 1 of our Galapagos adventure here.

We flew from Guayaquil to Baltra to start our Galapagos adventure. An iguana was already waiting for us on the tarmac, so we knew straightaway this was going to be amazing.

We got on the ferry from the airport where we spotted blue-footed boobies and sea lions, and lots of other birds. Our first stop of the day was a sink hole of volcanic origin in the highlands of Santa Cruz island.

We stopped for lunch at Rancho El Manzanillo, a local farm that is absolutely covered with giant tortoises. They spend their days grazing and resting by a pond, before starting a three-month journey to the lower parts of the island where they lay their eggs.

We were dropped at Puerto Ayora, the main town in Santa Cruz, where we got on a boat to our hotel.

It was around 4pm, so we spent some time by the beach where we spotted marine iguanas, a sea lion, a golden ray, colourful crabs, lots of little fish and all sorts of birds. The wildlife here is not only really abundant, but also completely at ease hanging out around people.