Best 5 islands
rankings
Galapagos Islands

 

The best islands
to visit in the
Galapagos islands

For criteria, view the "About my island list" section below.

Espanola
The best island of all

It is the southernmost island of the Galapagos Islands. Espanola teems with wildlife.

Enjoy the most absorbing wildlife trail in the Galapagos. It starts at Punta Suarez. Explore the nesting site of nearly all of the world's waved albatrosses (top photo). They have wing spans up to 2.5 meters or 8 feet. Also walk through the well-populated nesting sites of both the blue-footed (bottom left) and the nazca (bottom right) boobies. And hike along a striking cliffscape. And you pass a mighty blow hole. Swim, snorkel and sunbathe at the white-sand, crescent-shaped Gardner Bay.

Bartolome

This small island has a Mars-like landscape, a photographer's dream.

Hike up 379 steps to the lookout platform on Bartolome's volcano peak. You'll savor a panoramic view capturing the "Martian terrain" joined with a verdant isthmus featuring the jagged 30-meter (100-foot) high Pinnacle Rock. Santiago Island is in the background. Snorkel with the Galapagos penguins beneath the towering Pinnacle Rock.

Santa Cruz

It's the most populated island in the Galapagos and is centrally located. Puerto Ayora is the major town and has the most hotels, stores, and tour agents in the Galapagos archipelago.

Visit the Charles Darwin Research Center to see famous Lonesome George and other giant tortoises.  Go to the Santa Cruz highlands to walk through lava tubes and to observe wild giant tortoises roaming lush green landscapes.

Fernandina

This is the westernmost, youngest and most volcanically active Galapagos island. Fernandina is also the most pristine because it was the least affected by man-introduced foreign animals and vegetation.

Hike the trail that begins at Punta Espinoza to see the relatively rare flightless cormorants. Along the way you'll also view well-established marine iguana and sea lion colonies. Watch pods of whales and orcas and schools of dolphins in the channel separating Fernandina and Isabela Islands.

San Cristobal

It's the easternmost (and therefore may be the oldest) island of the Galapagos archipelago.

Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) is one of the Galapagos' most celebrated landmarks. This 146-meter (nearly 500-foot) high rock formation dramatically juts out of the sea near the San Cristobal coast. Circle the rock up close - and if you are in a small boat, you can pass completely through where the rock is split. Become eco-savvy at the Interpretation Center in Puerto Baquerizo, the second largest town in the Galapagos.

Best 5 runners-up

These didn't quite make my best 5 list, but they are commendable. List is alphabetical:

Darwin & Wolf Islands
Great scuba diving destinations. The area is off limits to non-divers. And no visitor - even divers - may step foot on the land.
Floreana
Its history includes a wild self-castaway, a floating post office barrel, an era of pirates and convicts, and the scandalous 1930's "Galapagos Affair". Punta Cormorant is the best visitor site. Just offshore from it is Devil's Crown - snorkelers adore it.
Isabela
This is the largest Galapagos island (about 125 kilometers or 80 miles long) and has the highest peak in the Galapagos. Isabela was formed by six volcanoes and their overlapping lava flows. Some visitor sites have volcano trails.
Genovesa
If you're in a small boat, you can sail into and anchor in a sea-breached, semi-submerged caldera. Darwin Bay and Prince Philip landing are good visitor sites. Genovesa has red-footed boobies.
Santiago
It has a scenic anchorage and landscape with several visitor sites: Sullivan Bay (for whirl-patterned lava field), Buccaneer Cove, and Puerto Egas (aka James Bay).
Seymour Norte
This small, flat island has highly visible blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds, sea lions, and both marine and land iguanas.

Honorable mention islands

These are the next best islands:

Baltra
Its airport puts Baltra on the visitor's map. There's not much to see or do except shop at the airport's handicraft and souvenir stands.
Plaza Sur
A prolific colony of sea lions reside here. But sometimes day-trippers from Santa Cruz Island come in large numbers.
Santa Fe
Snorkelers and birders like it. It's midway between Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz and Puerto Baquerizo on San Cristobal, meaning a potential abundance of day-trippers.

About my
best island list

Ranking criterion: My researched consensus of impartial sophisticated travelers.

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