The Galápagos archipelago consists of 13 major islands and 7 smaller islands. Only 4 of these islands have human settlements, Santa Cruz (where we stayed), Isabela Island, San Cristobal and Floreana. These areas only make up 3% of the total area of the Galápagos, the rest is a protected National Park. We spent only two short days on Isabela and for us it wasn’t long enough. Here is our two day itinerary to Isabela Island in the Galapagos.
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The largest island in the Galapagos is Isabela Island. To me it looks like it is shaped like a seahorse which makes me like it even more. We continued our adventure by visiting Isabela Island for a few nights to discover a little more of what the Galápagos has to offer and it didn’t disappoint!
How to Get to Isabela Island, Galapagos
Since you can stay on Isabela island, there is a ferry that travels there twice a day from the island of Santa Cruz. You can buy your tickets from one of the stands by the pier. We used the ferry company, Gaviota.
It was not a comfortable ride. If you sit in the back of the boat, you are splashed with water, and if you are in the front, you deal with the constant up and down rockiness that comes with the waves. At least there were bags in case you get sick… like Isaac. 🤢
There is also an airport on Isabela Island, so you can also fly there. The flights are quick but expensive and have weight limits. If you fly from Santa Cruz, you actually are leaving from Baltra Island which is a 45 minute drive from town plus the ferry across the channel and bus ride to the airport. To me, this isn’t worth it. The ferry rides aren’t comfortable, but the hassle and price of the flight doesn’t seem worth it, at least not to and from Santa Cruz.
There are also flights between San Cristobal Island and Isabela Island. This flight might be worth it since both airports are close by the towns. The flight between these two islands is 45 minutes long.
Puerto Villamil
The town on Isabela Island is called Puerto Villamil. It is a small town with a lot of charm. Located directly on a beach, it is oozing with relaxed beach vibes.
We loved Puerto Villamil. It is a small quiet town, with a sandy main street that is just one block away from an expansive beach. We are always drawn to places with incredible beauty and a laid back atmosphere that are not inundated with people. The locals were so friendly and helpful too.
As we only had a few days on Isabela Island, we planned some tours in advance. Here is the two day itinerary to Isabela Island.
Day 1 – Biking to the Wall of Tears
Day one of our two day itinerary to Isabela Island starts off with a bike ride. I found a tour company online that had just what we were looking for, Agora Tours Isabela. One of the activities that we wanted to do was cycle to the Wall of Tears. After a quick chat online, I learned that they had small bikes that the boys could use, which was perfect!
The trail winds its way through the National Park with numerous stops along the way to look at beautiful beaches, lagoons, caves, viewpoints and ends at the Wall of Tears.
We only had 3 hours to explore, which is the total amount of time that the National Park allows you to be in this part of the park. We didn’t know how long it would take to get to the end of the trail, so we rode straight there first. The end gets a little steep at the end, but not terribly so. The boys wanted to park their bikes and walk when it started going up, which was easy enough to do.
What is the Wall of Tears?
The Wall of Tears was constructed by hand by inmates that were a part of a penal colony on the island in the 1940s and 1950s. They carried the lava rocks from a quarry in the scorching heat and under terrible conditions. To make it even worse, the wall served no purpose besides torturing the prisoners. It is a sad history and offered some perspective on what life on the Galapagos was like previously.
When we arrived to the Wall of Tears, we decided to continue the journey up a steep staircase to the viewpoint at the top. After about 3 false summits, we finally got to take in the view and really understand exactly how large the island of Isabela is. It was spectacular!
After taking it all in we hiked back down and got on our bikes. We glided down the trail through groups of marine iguanas lounging on the trail and even passed a land tortoise! We stopped at various locations to see the sites. Our favorites being La Playa del Amor (Love Beach – left) and La Playita (Little Beach- right).
Scroll through this series of photos to see the other stops along the trail:
Day 2 – Tintoreras Tour
Day two of our two day itinerary to Isabela Island starts off with another exciting tour. We booked a tour called “Tintoreras” with Agora Tours Isabela. Since Tintoreras means shark in English, we were hoping to see some sharks. Unfortunately we missed the sharks, but we weren’t disappointed. We saw a lot of amazing animals on this tour.
Turns out if you want to see sharks when you are on Isabela Island, the tour you are looking for is Los Tuneles where you can dive in a cave with adult sharks. Sounds scary, right? The great thing about the Galapagos is that because all the animals are protected, they aren’t interested in eating you. They have enough natural food to choose from.
Kayaking Through the Islets
We met our friendly tour guide down by the pier and hopped in our kayaks. You can do this tour either in kayak or by boat. We opted for the kayaks because that sounded more fun! And it was fun!
As we kayaked out towards our destination, we were greeted by sea lions swimming around us and jumping out of the water. They were so playful and one of them even followed our kayaks for a little while, and tried to playfully splash us as we paddled along. Watched the video below:
The tour has you kayak around the small islets that are right off the coast and are home to many different animals. We saw many marine iguanas, pelicans, and the famous blue footed booby. Our guide also told us that a few penguins come to this part of the island this time of year but sadly we didn’t see them.
In the water we saw many sea turtles. Our guide explained that the turtles are breeding and about to lay their eggs. That is why there were so many in that area. One downside to kayaking was that it was really hard to take videos and paddle at the same time. Here’s the best we could get!
Snorkeling in the Bay
The second part of the tour was snorkeling. We walked down a small wooden walkway through mangroves that opened up to a deck. This section of water is calm and was perfect for the boys first attempt at snorkeling!
Helpful Tip: This area called Concha de Perla is free for anyone looking to snorkel in a relaxed setting on Isla Isabela. Since it is located outside of the National Park, you don’t need to be with a naturalist guide. To get to Concha de Perla, walk towards the boat pier. Before getting arriving to the boat pier, there is a wooden walkway to your left. Take that walkway, walk to the end and you are there!
Hotel and Restaurants Recommendations
Hotels on Isabela Island
There were a lot of different hotel options that we saw when booking a place to stay on Isabela. After we checked out Booking.com, which we love to use to find hotels, we decided on Hotel Coral Blanco.
This is a mid-priced hotel that was perfect for our family. The room wasn’t large, but it was clean and shower was hot! You can pay a little extra for breakfast if you want. We opted to get breakfast on our own and paid $93 for the night.
They were also very accommodating after we checked out. They have a shower and bathroom that you can use which came in handy after we went snorkeling, and we could fill up with clean water. We’d highly recommend staying here.
Breakfast
We went to a couple of restaurants on Isabela. For breakfast we’d recommend the restaurant right next to Agora Tours, Las Gaviotas. It is across from the little kids’ playground. They were affordable and had a wide variety of delicious food items to choose from.
Lunch or Dinner Options on Isabela Island
For dinner one night and lunch the next day, we went to Royal Rock Grill. This restaurant has good food, but the best part is that you are over the water and the view is incredible. Mike highly recommends the piña colada. 😋
Best Place for a Snack or Coffee
The best place in Puerto Villamil hands down is De Churros. We stopped there for churros one evening and oh my gosh! It was scrumptious. She will ask if you want caramel or chocolate with your churros. If you choose chocolate, you get a mug of hot chocolate that will knock your socks off. So good! She makes everything fresh, so we sat down on a picnic table underneath an array of string lights and enjoyed just being there while we waited. This is a place we will think about for a long time!
In Summary
Isabela Island was a great excursion! Expensive, as everything is in the Galápagos, but well worth it if you’re already there. In fact another day or two could easily be spent here to go out on other snorkeling, diving, hiking to the top of a volcano, and looking for flamingos as well. Honestly, if we did it all over again, splitting our month between Puerto Ayora and Puerto Villamil would have been a great mix!
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