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Isabela Island Day Trip: Explore Tintoreras and Galápagos Wildlife
4.0
26 Ratings
Puerto Ayora
Embark on an exciting day trip to Isabela Island and discover the stunning wildlife of the Galápagos. Explore Tintoreras, encounter land turtles, flamingos, and zarapitos, and enjoy swimming and snorkeling with tropical fish, penguins, and turtles at Concha Perla Beach.
Embark on an exciting day trip to Isabela Island and discover the stunning wildlife of the Galápagos. Explore Tintoreras, encounter land turtles, flamingos, and zarapitos, and enjoy swimming and snorkeling with tropical fish, penguins, and turtles at Concha Perla Beach.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Malecon de Puerto Ayora - We begin the tour at 06H45 AM at the port of Puerto Ayora to board the ferry that will take us to Isabela. (Transfer in boat has a duration of 2 hours approximately until arrive to Isabela)
- Isabela Island - We start the activity at 09:00 from Isabela Island, from the bay we go by means of a boat to a group of islets…
- Malecon de Puerto Ayora - We begin the tour at 06H45 AM at the port of Puerto Ayora to board the ferry that will take us to Isabela. (Transfer in boat has a duration of 2 hours approximately until arrive to Isabela)
-
Isabela Island - We start the activity at 09:00 from Isabela Island, from the bay we go by means of a boat to a group of islets called Tintoreras. Well known for being the habitat of penguins and white tip sharks!
Other animals that we can observe while we surround the islets are: rays, sea turtles, bay sharks, colorful fish, etc. -
Las Tintoreras - Tintorera sharks. Along a channel with fences on one of its edges, we can find a large number of individuals of the species. Likewise, we enjoyed a snorkeling time near the site.
At the end of our activity in the complex, we headed to the port to enjoy lunch.
Our next stop is the flamingo lagoon. We have time to take pictures. To finish, we headed to the Arnaldo Tupiza Breeding Center. We can see the turtles in the conservation area.
We finish the tour at 14:00 p.m. then we have to come back to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz - 2 Hours of Ferry
What's Included
- Lunch
- Use of Snorkeling Equipment (Mask and fins)
- Hotel Pick Up (Inside the Urban Perimeter of Puerto Ayora)
- Professional Guide
- Ferrys Sta Cruz - Isabela - Sta Cruz
- Lunch
- Use of Snorkeling Equipment (Mask and fins)
- Hotel Pick Up (Inside the Urban Perimeter of Puerto Ayora)
- Professional Guide
- Ferrys Sta Cruz - Isabela - Sta Cruz
What's Not Included
- Breakfast - Hotel Drop off
- Nothing non specified in the program
- Wet suits is not included you must rent by yourself if you decide
- Dock Tax, Isabela
- Breakfast - Hotel Drop off
- Nothing non specified in the program
- Wet suits is not included you must rent by yourself if you decide
- Dock Tax, Isabela
Additional Information
We begin our journey in Puerto Ayora, followed by a swift boat ride to Isabela Island where we encounter indigenous creatures like tortoises, flamingos, and whimbrels, surrounded by abundant plant and animal life.
Explore Concha Perla Beach, a place where guests can dive into the water or snorkel amongst a variety of tropical fish, penguins, and sea…
We begin our journey in Puerto Ayora, followed by a swift boat ride to Isabela Island where we encounter indigenous creatures like tortoises, flamingos, and whimbrels, surrounded by abundant plant and animal life.
Explore Concha Perla Beach, a place where guests can dive into the water or snorkel amongst a variety of tropical fish, penguins, and sea turtles.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- This is travel by boat, please plan accordingly (i.e motion sickness medication)
- Wet suits is not included you must rent by yourself if you decide
- Any extra payment like entrance to the national park, taxes or sea taxis must be paid by each customer in person
Location
Puerto Ayora
The guide will pick you up in the lobby of the hotel, (Hotel pick up inside the urban perimeter of
Puerto Ayora) or we can give you a good meeting point to join with us.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(26 Ratings)
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1 star
Bhuvaneswari_n
Mar 15, 2026
A Hectic but Rewarding Galápagos Experience - The tour started with a hotel pickup at 6:10 AM in Puerto Ayora. We then headed to the dock where the speedboat departed for Isabela Island at 7:00 AM. Although many reviews mention a very bumpy ride, our experience was smooth and without any issues. The boat also had Wi-Fi, which worked well and was quite useful during the journey.
After about a two-hour ride, we arrived at Isabela Island. A guide received us at the dock with a list of names. There were many sea lions resting around the dock, which was nice to see upon arrival.
From there, we took a small boat ride to explore nearby areas and look for wildlife, including Galápagos penguins. We then stopped at Islet Tintoreras for a short hike of about 20 minutes across lava rocks. During the walk, we were able to see sharks swimming in the clear water channels between the rocks.
Next was about an hour of snorkeling. It was an enjoyable activity, though it would have been helpful if the boat had initially stopped in shallower water to make it easier for non-swimmers like me to enter the water. Those who could not swim chose to stay in the boat during the snorkeling session.
After snorkeling, we returned to Isabela Island for lunch, where vegetarian options were available. The tour then continued with a stop at the Flamingo viewpoint, where we saw a couple of birds. We also visited the turtle breeding center, where we could see many baby tortoises as well.
After completing the activities, we returned by speedboat and arrived back in Puerto Ayora around 5:00 PM. There was no hotel drop at the end of the tour, but this was not an issue as we were able to walk back to the hotel through the lively boardwalk street.
Overall, it was a hectic but enjoyable full-day island tour within the Galápagos National Park, offering opportunities to see wildlife, walk on lava landscapes, and experience snorkeling.
Review provided by Viator
Cruiser756858
Feb 22, 2026
A fantastic trip - I had an incredible time! Our guide, Roger, was extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and approachable. :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rajanpreet_k
Feb 19, 2026
Good experience - Roger is a very good guide. He is very knowledgeable. He seems to be very passionate about his work. The tour was good. We saw some golden rays, a penguin, and boobies from the boat. We also saw another ray and a turtle while snorkeling. Unfortunately, the water was too murky to see the sharks, but it’s not possible to control the weather conditions. It was also interesting to learn about the preservation effort of the giant tortoise.
Review provided by Viator
Carlossm5998sb
Nov 22, 2025
the best we could experience in everything in a single sunny day we could enjoy the whole trip in good weather - "It was worth every minute of browsing! Isabela is another world. The tour of Tintoreras Island was spectacular: we saw penguins swimming alongside the boat, blue-footed boobies and, of course, sharks lounging in the canals. We ended the afternoon watching flamingos in the lagoon. A super complete tour and our guide made the walk very interesting."
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan
Sep 20, 2025
Amazing - Roger was an amazing guide. He gave his full attention to every one of us. He explained everything fully and answered any questions. He was the ultimate guide! The island is beautiful. I just wish we had a longer time there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_g
Aug 23, 2025
Great Way to Spend Half a Day - I had an amazing time, engaged in quite a few fantastic activities, ate great food, and learned a lot about the Galápagos Islands and their preservation efforts. All of this was due to an incredible guide, Diana J., her team, the boat crew, and the very cute restaurant Diana took us to, where we ate fresh, delicious local food. When we went snorkeling, Diana took special care of me, and the whole group, too. She would let everyone know when there was something very special to see: sharks, sea turtles, etc.
Review provided by Viator
X29ibalexisc
Jun 17, 2025
Galápagos Islands - enchanted place - The Islands are dreamy, a place of amazing natural beauty and adventure. It is a place that should be in everyone’s bucket list
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rginbc
Dec 2, 2025
Beautiful destination ... terrible tour operator - Isabella Island is beautiful, but the company that took us there was awful. I would give 5 stars for the island and 0 for the tour operator. We rode for 2.5 hours each way in an outdated boat at very high speed and breaking hard against the waves. Not the right ride for such a boat. On the way back, they picked up more passengers and gave us two seats for three people, which was very unsafe given the continuous hard breaking against the waves at very high speed. The name of the boat was Brithany and the name of the tour operator was Perfect Destiny. This was a very unpleasant experience although the island is beautiful and I recommend the visit but with another tour operator.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail663777
Nov 23, 2025
Not recommended - Nice guide who took care of the guests very well, did speak English well, yet did not deliver a lot of background knowledge. Tour layout is disappointing. Entire time of guided tour was just about 3 hours. Rest was transportation and lunch. And within this time a lot of time was lost. because the tour layout is bilingual (english and Spanish), so everything was said twice, with half off the group standing around being bored. For Tortuga farms -the longest of only 2 stops before lunch- you do not need to go Isabella, those you find on Santa Cruz as well. Long and very bumpy boat ride to and from Isabella. Better go Isabella for a night or 2 and book the tours there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Norman_c
Dec 5, 2025
This was unfortunately... - This was unfortunately one of the most poorly organized tours I’ve ever taken in the Galápagos. We were instructed to arrive at the port at 6:10 AM, yet the tour didn’t actually begin until 11:00 AM because we had to wait for another group that arrived an hour late. That meant nearly five hours of wasted time, which is a huge loss on an island where every hour counts.
The listing also failed to mention hidden fees for the small boat transfer, which we were required to pay on the spot.
Because of the delays, the activities were severely rushed. Snorkeling was cut to about 30 minutes instead of the promised hour, and we spent only a few minutes viewing flamingos and turtles (and not even the Isabela turtles advertised).
I also paid $20 for a wetsuit that I barely used because the activity was shortened.
Despite confirming in advance that I needed a vegetarian meal, I was served lentil soup containing meat. This is unacceptable, especially after I double-checked this with the guide.
Other smaller issues—slow communication beforehand, no offered pickup, unnecessary early check-in, and a cramped boat with no windows—only highlight the general lack of care and organization.
Overall, the experience did not remotely match what was advertised. For the price of this tour, I expected professionalism and proper time management. Instead, it felt like a day of waiting, rushing, and disappointment. I cannot recommend this tour and urge others to consider alternatives.
Review provided by Viator
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