G6 – WILDLIFE

I have often been asked what cruise itinerary is the best. Although all the islands are home to different wildlife, you have to consider that some of the islands are more attractive than others – either for the diversity of wildlife found in a small area and/or that some of the more unique wildlife is found there. Unless you plan on taking a 15-day/14-night cruise (these long cruises visit almost every single tourist site and island possible), you are not going to be able to visit all the islands.

So it comes down to a balancing act. Where you ‘gain’ in one itinerary or visit point, you may lose out in another. At the end of the cruise (providing you are on an 8-day/7-night cruise) you will have enjoyed a diversity of wildlife. This does not apply in quite the same way for shorter cruises (i.e., 5-day/4-night or 4-day/3-night) as the time is limited. Here you will have to pay more attention to the itineraries to ensure that you get as wide a variety of sites and animals possible.

To answer this valid question, it greatly depends on what wildlife you are looking for (i.e., mammals, reptiles, birds etc). Each island (or specific points of visits) have their specific characteristics. [Note: for those that require a visual of the different islands and site, here is a detailed map of the Galapagos Islands]

Looking at the MORE UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL (and harder to find) wildlife …

Galapagos Penguin – really only found on the western islands of Isabela & Fernandina or in and around Bartolome & Santiago (Sullivan Bay);
Red-footed Boobie – best seen on the northern island of Genovesa or the very north tip of San Cristobal island.
Waved Albatross (the most uniquely located wildlife) - ONLY found at Punta Suarez (Espanola Island) between March and December [they are not present in Galapagos between January & February];
Giant Tortoises – present throughout many of the islands … but not where tourists go. For these, the highlands of Santa Cruz (i.e., Las Primicias) is one of the best spots to see them in the wild. They can also been spotted in the highlands of Isabela and San Cristobal;
Flightless Cormorant – not widespread and only found on the western islands of Isabela and Fernandina.
Land Iguanas – a little more specifically located. The best places to enjoy these are Santa Fe, South Plazas, Cerro Dragon (Santa Cruz Island), and Urbina Bay (Isabela Island);
Pacific Green Turtles – best seen at Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz Island), Punta Cormorant (Floreana Island), Punta Espinoza (Fernandina Island), Urbina Bay (Isabela Island), Bartolome and Darwin Bay (Genovesa Island);
Fur seals – limited presence in Galapagos and best seen on Santiago, Rabida and Genovesa Islands.

Moderately frequent and common wildlife would include …

Blue-footed Boobies (very comical creatures) – best enjoyed on North Seymour and Espanola Island;
Frigatebirds (the ones with large inflated red pouches) – best seen on Genovesa, North Seymour and San Cristobal;
Lava lizards – best places are Espanola, San Cristobal and Floreana Islands but found on most islands;
Nazca Boobies – widespread but best seen on Espanola Island;

Commonly found creatures throughout the Galapagos Islands …

Sea Lions are found on the majority of islands;
Marine Iguanas (found along almost every coastline on almost every island);
Sally Lightfoot crabs (found crawling around the coastal rocks on most islands);

At the bottom of this article you will find a QUICK REFERENCE CHART for the location of the key attraction wildlife throughout Galapagos.