Day Trip To Isabela Island And Tintoreras In Galápagos

We used this tour operator, which may be out of Quito to organize our private transfer from Baltra to the hotel and the return trip. We also used this operator for our tour to Isabella and Tintoreras. I was able to book this all through Viator/TripAdvisor. The reviews are middle of the road and I would agree with that sentiment. For example, why did the tour operator send an email to change our pick up time for our tour from 6:30 to 6:10? Why not a phone call? Or why not tell us a week in advance? But the email was sent just the night before. I was not ready for that limited communication. And upon our return from the tour, we had no ride home. I expected this to be included and I will need to double check the tour to see if that just not a service provided. Luis was our driver the entire time and he was nice but he did not really speak English. I expected the tour operator to notice our matching name because the private transfer had to be booked separately for both ends of the trip. Instead, I received an email that our private pick up was to be at a different property. I had to send several emails to work out that the pick up needed to be at Maidith Galapagos Inn. Is there really that many employees processing these requests to not notice names and properties? When you book the return, there was no way to request my specific property so I had to leave it blank. But I was able to include Maidith on the pick up. That could be a TripAdvisor issue but I’m not really sure. On our Isabella tour, I requested English and did receive that the entire time. Tito was great! He was passionate about the islands, conservation, and we understood him the whole time. He had great energy when it was time to snorkel but I did struggle to keep up with him. He was really knowledgeable about the wildlife and shared many stories with us. On our short walk about on Tintoreras, I found a hermit crab. He was able to get the crab to come out of his shell, so adorable. This tour was $457 for two people. The private transfer was $137 for two people one way. Luis was great with this. He held my backpack, took care of our bus tickets, ferry tickets, and our luggage. On our next trip, we will use this service again because it would be hard to work that out on our own.

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.

I had an incredible time! Our guide, Roger, was extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and approachable. :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Islands are dreamy, a place of amazing natural beauty and adventure. It is a place that should be in everyone’s bucket list

First of all, there was no one to meet the boat when we arrived at Isabel. Other yours had someone greeting passengers with their names as soon as they hit off the boat. Not this one. I had to go hunt down the guide. That was panic-inducing. Second, I cannot find anywhere in the tour description where it said we would be ocean kayaking.. The description said a boat but certainly didn’t specify kayaks. As such, I was unprepared to go ocean kayaking with a large telephoto lens and my child to see penguins. Also, the tour advertises itself as being suited for children 4+ years but they did not have children’s PFDs available. Seeing the penguins was fantastic but it was darn near impossible to get any shots while also getting my camera out of the dry bag all while paddling the kayak and managing my child who was terrified and crying. Again, we didn’t know we were ocean kayaking and my child has never been ocean kayaking. The guide, Andrea, was shouting at me a lot of the time. Not great. I came on this tour specifically to photograph the penguins and I really didn’t get much of a chance. We also didn’t have time to do anything like change into swimsuits or apply sunscreen before the paddle as we were rushed into the kayaks. I ended up with a partial thickness sunburn on my shins. We then went snorkeling. The snorkeling equipment broke for some people and we all had to wait for Andrea to walk back into town and get a replacement. Once we actually got in the water, Andrea left us. No instructions or anything. No specified meet up time. Again, anxiety producing. Lunch was not great. Tasteless soup and dry chicken in a restaurant with questionable cleanliness. The view was nice. The rest of the tour to see flamingos and tortoises was okay. I felt really rushed for the whole tour, like I was being herded along. As soon as we got off the “bus” another group was being herded on. They don’t tell you that the water taxis are $1 per person each way. That’s $4 for one person. And there’s a fee at Puerto Ayora and when you get to Isabel. So bring plenty of cash in small bills. I would not really recommend this tour. I can see why it’s priced much less than other, similar tours.

The snorkeling is rushed, and we kept getting told to hurry up. Which was ridiculous. But we spent almost an hour looking at tortoises and then we had like 15 minutes to stand on the beach and no one really knew what to do. It was weird. The 2 hour boat ride and water taxis are exhausting.

Very educational and interesting trip. We saw very much and the guide was execellent. Extra nice that they helped us find our lost Iphone after the trip. A small minus because high price and that the ferry ride is not very comfortable.

We took our family on this day excursion from Santa Cruz to Isabela Island. The ride between the islands was not pleasant due to constant pounding, but the rest of the trip was delightful. We saw penguins, blue-footed boobies, flamingos, white-tipped sharks, marine iguanas, sea lions, and sea turtles. The tortoise breeding station was a bonus. Our guide was excellent and informative. The snorkeling was easy and productive.

it was a 10hr trip 2.5 hrs each way was a ferry ride which was terrible the sea is quite rough and the boat was run full speed hitting and pounding every few seconds for the whole time my friend who is petit had bruises from hitting the seat so hard constantly, I am larger but it was extremely uncomfortable. If you had any neck or back problems it could be dangerous and as the time of the ferry ride ,or how bumpy it could be, was not even mentioned in the guide this could open your company to law suites if someone was injured. we were picked up and taken to the dock but the guide for the tour was only when we arrived on Isabella the tour was mediocre at best ,also most people had paid $140 -$160 for the tour we paid $249.almost $100 more. Altogether extremely disappointing and I have used Viator many times before and all trips have been great but this one is terrible and could be dangerous to some people

Our guide was knowledgeable, entertaining, passionate, and professional. We had a group from many countries and he explained everything in English and Spanish. We were able to see penguins, Boobies , sharks, and flamingos. We had a blast on the boat ride over but do not recommend if you get sea sick.

Viator is fraudulent as they would not give me a refund when five of our group got sick and could not go on this excursion. This trip was fully refundable and I cancelled 36 hours before the tour. VIATOR representative failed to report and execute the refund. I spent over $5000. on excursions in the Galapagos and Viator has treated me terribly by not giving me back $1245. when no fault of mine that their representative did not cancel five people from the tour.

Flamingo, Shark, Sea Lion, Land Turtle, Sea Turtle, Lunch! Awesome day boating, touring. So fun!!!!!

We loved snorkeling around Las Tintoreras! After a quick boat ride to the lava rocks and tunnels we snorkeled with our wonderful guide and saw green sea turtles and a number of white tip sharks with us in the water. The boat also stopped to let us take pictures of the famous blue footed boobies. The tour also featured a lunch at a nearby restaurant and stops at a flamingo lagoon as well as the turtle breeding center. Overall very well organized and full of experiences, though pricey.

In the middle a tour, Shark snorkeling and a guide was wonderful local guy who knows well about his own place.

We booked with you because you were the only tour including flamingos. There was only one and he was distant to us. I don’t expect you to control the birds, but we could have swung back by the location after visiting the tortoise breeding facility. We were so disappointed and the guide seemed unconcerned

Bad experience. Expensive ride that's not worth it. Don't take that walk. There was a lack of organization and communication. Two days before the tour, we were asked if the trip to Las Tintoneras could be kayak (at first we saw no problem, even because the other option would be to cancel the tour, but it was a terrible choice, because the lack of communication was already present in the messages). It was not explained that the route would be completely altered in relation to what was in the description of the tour. Our experience: we stayed more than 1 hour waiting in Puerto Ayora. After 2 hours by boat, we arrived around 10:00 and walked in the warm sun for almost 2 hours, visiting only free attractions, which were: the reserve of giant turtles, the lagoon of flamingos and a beach that has the insular sign, where we passed quickly, but managed to take a 5 minute dive after convincing the guide. After that, there was lunch, quite simple, in an acceptable restaurant. Then we had the bad experience with the kayak ride. In the conversation about the change of itinerary, we asked the exact duration and more details, and was informed that would be 2 hours of duration, but without further explanations. The guide (who did not even present himself) was impatient, did everything in a hurry, but explained only the basics. The tour, which was informed to last 2 hours, did not last even 40 minutes! The “snorkeling” mentioned in the advertisement was on a shallow beach, where there was absolutely nothing to see and, besides, there were only 25 minutes left, because the exit from the island was at 15:30 – that is, everything was very busy. Bad experience. Don't trust this agency. Tip: There are several agencies on the island with similar tours and much cheaper (but the payment is only in cash). In addition, they explain straight the script, without deception. There, we closed a tour with the Magical Tour agency, and it was wonderful.

"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."

English: I’m right now on the trip back to Santa Cruz. This experience was phenomenal. We were partnered with a guide called Roger “Willow” and Holy Crap did we have fun. We saw penguins, boobies, sharks, seals, sea turtles, sea horses, flamingos, our whole checklist. I saw some comments about the boat rides being uncomfortable and long, but we found them to be meditative and chill. Super glad we booked this! English: Right now I'm back in Santa Cruz. This experience was phenomenal. We got a guide named Roger “Willow” and ufff, how fun it was! We saw penguins, boobies, sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, seahorses, flamingos... everything on our list! I saw some comments about the boat rides being awkward and long, but for us they were meditative and quiet. We are so happy to have booked this!

Really very nice tour! The tour guide on site is passionate about it, which you can definitely see! We'll be back!

The day trip to Isabela has it all. You see land turtles, sea turtles, flamingos, penguins and lots of sharks and other marine life. You start on land with a trip around, where you then have lunch at a local restaurant, this is included in the price. Then it's off on a fantastic snorkelling trip. The trip was made extra good by our sweet guide, Roger The snorkel gear is the only downside as it's not very good, so if you have your own which is good, bring it!

Excellent activity, the trip if it is a little far because it is the fast boats but hence all excellent, the guide very attentive since receiving us at the dock and the super rich food in a local restaurant of Isabela. I definitely recommend this activity