19 Amazing Things To Do in Isabela, Galapagos

General Info

Isabela, like all the other islands, is part of the Galapagos National Park, and therefore it has a number of things you should know:

• Most of the activities have to be done on a tour with a Naturalist guide.
• All the agencies have the same prices (although you can barter if you book more than one tour).
• Most beaches have opening and closing times (turtle nesting reasons).
• You should book your tour at least one day in advance (or you might risk not having a place on the popular ones).
• Bring Seasickness Medication for the tours on the water.
• Always use strong sunscreen (Sun in the Equator line burns more).
• Have mosquito repellant with you, especially at sunset. There are horseflies in the Galapagos.
• Drones are not allowed for tourists in the park.
• You can’t rent a motorcycle or a car, everything has to be done by taxi, bus, boat, bicycle, or on foot.
• You can’t and shouldn’t touch the animals on the island.

If you want some more information on things to do in Isabela island or other official information please check the Galapagos Conservancy’s website about Isabela Island.

Top Picks for Things To Do in Isabela

1. Sierra Negra and Chico Volcanoes

The Sierra Negra Volcano Tour is a guided hike on Isabela island to the rim of a volcano caldera.

You will walk on the rim of the massive Sierra Negra volcano’s caldera, whose last eruption happened just in 2018, and visit the Chico Volcano, a little offspring of Sierra Negra with a view to the Northwestern part of Isabela Island.

This tour has to be done with a Naturalist guide from the Galapagos National Park. You can book a tour with an agency and they hire the guide. You can’t simply hike your way up, unfortunately.

Along the hike, the landscape changes at least three times. From foggy and green, to dry and orange, and then to red and black. At the last stage, everything around you looks like an apocalypse. It’s an impressive and desolate place created by the destructive force of nature.

View the full blog post here: SIERRA NEGRA VOLCANO TOUR

To book this tour:  Check the local company Coral Blanco Tour Operator (click on the icons), or book it online on Viator with any of the tours underneath:

2. Concha de Perla Lagoon

The Concha de Perla Lagoon in Isabela is a lagoon full of mangroves, a short walk from Puerto Villamil town. Entry is free, and you can snorkel there.

You will probably see marine iguanas on the wooden deck before entering the water, and fish. With luck, you might spot some turtles and perhaps some reef sharks and rays.

View the full blog post here: CONCHA DE PERLA LAGOON

3. Wall of Tears

The Wall of Tears on Isabela Island is a controversial attraction. It is a stone wall built between 1946 and 1959 by inmates of the former Isabela Penitentiary Colony. Here hundreds of prisoners were forced to work under extreme circumstances. They built this wall for no other purpose than to be punished. While enduring this hardship many people died.

It is a hard place to visit because of its history, and the landscape around it is also worth seeing. If you like hikes and views, you can go on from here to the El Radar viewpoint, which overlooks the Isabela beachfront.

View the full blog post here: WALL OF TEARS IN ISABELA

To rent a bike: Check any of the many local bike shops in Puerto Villamil.

4. Cerro Orchilla Hill Viewpoint

Cerro Orchilla Hill is one of the highlights of the way to the Wall of Tears. It is a hill that overlooks the southern part of Isabela island. From there you can see Puerto Villamil town, the shore, and many small volcanic hills surrounding it.

If you do not have the time or energy to go to the Wall of Tears, this is an alternative for seeing the green landscape of Isabela from above. It’s free to go and you can easily stop at the Playita beach on the way here or explore the Humedales - Wetlands park.

I went here on my way to the Wall of Tears. Pay attention if you park your bike down there on the bicycle park if there are any thorns on the floor cause I accidentally punctured my tire that way.

View the full blog post here: WALL OF TEARS IN ISABELA

5. El Radar Viewpoint Hike

The El Radar Viewpoint hike in Isabela Island is a short hike you can do after arriving at the Wall of Tears.

The Wall of Tears is a stone wall built between 1946 and 1959 by inmates of the former Isabela Penitentiary Colony. Here hundreds of prisoners were forced to work under extreme circumstances. They built this wall for no other purpose than to be punished. While enduring this hardship many people died.

On your way to El Radar Viewpoint there are other viewpoints, like the Wall of Tear’s viewpoint, some meters after the wall.

From all of them you can see Isabela island’s beachfront and its green landscape.

View the full blog post here: EL RADAR VIEWPOINT HIKE

6. Puerto Villamil Beach

The Puerto Villamil beach or Playa Isabela in Isabela island is a 4 km beach that runs along the whole seaside of the town.

It has white sand and turquoise water. You will see pelicans fishing and marine iguanas, and on the east side there is a place to surf.

View the full blog post here: PUERTO VILLAMIL BEACH

7. Isabela’s Downtown

Spend some time exploring Puerto Villamil’s downtown (Isabela island’s capital). Puerto Villamil has a large white beach running along the whole town, and compared to Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz it is a quieter place. There are not half as many tourists as in Santa Cruz.

The restaurants are all very similar and local, there are just a couple of international food restaurants and the rest serves you fish and ceviche and local specialties. There are some bars on the beachfront if you want to go for a drink at night while watching the waves breaking on the sand and everything is very easily reached due to the town’s small size.

In the backyard of Puerto Villamil, there are some lakes where you can find flamingos and there is a small stadium in town where sometimes they make live events.

8. Los Humedales - Wetlands

Los Humedales or the Wetlands is a natural park full of different types of mangroves and lakes and it stands on the way to the Wall of Tears. Here you can find many animals including flamingos and giant tortoises.

In Los Humedales park there is also a beach called Playa del Amor or Love beach, where marine iguanas can be seen.

It’s a free park and you can go here on your way to The Wall of Tears, Cerro Orchilla Hill, and El Radar hike.

View the full blog posts here: WALL OF TEARS IN ISABELA and EL RADAR VIEWPOINT HIKE

9. La Playita Beach

La Playita beach is the main alternative to Puerto Villamil’s beach and it stands right at the beginning of Los Humedales Park and some meters after the main beach. Here you can come at the end of your Wall of Tears bicycle ride or to say that you went to a different beach in Isabela.

It has more of a bay feel. With the large Puerto Villamil beach next to the town, where there are few people, you do not need to find a remote beach on this island. If you want an alternative beach, this is it.

View the full blog posts here: WALL OF TEARS IN ISABELA or PUERTO VILLAMIL BEACH

Other Things You Might Like in

Santa Cruz and San Cristobal Islands

10. Los Tuneles - Cabo Rosa

The Los Tuneles or Cabo Rosa tour in Isabela island is a snorkeling tour with a lot of wildlife.

We saw on the surface blue-footed boobies, penguins, sea lions, marine iguanas and orange crabs and underwater reef sharks, turtles, a sea horse, a sea lion, an eagle ray, a stingray, an octopus, a lobster, and beautiful schools of fish.

Underwater there are lava structures with tunnels and caves, and we also saw, as in the Angelita cenote in Mexico, a hydrogen sulfide cloud.

View the full blog post here: LOS TUNELES TOUR IN ISABELA

To book this tour:  Check the local company Coral Blanco Tour Operator (click on the icons), or book it online on Viator with any of the tours underneath:

11. Trillizos Volcano

The Trillizos Volcano Tour takes you inside a cave in the Sierra Negra volcano. Inside you will find the hole where lava was expelled many years ago and a room full of quartz, among other things.

According to Jhan the son of Ulise, our guide, previously they didn’t know the hole was there, so their cows used to fall inside once the vegetation was too thick and then they would go down and collect the meat leaving the bones behind (you can still find them there).

The entire cave is not completely explored. Only a couple of rooms are. If you look in Google Maps and follow the lines of the Trillizos volcano until the Sierra Negra one you can actually see there might be other caves all the way through, completely unexplored.

View the full blog post here: TRILLIZOS VOLCANO TOUR

To book this tour: Contact the owners, Ulise and Jhan, directly (click on the icons), or book a tour with them online with Viator:

12. Las Tintoreras

Las Tintoreras islet is the tour included in most day trips from Santa Cruz to Isabela.

It is an area on the water, 10 minutes by boat from Puerto Villamil’s town that was formed when the lava of Sierra Negra’s volcano got in contact with the oxygen forming a solid outer shell, like a lava tunnel’s carcass, and because it is on the water it formed some canals where daily hundreds of baby reef sharks (tintoreras) tend to go to. Here you will also see blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, and with luck some penguins. 

After the land tour, there is some time for snorkeling where you might find turtles, rays, and sea lions.

To book this tour:  Check the local company Coral Blanco Tour Operator (click on the icons), or book it online on Viator with any of the tours underneath:

13. Sierra Negra Sulfur Mines

I did not take this tour. Instead of seeing the volcano from a viewpoint, with its red and black lava, you visit a sulfur mine with yellow deposits and constant smoke, and you can smell the sulfur.

It is an alternative if you have already seen the volcano from the top. I would like to do it on a future trip.

If you want to do the Sierra Negra Volcano tour I’ll leave you the link down below.

View the full blog post here: SIERRA NEGRA VOLCANO TOUR

To book this tour:  Check the local company Coral Blanco Tour Operator (click on the icons), or book a tour online with them underneath:

14. Giant Tortoise Reserve “Arnaldo Tupiza Chamaidan”

If you followed along on the other islands’ articles you noticed there is always a Giant Tortoise reserve, and this is the one in Isabela island. It is free and it stands ca. 15-20 minutes away from Puerto Villamil’s downtown on foot. On your way and after the reserve you can find many lakes with flamingos and other endemic birds.

These giant tortoise reserves are breeding centers where the eggs of giant tortoises that were laid around the island in the wild are protected, thus preventing the attacks of predators. Here they have a much bigger chance of surviving into adulthood and living longer than they would normally.

To come here:  This is the location of the Tortoise Reserve (click on the pin):

15. Cueva de Sucre

The Cueva de Sucre is another natural attraction on Isabela island. It is the entrance to a lava tunnel, just like in Santa Cruz but on a smaller scale.

If you want to visit this cave you need to rent a taxi (22 minutes away from town) or try to plan it with a tour company to take you here maybe on your way to the Sierra Negra Volcano tour or the Volcan Trillizos tour.

It is free to enter and there is a picnic area on its compounds.

To come here:  This is the location of the cave (click on the pin):

16. Surf in Isabela

As on the other islands, you can surf on Isabela. Apart from the main Puerto Villamil beach, which is suitable for beginners, there are surf spots at El Faro, El Hospital, Barahona Point and Quinta Ola.

If you are not a surf expert, many places around town offer surf lessons.

17. Snorkel in Tortuga Island

Tortuga Island or Brattle Island is a small islet southeast of Puerto Villamil, shaped like a half-moon, which is the rim of the crater of an extinct volcano. The snorkeling tour here is advertised for the chance to see hammerhead sharks and manta rays.

After a 45 minutes speed boat ride you reach the island and there is some birdwatching time to try and spot blue-footed and Nasca boobies, frigate birds, and other species, and then it’s snorkeling time where you will hopefully find hammerheads and manta rays, then there is some deep-sea fishing and you eat lunch at Loberia beach, after lunch and after some more snorkeling, you go back to Puerto Villamil.

To book this tour: Check the local company Pahoehoe Galapagos’s website.

18. Snorkel in 4 Hermanos and Cartago Bay

Los 4 Hermanos islands is another place where hammerheads, Galápagos sharks and even manta rays are seen. It is located 1 hour away by speed boat to the northeast of Puerto Villamil’s town. Here, like on the Tortuga Island snorkel tour, you have a chance to do some deep-sea fishing and fish your own tuna with the crew, who will later prepare it as ceviche for lunch.

After Los Hermanos the tour takes you to Cartago Bay where you can snorkel a bit more and see some green turtles, tropical fish, rays, and sharks.

To book this tour: Check the local company Pahoehoe Galapagos’s website.

19. Dive in Tortuga Island

The Tortuga Island dive tour is a dive tour on Isabela island that does not depend on a cruise, with the chance to dive among hammerheads and manta rays.

This is a small islet located in the southeast of Puerto Villamil town, roughly 45 minutes away by speed boat and it has a shape of a half-moon clearly being the crater’s rim of an extinct volcano.

To book this tour: Check the local companies Pahoehoe Galapagos and Galapagos Isabela Dive Center (they have mostly good reviews, but since I didn’t do any tour with these companies I would recommend you take your own conclusions).

Where to Stay

The Iguana Crossing Boutique Hotel has 14 rooms, a pool and a rooftop lounge. Cormorant Beach House is where I stayed. It is on the beach, has an ecological focus and includes breakfast at a local-owned restaurant.

For those who prefer more apartment-style accommodation, Aparthotel Casa Soleil offers fully-equipped apartments just 450 meters from the beach.

To learn more about the best hotels in Isabela, Galapagos, check out the full article:

All The Articles About The Galapagos

San Cristobal Island - The easternmost island of the Galapagos, the “Isla Bonita”

Santa Cruz Island - The island with the most tourist infrastructure.

Isabela Island - The largest of the three main islands.