5 Amazing Tours in Isabela, Galapagos
The Best Tours in 2024
- Last Updated: September 22, 2024
Isabela is the biggest and most unexplored main island of the Galapagos and therefore here is a list of 5 amazing tours in Isabela you can do in order to take the most of your time here. Snorkeling and scuba diving tours are not part of this list, if you are interested in those specific tours check my full dedicated articles on them here.
Literally, more than half of the island is off-limits for the common tourist unless you are part of a scientific expedition or you’re on a cruise. If you’re land-based and have no connection with any scientific organization you can’t go to most places. If you’re on a cruise you can stop at some spots you wouldn’t stop if you were on foot. This is the island with the best volcano hikes and the most epic snorkeling spots. So if you have to choose an island you can’t miss this is it, Isabela.
Most of the adventures I’ve done them myself and I’ve written detailed articles about them, which I will link together.
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The Best Tours in Isabela
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 best 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.
- You can’t fly a drone here unless you have a special permit from the National 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.
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The Best Tours in Isabela
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The Best Tours in
Isabela, Galapagos
1. Sierra Negra Volcano Tour - Full Day
The Sierra Negra Volcano Tour is the best volcano hike you can do in the Galápagos and one of the best tours in Isabela island.
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:
The Best Tours in
San Cristobal and Santa Cruz Islands
2. Los Tuneles Tour - Full Day
The Los Tuneles or Cabo Rosa tour is the coolest snorkeling tour you can do in the archipelago and one of the best tours in Isabela island. You will see so much wildlife you won’t believe it.
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.
Apart from the wildlife, the lava structures underwater are mind-blowing, you can dive through infinite tunnels and caves, and to top it we saw like in Angelita’s cenote in Mexico, an hydrogen sulfide cloud. What an experience!
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:
3. Trillizos Volcano Tour - Half Day
The Trillizos Volcano Tour is the most adventurous and probably one of the most secret tours in Isabela island. You will literally enter inside an artery of the main Sierra Negra volcano. Once inside you will encounter the hole from where the lava was expelled many years ago and a room full of Quartz stone, among other surprising things.
If you want to have the feeling you’re in a Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, or Tomb Raider movie, this is definitely the tour for you.
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).
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4. Las Tintoreras Tour - Half Day
Las Tintoreras islet is one of the most famous tours in Isabela island and it’s usually the only one you get if you come from Santa Cruz on a daily trip.
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:
5. Sierra Negra Sulfur Mines Tour - Full Day
This one is among the most epic tours in Isabela I, unfortunately, didn’t have time to do but it looks absolutely stunning. Instead of seeing the volcano from a viewpoint with its red and black surfaces of lava, you get to see and smell a vivid yellow sulfur mine with constant smoke coming out of it.
It is an amazing alternative to do if you’ve already seen the volcano from the top. When I go back to Isabela this is for sure the first tour I will do. It must be incredible. And very smelly Ahah.
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)
Best Tours in Isabela
Where to Stay
For those looking for a sophisticated and comfortable stay, The Iguana Crossing Boutique Hotel is a great option, boasting 14 elegant rooms, a sparkling pool, and a rooftop lounge. Cormorant Beach House offers an environmentally conscious retreat, where guests can enjoy the natural beauty of the island and a complimentary 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 best tourism infrastructure.
Isabela Island – The most adventurous and less explored island of the main three.
