Isabela Island - A Must Visit In The Galapagos Islands
Isabela Island is a must see in the Galapagos Islands. In this post, I will explain why. Isabela Island is the biggest Island in the Galapagos Islands and you should spend at least two days if you decide to visit!
The Island has it all you need to see on your trip to the Galapagos Islands. If you want to see the beautiful landscape and a large variety of species. Isabela is a must see for you!
Isabela Island is roughly 2 hours from Santa Cruz and it is a rough boat ride. If I knew this we would have checked out of the hotel in Santa Cruz and checked in somewhere on Isabela Island. You don't need to book the tours before you go there, if you book a hotel on Isabela, they will most likely help you out!
I went to the Galapagos Islands with my sister and we were based in Santa Cruz and we went to a day trip to Isabela Island.
Exploring the unique wildlife
Isabela is one of the best islands in the Galapagos where you can see so many different species. Here are the ones I spotted.
Penguins
I love penguins. Galapagos Islands have the second smallest penguins in the world. You can only spot them in Isabela Island and Fernandina Island.
Sealions
Arriving at Isabela Island you will see a bunch of Galapagos sea lions chilling around or even wave at you. You can see Sea Lions on most of the islands in the Galapagos.
Flamingoes
You can see flamingoes on multiple islands Isabela, Rabida, Santa Cruz, Floreana, and Santiago. I noticed that they are quite hard to take photos of because they constantly stick their heads underwater to eat shrimps.
Tortoises
Isabela Island is home to more wild tortoises than any of the other Islands. You can also visit the Tortoise breeding centre on the Island and see the old Tortoises and the babies.
The Boobies
If you go to the Galapagos Islands only to see the Boobies, I recommend North Seymour Island where you will be able to see a lot more of them and more closely. On our trip, we saw them from the boat and needed to zoom in to take a photo of them.
Related: Why you should visit North Seymour Island in the Galapagos Islands
Volcanoes
Sierra Negra and Wolf volcano are the two volcanoes you can spot on Isabela Island. I didn't get to see Sierra Negra, but it looks absolutely stunning, and it is a nice hike. Read more on TripAdvisor here.
Tintoreras
The water was too hot for the sharks to be there but between June and November, you might spot them.
Beaches
You can find some of the most beautiful beaches in the world in Galapagos. However, many of them are covered with volcanic rocks so remember to bring Aqua Shoes to walking on the beach, diving and snorkelling etc.
Snorkelling in the afternoon
You can swim with a lot of different animals on Isabela Island. I saw Starfish, Octopus, Sea Turtles, Penguins and Marine Iguanas.
Be aware that even though you swim with them you need to respect them and not touch them or get too close.
Even though I visited Isabela Island just for as day, it ended up to be my favourite Island with so much variety of wildlife and scenery. I highly recommend checking out Isabela Island on your visit to the Galapagos Island, along with North Seymour Island to spot the amazing birdlife.
