Our home island. Puerto Ayora is the archipelago's liveliest town and the departure point for most boat day trips. Highlands, lava tunnels, giant tortoises and Tortuga Bay are all within reach of a morning.

A 50-minute walk from Puerto Ayora through native vegetation brings you to Tortuga Bay's white sand and clear water. Kayak the calm side at Playa Mansa and snorkel straight off the beach.

An afternoon in the green interior of Santa Cruz: the two collapsed craters at Los Gemelos, a walk inside a lava tunnel, and giant tortoises in the open on a highland ranch.

Ride down from Cerro Mesa to El Garrapatero beach, about 19 km from Puerto Ayora, with time to snorkel. Finish at a trapiche to see how sugar cane spirit and coffee are made by hand.
Full-day navigations to the uninhabited islands. All of them leave from and return to Santa Cruz.

A full-day boat trip to Bartolome, the volcanic island behind the Pinnacle Rock skyline, with a climb to the viewpoint and, conditions allowing, snorkeling. The day ends among the lava formations of Sullivan Bay.

North Seymour packs land iguanas, frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies into 1.9 square kilometres. After lunch on board you snorkel at Playa Bachas or Mosquera Islet, whichever the sea allows.

Two snorkel sessions in the clear water off Santa Fe, with sea lions, turtles and tropical fish, then lunch on board and, if the sea allows, a stop at Playa Escondida.

A day around Pinzon Island and La Fe Islet: a landing among marine iguanas and boobies, a circuit of Roca Sin Nombre, snorkeling with reef sharks and rays, and optional recreational fishing.

Floreana carries the islands' human history. You visit Asilo de la Paz, the Pirates' Cave and the tortoise breeding centre, then the sea lions of Playa Loberia and a black-sand beach.

A small island with an outsized cast: land iguanas under the prickly pear, seabirds along the cliff edge and a sea lion colony at the dock. The afternoon is snorkeling at Punta Carrion.

A long day and a 2.5-hour crossing to Puerto Villamil: the Arnaldo Tupiza tortoise breeding centre, the flamingo lagoons, and 45 minutes of snorkeling in the channels of Tintoreras Islet.
Extra fees paid on the day and not included: water taxi USD 1 in Santa Cruz and USD 1 in Isabela; Isabela entrance USD 10 for foreign visitors, USD 5 for nationals.