Puerto Ayora (Academy Bay) - Activities Attractions And Shopping

Everywhere interesting you go in Galapagos requires you to have a guide.

Cruisers have recommended a day trip to North Seymour Island as a ‘do not miss it’.

Also recommended is the hike to Las Grietas and walking the boardwalk to Tortuga Bay. The 40-minute walk starts from the water-taxi dock and heads southwest from town to Tortuga Bay where you'll find two white sand beaches and an array of wild life which might include baby hammerhead sharks swimming right off the beach as well as marine iguanas, turtles and pelicans.   If you don't fancy the walk, take a water taxi to the beach as it's about an hour's hike to the beach from where the land taxis will drop you.

The water taxi ($20 per person return) goes four times a day from the pier in Puerto Ayora, with the last one at 4.45pm. The walking trail is open from 6am to 5pm.

It is possible to hire a taxi/truck at $10/hr to take a group up to the highlands (Spanish-speaking driver). This is much cheaper than a guided tour with an English guide if your Spanish is sufficient.

The Charles Darwin Research Station is about a 15 minute walk from the pier.  A $10 fee per person will let you see the tortoises and also includes a very good guided tour.

A 25 minute taxi ride will take you to the big inland tortoise sanctuary, where you can see the giant tortoises in the wild, and the spectacular underground lava tunnel walk.  Expect to pay about $50 per cab for four people for a return trip.