I Skipped the Galápagos Cruise. Here’s the 8-Day Itinerary I Chose Instead.
This land-based Galápagos itinerary covers three islands, wildlife-packed excursions, and what I’d change after doing it myself.
I thought I knew what the highlight of the Galápagos would be. I was wrong.
It wasn’t seeing giant tortoises in the wild. It wasn’t even snorkeling with sharks. It was an island I barely knew anything about before this trip.
My husband and I spent eight days exploring Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal without taking a cruise. In this guide, I’m sharing our exact route, where we stayed, how long we spent on each island, and the excursions we chose along the way.
I’ll also cover what I would absolutely do again and what I’d change if I were planning the same land-based Galápagos trip today.
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Why we skipped the cruise
Like many first-time visitors, I originally assumed we would take a cruise. That’s the way you hear about the Galápagos most often, and it seemed like the obvious choice.
But the more I researched, the more interested I became in spending time on the islands themselves.
I wanted to stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, walk around town after dinner, and experience each island beyond a few hours of sightseeing before returning to a ship.
The difficult part was arranging everything.
A land-based itinerary can involve ferries, small inter-island flights, National Park requirements, hotels, guided excursions, and transfers that all need to line up correctly. It becomes complicated surprisingly quickly.
That’s why I decided to work with a local tour operator. They arranged the itinerary and handled most of the logistics, which meant we didn’t have to spend the trip worrying about whether we were in the right place at the right time.
I’ll cover the planning process and whether using a tour company was worth it in a separate article. For now, let’s get into the eight-day route, because this itinerary worked extremely well for us.
The Route at a Glance – 8-Day Galápagos Land Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Quito
Days 2–3: Santa Cruz
Days 4–5: Isabela
Days 6–7: San Cristóbal
Day 8: Fly out
We flew into Quito the night before because our Galápagos flight left early the next morning. From Quito, we flew to Baltra, which is the airport for Santa Cruz. We spent two nights on Santa Cruz, took the ferry to Isabela for two nights, then flew from Isabela to San Cristóbal for our final two nights before heading back to mainland Ecuador.
I liked this pace. We weren’t changing hotels every single night, but we still got to experience three different islands in just over a week.
If I were changing anything, I’d probably add one more night to Isabela. And we’ll get to why.
Day 1: Quito
Day one was really just an arrival day.
We flew into Quito and stayed overnight near the airport because our flight to the Galápagos left early the next morning. If your flight gets in earlier, you could also do a tour of Quito before calling it a night.
Day 2: Fly to Santa Cruz + See Giant Tortoises
One thing I loved about this itinerary is that we didn’t even go to the hotel first. Once we got out of the airport, we headed straight into the highlands to see giant tortoises.
Which is an amazing way to start a vacation.
Seeing giant tortoises in the wild had been at the top of my Galápagos bucket list for years, and getting to do that basically right after landing was pretty wild.
We also stopped to explore one of the lava tunnels. I was glad we did both, but for me, the tortoises were definitely the main event that day.
Where We Stayed on Santa Cruz
For our first two nights, we stayed at Hotel Silberstein in Puerto Ayora.
This wasn’t my favorite hotel of the trip, but that’s only because I ended up loving the other two so much.
It was clean, comfortable, the air conditioning worked well—which I definitely appreciated—and the location was excellent. We could walk to restaurants, shops, and the waterfront, so it made a really easy base for exploring Santa Cruz.
Day 3: Tortuga Bay + Charles Darwin Research Station
The next morning is Tortuga Bay.
If you’ve looked up photos of the Galápagos, you’ve probably already seen this beach.
And yes…It really is that pretty.
There’s about a mile-and-a-half walk to get there, but it’s paved and easy. Once you arrive, there are marine iguanas all over the place. I don’t know why I liked them so much, but I did. I took a ton of photos of them! They’re just sprawled out on the beach, chilling.
We also spent some time snorkeling over at Playa Mansa, which was calm and really relaxing.
Honestly, we ended up staying longer than we’d planned because we were having such a nice afternoon.
Eventually we looked at the time and realized we were going to miss our lunch reservation if we walked all the way back, so we grabbed one of the water taxis instead.
Did not want to miss this lunch! So good.
Charles Darwin Research Station
Later that afternoon, we stopped by the Charles Darwin Research Station.
After already seeing giant tortoises in the wild, it was interesting learning more about the conservation work happening throughout the islands and everything that’s gone into protecting these species.
Santa Cruz Planning Note
One thing I wish I’d known beforehand…Santa Cruz definitely had my favorite souvenir shopping.
I found the best artwork here, and there were several things I wanted to buy. The only problem was…This was our first island.
I really didn’t feel like carrying souvenirs around the Galápagos for the next week, so I showed an unusual amount of self-control and waited.
My Take on Santa Cruz
Looking back, I think two nights on Santa Cruz is about right.
It gives you enough time to settle into the Galápagos, see some incredible wildlife, explore Puerto Ayora, and ease into the pace of the trip before heading to the next island.
Getting to Isabela
Our next stop is Isabela. We took the ferry from Santa Cruz, although you can also fly between the islands. We chose the ferry because it was cheaper, and I’ll be honest—it was probably my least favorite day of the trip.
The ferry ride takes about two hours, and the day we went it was hot and stuffy. If you’re someone who gets motion sickness, I’d definitely recommend coming prepared. I don’t usually get sick on boats, but even I wasn’t feeling great that day, hence why I don’t have any footage from this experience. (I was in survival mode!)
Thankfully, once we stepped onto Isabela, I forgot all about the ferry.
Day 4: Ferry to Isabela + Tintoreras
Isabela is, hands down, my favorite island on this trip. It’s by far the quietest and most relaxed stop on this itinerary.
We’d wander into town for dinner each night; there were little restaurants along the water, hardly any traffic, and I remember turning to my husband at one point and saying, “I could live here.”
And honestly, where we stayed was a big part of that.
Where We Stayed on Isabela
Our base on Isabela was The Isabela Beach House, and this was my favorite hotel of the trip.
The rooms were comfortable, breakfast was great, and every morning we had this incredible ocean view right outside our room.
I don’t think I would’ve gotten tired of waking up there.
Tintoreras Walk + Snorkel
Our first afternoon here was the Tintoreras walk and snorkel.
You take a short boat ride out from Isabela, and right away it feels different from Santa Cruz. There are these black volcanic rock formations, sea lions hanging out on the rocks, seabirds everywhere, and then you get in the water, and there’s wildlife all around you.
I mean, we had sea lions swimming around us, Galápagos sharks below us, and then these little Galápagos penguins absolutely flying through the water.
I still can’t believe there are penguins here. Watching them underwater was one of my favorite wildlife moments of the whole trip. Those little guys are so fast! (See this in my YouTube video.)
Day 5: Sierra Negra Volcano Hike
The next day, we hiked the Sierra Negra Volcano, and this ended up being one of my favorite excursions of the entire itinerary.
I enjoy hiking, and this was just perfect for me! This hike can be as easy or as challenging as you want; we did about 10 miles of hiking that day because we enjoyed it so much!
Near the beginning and end of the hike, we spotted a few giant tortoises, which was so cool. However, they aren’t really found higher up.
We also saw Galápagos land iguanas, and I took an embarrassing number of photos of them. They’re like tiny dinosaurs and just have the most amazing coloring.
We even spotted the Little Vermilion Flycatcher, which is native only to this area, and that was exciting! (Slowly becoming a birder…)
Then, that evening, it was nice to just wander around town, find a restaurant, and enjoy one more evening on Isabela.
My take: Add another night to Isabela if you can
If I ever come back to the Galápagos…
This is where I’m adding another night. I loved Isabela and would have loved one more day to just hang out at the hotel’s beach or maybe do an additional snorkel trip.
Day 6: Sea Kayaking + Fly to San Cristóbal
The next morning, before flying to San Cristóbal, we went sea kayaking.
This was actually my first time sea kayaking. Apparently, the water was rougher than normal that day. But I thought that made it more fun! It was cool to kayak with penguins and sea lions around us.
Then it was time to fly to San Cristóbal.
And when I say fly…This was the smallest plane I’ve ever been on.
There was basically a little car door handle to get in and out, and I remember thinking, “Okay…this is different. Is this safe?!”
We were fine! And the flight itself was short, about 45 minutes, and the views were incredible.
San Cristóbal
Once we got to San Cristóbal, the vibe changed again.
This was definitely the most “happening” island of the three. There were more restaurants, more bars, more people walking around, and just more going on in general.
After Isabela, it felt much busier. Not in a bad way, just very different.
And the sea lions were everywhere. On the beach. On the benches. Near the docks. Just everywhere! I loved it and never got tired of seeing them.
We did a short hike to La Lobería Beach and did a little snorkeling and then spent the rest of this day just enjoying the sea lions and trying some of the different restaurants and bars in San Cristóbal.
Where We Stayed on San Cristóbal
For our last two nights, we stayed at Casa Playa Mann.
This hotel had kind of a bohemian feel to it, and the staff were so kind and helpful. It was a really nice place to end the trip.
Day 7: Kicker Rock
Day 7 was Kicker Rock. And I cannot imagine a better final full day in the Galápagos.
The boat ride alone was incredible. Before we even got to Kicker Rock, we were already seeing so much wildlife along the coast, and we made a brief stop to see more birds, sea lions, crabs, and more… and all these little moments where I kept thinking, “How is this place real?”
Then you get to Kicker Rock, and it’s just so dramatic. It’s this huge rock formation rising out of the water, and you’re snorkeling around it looking for marine life.
And we saw so much! We saw sea turtles, fish, rays, and even hammerhead sharks.
The hammerheads were deeper down the day we went, so as snorkelers, they looked more like shadows moving underneath us. Still very cool. But it also made me understand why divers get so excited about this spot. (You can see this in my YouTube video below.)
Kicker Rock made me want to become a diver.
We actually met a couple on our boat who had booked Kicker Rock twice because they really wanted a better chance of diving with hammerhead sharks. And it worked. They were thrilled.
That’s not something everyone needs to do, but if Kicker Rock is really high on your bucket list — especially if you’re a diver — it might be worth building in enough time to do it twice.
For us, even just snorkeling it once was unforgettable.
Day 8: Free Morning + Fly Out
Day 8 was our departure day, but we did have a little free time in the morning.
This is where I was glad we ended on San Cristóbal because it’s easy to walk around, grab a coffee, do a little shopping, or just go see the sea lions one more time before heading to the airport.
And that felt like a pretty perfect final morning.
We ended up getting to the airport probably far earlier than we needed to, but that’s how I roll. I don’t like to cut flights too close. So we also paid to have access to the lounge at the airport here, which I was glad we did because it was air-conditioned. The airport here was SO hot.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, I’m really happy we skipped the cruise and did this land-based itinerary.
That does not mean I think cruises are bad. I totally understand why people choose them.
But for the way I like to travel, I loved being able to stay on the islands, walk around town in the evenings, eat at local restaurants, and actually feel the difference between Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal.
If I were changing one thing, I’d add one more night to Isabela. Two nights worked, but that was the island where I really wanted more time.
But for this itinerary itself, I honestly thought it worked really well.
Travel Medical Insurance
For this itinerary, we had a lot of moving parts! So for a trip like this, travel medical insurance is one of those things I want sorted before I go.
SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance Essential is designed for travelers and can include coverage for new, unexpected medical issues while you’re abroad, including things like hospital stays, surgeries, and medications, plus travel-related benefits for things like lost luggage and travel delays.
That’s the kind of thing I think about more on trips like this, especially somewhere as remote as the Galápagos.
Read next: My Honest TrovaTrip Review as a Host – Why I Backed Out of My Trip With Them
