Skip to content 
Beginner and experienced snorkelers alike will quickly fall in love with snorkeling in the Galapagos. Its highly protected Marine Reserve offers opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Here, you’ll get to glide alongside graceful sea turtles, schools of vibrant tropical fish, docile reef sharks and rays, as well as playful sea lions that often approach swimmers out of curiosity.
Some of the best spots for this relaxing and wonderful activity: right outside the Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel, las Grietas, or aboard any of our Galapagos cruises that explore islands throughout the National Park (such Bartolome Island, North Seymour Island, and Santa Fe Island). Be aware: Snorkeling is one of the most popular activities in the Galapagos Islands for visitors seeking close encounters with marine life!
One of the most memorable wildlife experiences and one of the best things to do in the Galapagos is to come within arm’s reach of giant tortoises roaming freely throughout the highlands of Santa Cruz Island.
Weighing up to 550 pounds (250 kilograms), the Galapagos giant tortoise is the largest living tortoise species on Earth! Our explorers are given unique access to observe them up in the highlands as they lumber around, graze on native vegetation, and rest in muddy pools
Metropolitan Touring has been bringing travelers to moments like this for more than 70 years, and our guests based at our Finch Bay Hotel will get to experience the highlands, the coastline, and the marine life of the central islands, while those aboard our Santa Cruz II, La Pinta, or Isabela II expedition vessels carry that exploration across the wider archipelago and National Park.
Metropolitan Touring’s naturalist guides lead both experiences, connecting travelers to the same ecosystems whether they’re on land or at sea.
Tortuga Bay ranks among the most beautiful beaches in the Galapagos archipelago and is consistently listed among the best things to do in the Galapagos Islands. This location consists of a sweeping stretch of white sand on the southwestern coast of Santa Cruz where Pacific green sea turtles return season after season to nest (hence the name of the beach)!
For our guests at Finch Bay Hotel, Tortuga Bay is one of the closest and most rewarding half-day excursions on Santa Cruz. If desired, Metropolitan Touring’s naturalist guides can turn the walk in and the time on the beach into a deeper read on the island’s coastal ecosystems—the same type of engaging expertise that guides our guests aboard the Santa Cruz II, La Pinta, and Isabela II across the wider archipelago and National Park!
North Seymour was lifted from the ocean floor by a seismic event, and its origins as a seabed give the island its low, flat profile. Cliffs only a few meters high form the shoreline, where swallow-tailed gulls sit among the ledges and rocks. A sparse forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stands just above the landing, bare for most of the year and waiting for the rains to bring them back to life. Few islands in the Galapagos pack this density of wildlife into such a compact landscape, making North Seymour a consistent highlight among the many Galapagos activities available to visitors. You can visit this fantastic island while enjoying an exploration aboard Metropolitan Touring’s expedition cruises or embarking on a Day Tour from the Finch Bay Hotel.
Bartolome is famous for Pinnacle Rock, a towering spearheaded obelisk that rises from the ocean’s edge and is the best-known landmark in the islands. Galapagos penguins—the only species of penguin found north of the equator—walk precariously along narrow volcanic ledges at its base. Sea lions snooze on rocky platforms, ready to slide into the water to play with passing snorkelers. The island’s stark, otherworldly landscape and the concentration of wildlife around Pinnacle Rock make it one of the most photographed visitor sites in the archipelago, easily accessible via Metropolitan Touring’s exciting gamut of exploration options and tours.
South Plaza packs an extraordinary range of wildlife into a small footprint. Sea lions haul out along the shore, land iguanas forage beneath towering Opuntia cacti, and swallow-tailed gulls circle the island’s wind-swept southern cliffs. The island’s low-growing vegetation shifts color with the seasons, turning the landscape from green to deep red as conditions change. For guests aboard Metropolitan Touring’s expedition fleet or those staying at the Finch Bay Hotel wishing to embark on a Day Tour, South Plaza offers one of the most visually dynamic landings in the central islands.
Santa Fe offers one of the more beautiful and sheltered coves in the archipelago. Its turquoise lagoon is protected by a peninsula of tiny islets that forms an ideal and tranquil anchorage spot for any one of Metropolitan Touring’s tours, be it aboard an expedition vessel or the Finch Bay’s own luxury yacht. The island lies to the southeast of Santa Cruz within sight of Puerto Ayora. Like North Seymour, Santa Fe has been uplifted seismically, and you can see underwater lava formations on the island’s surface. Additionally, it is home to its own endemic subspecies of land iguana, which is larger and paler than those found elsewhere in the archipelago.
From Metropolitan Touring’s Finch Bay Hotel on Santa Cruz Island, guests can set out on a tranquil walk to Las Grietas that passes through a landscape of mangroves and Opuntia cacti, with the remnants of old salt mines marking the trail before it opens onto a series of volcanic crevices flooded with crystalline water.
The refreshing pools you can swim in all draw their depth from a mix of highland freshwater and Pacific Ocean inflow, creating conditions that attract a variety of marine species. Guests can snorkel, swim, or jump from the surrounding rocks into the clear water below, making this one of the most refreshing things to do in the Galapagos Islands for those looking to take a break from the heat! For guests based at our Finch Bay Hotel, Las Grietas is one of the most rewarding and convenient half-day excursions available on Santa Cruz!
Garrapatero Beach is widely regarded as having the finest sand in the Galapagos, and the cove’s calm waters make it one of the most inviting spots on Santa Cruz for swimming and kayaking. A short walk from the beach leads to a brackish lagoon where stilts, plovers, pintail ducks, and flamingos are regular sightings. The combination of beach, birdlife, and easy access from Puerto Ayora makes Garrapatero an excellent half-day excursion for our guests staying at Finch Bay Hotel.
Wildlife observation is the prime reason why so many people choose to visit the archipelago, and nowhere else on Earth offers encounters quite like these, making this activity one of the most defining things to do in Galapagos Islands. Remarkably, the Galapagos’ iconic wildlife shows no fear of humans, providing our guests with an unparalleled and amazing opportunity to view their daily lives—mating rituals, the birth and feeding of their young, competition for scarce resources—from no more than 2 meters (6 feet) away!
The headquarters of the Galapagos National Park Service and The Charles Darwin Research Station are located side by side on the outskirts of Puerto Ayora. There is an interpretation center open to the public and also one may view the tortoise rearing program. Those guests who do not have the opportunity to explore the highlands of Santa Cruz and see tortoises in their natural habitat will have the chance to see tortoises here. And for those who have already seen them in the wild, a visit to the Center will expand their knowledge of this unique, iconic Galapagos animal.
Metropolitan Touring’s innovative island hopping concept allows you to discover the best of the two most beautiful islands in the Galapagos: Santa Cruz and Isabela. On each island, stay at the best hotels with the most comfortable accommodations and wake up well rested to brand new inspiring views.
With its small cafes, boutiques and nightclubs, there is a little something to entertain everyone. Check out everyday life for locals at the farmer’s market on Saturdays or visit the fisherman’s wharf any day of the week and watch out for sea lions who want to taste the day’s catch. You will also find banks, pharmacies and – for our SCUBA diving guests – it’s a relief to know there is a 24/7 hyperbaric chamber in town.
Sometimes we want an active vacation. Other times, the best vacation is one in which we just lie back and enjoy the best of what our surroundings have to offer us.
After 70+ years of experience in Galapagos, Metropolitan Touring has found that some of the most rewarding activities in the Galapagos combine exploration with opportunities to slow down and appreciate the surroundings, which is exactly what we do via our best Galapagos tours! At our Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel for example, our guests are free to move at whatever pace they deem ideal, and aboard Metropolitan Touring’s expedition vessels, relaxation is equally easy to find between daily adventures.
The waters and landscapes in Galapagos offer some of the most rewarding active exploration possible! Metropolitan Touring’s Finch Bay Hotel sits at the center of it all, while our fleet of Expedition Vessels take you further into the wonders of the archipelago’s National Park.
Here’s a look at some of the top adventure activities in Galapagos:
Our Finch Bay Hotel offers PADI designed programs to allow guests to experience the thrill of SCUBA diving in a safe and fun environment. This diving package was designed by pro divers to highlight the best the Galapagos has to offer. A comprehensive underwater experience for adventurous divers that want to take home unforgettable memories. Most dive sites within the central islands are included, making this package a complete winner.
Highlights:
Important Notes:
Paddling around the waters of the Marine Reserve is a great way both to get some exercise and spot unique endemic wildlife. Birds rest on the cliffs that form the edges of the islands. Sea lions and their pups lie meters away on the beaches. Some of our favorite kayaking spots: Tortuga Bay, Garrapatero Beach, Divine Bay, and Playa de los Alemanes Beach, the last of which sits right outside the gates of the Finch Bay Hotel!
For surfers wondering what to do in Galapagos Islands, Tortuga Bay offers a great opportunity to work on your surfing technique or learn it for the first time. An internationally recognized surf magnet, it features a spectacular white, sandy beach and surf from groundswells with breaks that offer both lefts and rights. It is rarely crowded, but of course, watch out for rocks, protected marine life, turtles, sharks and rays. And the walk to and from the beach is quite special in and of itself.
The volcanic landscapes of the Galapagos are unlike anywhere else on Earth, and hiking through them is one of the most direct ways to understand how these islands were formed and how life took hold here. Trails vary in difficulty across the islands, moving through lava fields, dry forest, and highland terrain, with endemic wildlife visible at almost every turn. Metropolitan Touring’s naturalist guides bring these landscapes to life as part of the excursions offered from the Finch Bay Hotel and our expedition fleet.
What better place to enjoy your pastime of biking than on Santa Cruz Island? Beautiful views, virtually zero traffic, and unique animals are all to be experienced on either side of the path, making this one of the paramount Galapagos things to do. Easy downhill routes connect to beaches and walking trails, making it a practical and rewarding option for families and solo travelers alike.
“Melissa has been fantastic! She answers all my questions, gets back to me quickly, and has mapped out a wonderful trip for us. I couldn’t be happier with the service I have received.”
– Mary Kabat
We'll call you back within 5 minutes.
