Galápagos Penguin
Spheniscus mendiculus
- Where
- 8 sites on 5 islands, mostly West
- When
- Year round, more between Jun and Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
On 78 of 97 routes · 1861 departures in season
See these departures →The Galápagos Cruise · Wildlife
Galápagos Wildlife: 25 Animals and Where to See Them
25
species recorded
14
found only here
15
islands
US$2,036
per guest, double occupancy
Twenty-five animals account for most of the reason people come to Galápagos, and fourteen of them live nowhere else on earth: the giant tortoise, the marine iguana, the flightless cormorant, the waved albatross, the only penguin that breeds on the equator. All twenty-five are recorded across the 15 islands our ships call at, and no single itinerary reaches all of them. The best get to twenty-four, a typical departure to eighteen.
Where you go decides more than when. Fifteen of the twenty-five are on record all year, so the itinerary matters more than the calendar. The waved albatross is on Española and nowhere else, and it is at sea from January to March. The flightless cormorant is on Fernandina and Isabela only, in the cold water of the west. The Santa Fé land iguana lives on the one island it is named after. Blue-footed boobies dance from June to August, the male frigatebirds of Genovesa inflate their red throat pouches from March to June, sea lion pups arrive between August and November, and the marine iguanas of Punta Suárez turn red and green from December to March. Green turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and brown pelicans turn up almost everywhere, on ordinary snorkeling stops and at every landing. The map below shows which island holds what, and the list further down counts only the departures that are in the right place in the right month.
Where they are
Tap an island to filter the species below. The number is how many species are recorded there.
2 of 2 species shown
almost alwaysoftensometimesnot in this month
Galápagos Sea Lion
Zalophus wollebaeki
- Where
- on most islands
- When
- Year round, more between Aug and Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
On 86 of 97 routes · 2108 departures in season
See these departures →The full lists, group by group
The fifteen above are the shortlist. Each group has its own page with every species on record, the same island map and the same departure check.
Select a departure that actually reaches it
773 of the 2108 upcoming departures put you where the Blue-footed Booby is, at the time it is there.
773
- You see it. The ship is at the site while the species is recorded there.
- Right island, wrong month. The route calls there outside the months on record.
- Never gets there. The route does not call at any of its sites.
01/10/2026US$6,035
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
7 spotsAsk about this date
05/10/2026US$5,295
Archipel I · 8-Day Western Islands: Urbina Bay's Coral Uplift
1 spotAsk about this date
05/10/2026US$2,036
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
5 spotsAsk about this date
06/10/2026US$5,266
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
4 spotsAsk about this date
08/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
1 spotAsk about this date
15/10/2026US$6,390
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
8 spotsAsk about this date
15/10/2026US$4,335
EcoGalaxy · 6-Day Western & Northern: Bartolome's Pinnacle Rock
5 spotsAsk about this date
20/10/2026US$5,266
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
9 spotsAsk about this date
22/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
7 spotsAsk about this date
22/10/2026US$4,370
Alya · 5-Day Northern & Western: Bartolome's Endemic Plant
3 spotsAsk about this date
25/10/2026US$5,576
Tribute · 5-Day Northern & Eastern: Genovesa's Daylight-Hunting Owl
4 spotsAsk about this date
29/10/2026US$4,080
EcoGalaxy · 6-Day Western & Northern: Bartolome's Pinnacle Rock
9 spotsAsk about this date
02/11/2026US$2,156
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
2 spotsAsk about this date
03/11/2026US$6,195
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
1 spotAsk about this date
12/11/2026US$6,035
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
8 spotsAsk about this date
14/11/2026US$7,191
GRAND OCEAN SPRAY · 6-Day Western Islands: Fernandina's Underwater Iguanas
8 spotsAsk about this date
19/11/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
6 spotsAsk about this date
19/11/2026US$4,140
Alya · 5-Day Northern & Western: Bartolome's Endemic Plant
8 spotsAsk about this date
22/11/2026US$5,576
Tribute · 5-Day Northern & Eastern: Genovesa's Daylight-Hunting Owl
6 spotsAsk about this date
26/11/2026US$6,035
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
5 spotsAsk about this date
26/11/2026US$5,100
EcoGalaxy · 6-Day Western & Northern: Bartolome's Pinnacle Rock
2 spotsAsk about this date
26/11/2026US$4,491
ENDEMIC · 4-Day Western & Southern: Black Turtle Cove's Mangroves
14 spotsAsk about this date
28/11/2026US$10,745
GRAND OCEAN SPRAY · 8-Day Western Islands: Punta Vicente Roca's Sunfish
15 spotsAsk about this date
30/11/2026US$2,156
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
4 spotsAsk about this date
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What's included
✓All meals on board
✓Two certified national park naturalist guides
✓All excursions and landings listed in the itinerary
✓Snorkelling gear and wetsuit
✓Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on board
✓Coffee, tea and water at any time
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María Fernanda Ortiz
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María Fernanda Ortiz
We answer personally, and we answer ourselves. A Galápagos trip is once in a lifetime, and you want the right advice before you book.
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from US$2,036
773 departures