Swallow-tailed Gull
Creagrus furcatus
- Where
- 6 sites on 5 islands, mostly South
- When
- Year round
JFMAMJJASOND
On 77 of 97 routes · 1794 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$3,570
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.
5 of 5 species shown
almost alwaysoftensometimesnot in this month
Galápagos Land Iguana
Conolophus subcristatus
- Where
- 7 sites on 6 islands, mostly South
- When
- Year round
JFMAMJJASOND
On 83 of 97 routes · 2012 departures in season
See these departures →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 →Great Frigatebird
Fregata minor
- Where
- 6 sites on 3 islands, mostly North
- When
- Year round, more between Mar and Jun
JFMAMJJASOND
On 67 of 97 routes · 1540 departures in season
See these departures →Blue-footed Booby
Sula nebouxii
- Where
- 11 sites on 8 islands, mostly South
- When
- Year round, more between Jun and Aug
JFMAMJJASOND
On 83 of 97 routes · 1995 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
546 of the 2108 upcoming departures put you where the Flightless Cormorant is, at the time it is there.
546
- 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.
26/09/2026US$7,992
ELITE · 8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds
6 spotsAsk about this date
03/10/2026US$3,570
Galaxy Orion · 8-Day Western Islands: Isabela's Tortoise Hatchery
1 spotAsk about this date
05/10/2026US$5,295
Archipel I · 8-Day Western Islands: Urbina Bay's Coral Uplift
1 spotAsk about this date
08/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
1 spotAsk about this date
10/10/2026US$7,992
ELITE · 8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds
6 spotsAsk about this date
22/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
7 spotsAsk about this date
24/10/2026US$7,992
ELITE · 8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds
4 spotsAsk about this date
29/10/2026US$7,916
Tribute · 7-Day Western Islands: Fernandina's Marine Iguanas
7 spotsAsk about this date
12/11/2026US$7,916
Tribute · 7-Day Western Islands: Fernandina's Marine Iguanas
6 spotsAsk about this date
19/11/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
6 spotsAsk about this date
03/12/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
14 spotsAsk about this date
Show more departures of shown
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.
+ 1 786 509 6338We answer first thing on the next working day
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from US$3,570
546 departures