Marine Iguana
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
- Where
- on most islands
- When
- Year round, more between Jan and Mar
JFMAMJJASOND
On 85 of 97 routes · 1954 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$2,120
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.
9 of 13 species shown
almost alwaysoftensometimesnot in this month
Swallow-tailed Gull
Creagrus furcatus
- Where
- 6 sites on 5 islands, mostly South
- When
- Year round
JFMAMJJASOND
On 77 of 97 routes · 1810 departures in season
See these departures →Galápagos Fur Seal
Arctocephalus galapagoensis
- Where
- 7 sites on 5 islands, mostly Central
- When
- Year round
JFMAMJJASOND
On 82 of 97 routes · 2006 departures in season
See these departures →Galápagos Giant Tortoise
Chelonoidis spp.
- Where
- 10 sites on 5 islands, mostly Central
- When
- Year round, more between Jun and Dec
JFMAMJJASOND
On 85 of 97 routes · 2080 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 · 2125 departures in season
See these departures →Giant Manta Ray
Mobula birostris
- Where
- 5 sites on 5 islands, mostly Central
- When
- Jun to Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
On 50 of 97 routes · 694 departures in season
See these departures →Red-footed Booby
Sula sula
- Where
- 5 sites on 4 islands, mostly North
- When
- Year round
JFMAMJJASOND
On 53 of 97 routes · 1148 departures in season
See these departures →Scalloped Hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
- Where
- 5 sites on 5 islands, mostly South
- When
- Year round, more between Jun and Nov
JFMAMJJASOND
On 12 of 97 routes · 209 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 · 1555 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
1076 of the 2125 upcoming departures put you where the Marine Iguana is, at the time it is there.
1076
- 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
Cerro Brujo, day 7
26/09/2026US$2,120
Galaxy Orion · 5-Day Western & Southern: San Cristobal's Highlands
Cerro Brujo, day 4
28/09/2026US$3,320
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
Cerro Brujo, day 5
28/09/2026US$8,300
Solaris · Solaris: Route BC
Cerro Brujo, day 5
28/09/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 5
29/09/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 14
02/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route CAB
Cerro Brujo, day 15
03/10/2026US$10,045
Treasure · Treasure: Route CA
Cerro Brujo, day 10
03/10/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route CAB
Cerro Brujo, day 10
04/10/2026US$4,152
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
6 spotsAsk about this date
05/10/2026US$10,300
Archipel I · Archipel I: Route AB
Cerro Brujo, day 14
06/10/2026US$5,130
Galaxy Sirius · 5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Sea Lion Colony
4 spotsAsk about this date
06/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route AB
Cerro Brujo, day 11
06/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route ABC
Cerro Brujo, day 11
07/10/2026US$3,840
Galaxy Stella · 5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel
4 spotsAsk about this date
08/10/2026US$8,345
Archipel I · Archipel I: Route A5B
Cerro Brujo, day 11
09/10/2026US$3,735
Treasure · 5-Day Northern & Western: Punta Pitt's Triple Boobies
Cerro Brujo, day 4
09/10/2026US$8,300
Treasure · Treasure: Route AB
Cerro Brujo, day 4
09/10/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route ABC
Cerro Brujo, day 4
10/10/2026US$7,992
ELITE · 8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds
Cerro Brujo, day 7
12/10/2026US$5,295
Archipel I · 8-Day Southern & Northern: Prince Philip's Booby Steps
Cerro Brujo, day 7
12/10/2026US$3,528
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
Cerro Brujo, day 5
12/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 5
13/10/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 14
15/10/2026US$3,295
Archipel I · 5-Day Southern Islands: Espanola's Bold Mockingbird
Cerro Brujo, day 4
16/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route CAB
Cerro Brujo, day 15
18/10/2026US$4,152
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
4 spotsAsk about this date
20/10/2026US$4,952
ELITE · 5-Day Northern & Western: Darwin Bay's Flooded Caldera
1 spotAsk about this date
20/10/2026US$4,845
Galaxy Sirius · 5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Sea Lion Colony
6 spotsAsk about this date
20/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route AB
Cerro Brujo, day 11
20/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route ABC
Cerro Brujo, day 11
24/10/2026US$7,992
ELITE · 8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds
Cerro Brujo, day 7
24/10/2026US$2,120
Galaxy Orion · 5-Day Western & Southern: San Cristobal's Highlands
Cerro Brujo, day 4
25/10/2026US$5,576
Tribute · 5-Day Northern & Eastern: Genovesa's Daylight-Hunting Owl
2 spotsAsk about this date
26/10/2026US$3,735
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
Cerro Brujo, day 5
26/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 5
27/10/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route BCA
Cerro Brujo, day 14
31/10/2026US$10,045
Treasure · Treasure: Route CA
Cerro Brujo, day 10
31/10/2026US$14,095
Treasure · Treasure: Route CAB
Cerro Brujo, day 10
01/11/2026US$4,152
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
10 spotsAsk about this date
04/11/2026US$4,080
Galaxy Stella · 5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel
5 spotsAsk about this date
06/11/2026US$4,150
Treasure · 5-Day Northern & Western: Punta Pitt's Triple Boobies
Cerro Brujo, day 4
08/11/2026US$4,952
ENDEMIC · 5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy
Cerro Brujo, day 2
15/11/2026US$4,152
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
1 spotAsk about this date
17/11/2026US$5,130
Galaxy Sirius · 5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Sea Lion Colony
4 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$2,120
1076 departures