Email ushello@thegalapagoscruise.com

The Galápagos Cruise  ·  Wildlife

Galápagos Wildlife: 25 Animals and Where to See Them

25
species recorded
14
found only here
15
islands
US$2,465
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.

9 of 10 species shown
almost alwaysoftensometimesnot in this month

Vermilion Flycatcher

Pyrocephalus nanus

Where
2 sites on 2 islands, mostly Central
When
Year round
JFMAMJJASOND

On 45 of 97 routes · 1155 departures in season

See these departures  →

Darwin's Finches

Geospiza / Camarhynchus spp.

Where
on most islands
When
Year round
JFMAMJJASOND

On 82 of 97 routes · 1978 departures in season

See these departures  →

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 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 · 2064 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 · 214 departures in season

See these departures  →

White-tipped Reef Shark

Triaenodon obesus

Where
on most islands
When
Year round
JFMAMJJASOND

On 40 of 97 routes · 855 departures in season

See these departures  →

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Where
7 sites on 4 islands, mostly Central
When
Year round
JFMAMJJASOND

On 79 of 97 routes · 1875 departures in season

See these departures  →

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Where
on most islands
When
Year round
JFMAMJJASOND

On 83 of 97 routes · 2034 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

214 of the 2108 upcoming departures put you where the Scalloped Hammerhead is, at the time it is there.

214
  • 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

04/10/2026US$4,152

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

07/10/2026US$3,840

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

10/10/2026US$7,992

ELITE  ·  8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds

18/10/2026US$4,152

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

24/10/2026US$7,992

ELITE  ·  8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds

01/11/2026US$4,152

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

04/11/2026US$4,080

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

08/11/2026US$4,952

ENDEMIC  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy

14/11/2026US$2,900

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

15/11/2026US$4,152

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

18/11/2026US$4,320

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

22/11/2026US$5,571

ENDEMIC  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy

02/12/2026US$4,080

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

02/12/2026US$7,140

Galaxy Stella  ·  8-Day Southern Islands: Gardner Bay's Sea Lion Pups

05/12/2026US$5,350

GRAND OCEAN SPRAY  ·  4-Day Southern Islands: Black Turtle Cove Sanctuary

12/12/2026US$2,465

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

13/12/2026US$4,152

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

26/12/2026US$4,350

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

02/01/2027US$5,650

GRAND OCEAN SPRAY  ·  4-Day Southern Islands: Black Turtle Cove Sanctuary

09/01/2027US$2,880

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

13/01/2027US$4,680

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

16/01/2027US$10,490

ELITE  ·  8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds

17/01/2027US$6,550

ENDEMIC  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy

23/01/2027US$2,880

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

24/01/2027US$5,490

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

30/01/2027US$10,490

ELITE  ·  8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds

31/01/2027US$6,550

ENDEMIC  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy

06/02/2027US$2,880

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

10/02/2027US$5,200

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

20/02/2027US$2,720

Bonita  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Coastal Trail

21/02/2027US$5,490

MONIQUE  ·  5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel

24/02/2027US$4,420

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

27/02/2027US$10,490

ELITE  ·  8-Day Western Islands: El Junco's Bathing Frigatebirds

28/02/2027US$6,550

ENDEMIC  ·  5-Day Southern Islands: Lonesome George's Legacy

10/03/2027US$4,575

Galaxy Stella  ·  5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel

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

Your selection
No departure selected yet
Pick one from the list above, then we can check it for you.
Select your departure
María Fernanda Ortiz
We reply within one business day

Prefer to talk? + 1 786 509 6338

We answer first thing on the next working day

Talk to us

Tell us who is traveling and we will check this departure for availability.

Only if you prefer a call back

Select a departure to send your request.

from US$2,465
214 departures