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
28/09/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route BCA
Chinese Hat, day 14
30/09/2026US$7,140
Galaxy Stella · 8-Day Western Islands: Mangle Point's Rare Access
Chinese Hat, day 7
01/10/2026US$6,035
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
Chinese Hat, day 2
01/10/2026US$18,000
Tribute · Tribute: Route CAB
Chinese Hat, day 14
02/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route CA
Chinese Hat, day 10
02/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route CAB
Chinese Hat, day 10
05/10/2026US$5,295
Archipel I · 8-Day Western Islands: Urbina Bay's Coral Uplift
Chinese Hat, day 3
05/10/2026US$2,036
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
Chinese Hat, day 3
05/10/2026US$7,475
Archipel I · Archipel I: Route AB4
Chinese Hat, day 3
05/10/2026US$10,300
Archipel I · Archipel I: Route AB
Chinese Hat, day 3
06/10/2026US$5,266
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
Chinese Hat, day 6
06/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route AB
Chinese Hat, day 6
06/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route ABC
Chinese Hat, day 6
07/10/2026US$11,150
Tribute · Tribute: Route AB
Chinese Hat, day 8
07/10/2026US$18,000
Tribute · Tribute: Route ABC
Chinese Hat, day 8
08/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
Chinese Hat, day 2
12/10/2026US$14,095
Solaris · Solaris: Route BCA
Chinese Hat, day 14
14/10/2026US$6,720
Galaxy Stella · 8-Day Western Islands: Mangle Point's Rare Access
Chinese Hat, day 7
15/10/2026US$5,992
ENDEMIC · Western Galápagos Islands
Chinese Hat, day 3
15/10/2026US$6,390
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
Chinese Hat, day 2
15/10/2026US$4,335
EcoGalaxy · 6-Day Western & Northern: Bartolome's Pinnacle Rock
Chinese Hat, day 2
16/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route CA
Chinese Hat, day 10
20/10/2026US$5,266
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
Chinese Hat, day 6
21/10/2026US$11,150
Tribute · Tribute: Route AB
Chinese Hat, day 8
21/10/2026US$18,000
Tribute · Tribute: Route ABC
Chinese Hat, day 8
22/10/2026US$6,632
MONIQUE · 8-Day Western Islands: Elizabeth Bay's Penguins
Chinese Hat, day 2
22/10/2026US$4,370
Alya · 5-Day Northern & Western: Bartolome's Endemic Plant
Chinese Hat, day 4
25/10/2026US$5,576
Tribute · 5-Day Northern & Eastern: Genovesa's Daylight-Hunting Owl
Chinese Hat, day 4
25/10/2026US$13,490
Tribute · Tribute: Route BC
Chinese Hat, day 4
25/10/2026US$18,000
Tribute · Tribute: Route BCA
Chinese Hat, day 4
29/10/2026US$4,080
EcoGalaxy · 6-Day Western & Northern: Bartolome's Pinnacle Rock
Chinese Hat, day 2
30/10/2026US$10,345
Solaris · Solaris: Route CA
Chinese Hat, day 10
02/11/2026US$2,156
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
Chinese Hat, day 3
03/11/2026US$6,195
Solaris · 7-Day Western Islands: Las Tintoreras' Reef Sharks
Chinese Hat, day 6
12/11/2026US$6,035
Galaxy Sirius · 6-Day Western & Northern: Rabida's Red Sand Beach
Chinese Hat, day 2
14/11/2026US$7,191
GRAND OCEAN SPRAY · 6-Day Western Islands: Fernandina's Underwater Iguanas
Chinese Hat, day 1
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
Your selection
Archipel I · Archipel I: Route AB4
05/10/2026 · 10 nights · from US$7,475
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
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$2,036
816 departures