Marine Iguana
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
- Where
- on most islands
- When
- Year round, more between Jan and Mar
On 85 of 97 routes · 1936 departures in season
See these departures →The Galápagos Cruise · Wildlife
Six species are recorded across the 12 islands our ships call at: the giant tortoise, two land iguanas, the marine iguana, the Pacific green sea turtle and the endemic rice rat. Between them they are most of what people picture before they arrive.
Reptiles are the easiest wildlife here to plan around, because almost none of it is seasonal. The giant tortoises are in the Santa Cruz highlands all year and easiest to reach from January to May, when the pastures are wet. Marine iguanas hold the shoreline on every island, and on Española they turn red and green in the mating season. Green sea turtles nest between December and June. Santa Fé has a land iguana that lives nowhere else, and South Plaza the only known hybrids of land and marine iguana. The map below shows which island holds what.
Tap an island to filter the species below. The number is how many species are recorded there.
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
On 85 of 97 routes · 1936 departures in season
See these departures →Conolophus subcristatus
On 83 of 97 routes · 2010 departures in season
See these departures →825 of the 2107 upcoming departures put you where the Santa Fé Land Iguana is, at the time it is there.
Galaxy Orion · 5-Day Western & Southern: San Cristobal's Highlands
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
Archipel I · 8-Day Western Islands: Urbina Bay's Coral Uplift
Archipel I · 4-Day Southern & Northern: Chinese Hat's Shark Channel
Galaxy Sirius · 5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Sea Lion Colony
Galaxy Stella · 5-Day Northern Islands: Kicker Rock's Shark Channel
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
MONIQUE · 5-Day Southern & Western: Kicker Rock's Swim Channel
Galaxy Sirius · 5-Day Southern Islands: Isla Lobos' Sea Lion Colony
Solaris · 5-Day Northern Islands: South Plaza's Hybrid Iguana
✓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

Prefer to talk? + 1 786 509 6338
We answer first thing on the next working day

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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