Galápagos Island Hopping — Self-Launched

Fly into San Cristóbal (SCY) from Guayaquil or Quito — book a one-way flight on Avianca/LATAM/Equair, roughly £180–260 return from the mainland if booked 6–8 weeks out. Pay the $20 Transit Control Card at the mainland airport and the $200 National Park entry on arrival at SCY. Take a $3–5 pickup truck taxi 5 minutes into Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and check into a family-run hospedaje or small guesthouse. In the afternoon walk 20–25 minutes along the coastal path to La Lobería beach, a free public snorkel spot where sea lions, marine iguanas and green turtles hang out — bring your own mask and snorkel (buy or rent in Quito for a fraction of island prices). Evening: grilled seafood and ceviche on the Malecón; the sea lions sleep on the town benches.

🚌Flight from Quito/Guayaquil to SCY (~£180–260 return, book early); $3–5 taxi from airport to town

🛏Guesthouse/hospedaje, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (~£28–35 double, £18–22 dorm bed)

• →Coastal walk to La Lobería beach
• →Free snorkelling with sea lions and turtles
• →Malecón seafood dinner

Book the Kicker Rock snorkel day boat directly with one of the dive shops along the Malecón the day before (or via GetYourGuide if you want it pre-locked) — £65–85 including boat, guide, wetsuit, snorkel gear and lunch. It's the signature San Cristóbal trip: a 2-hour boat out to the vertical rock formation where you drift-snorkel with Galápagos sharks, turtles, spotted eagle rays and huge schools of fish; keep an eye out for blue-footed boobies on the cliffs. Back in town mid-afternoon, walk up to Cerro Tijeretas (30–40 min) for frigatebird colonies and the bay viewpoint, then drop into the free Interpretation Center (45 min) for a solid orientation on Galápagos conservation and human history. Cheap dinner at a local menú-del-día spot (~£6–8).

🚌Walkable town; day boat included in tour price

🛏Same guesthouse, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

• →Kicker Rock (León Dormido) snorkel boat trip
• →Cerro Tijeretas viewpoint walk
• →Galápagos Interpretation Center (free)

Take the morning public lancha ferry San Cristóbal → Isabela (usually via Santa Cruz; ~2–2.5 hours, $35–45 one-way) — book at any travel agency on the Malecón, boats leave around 07:00 and 14:00. Some agencies run a Floreana-hopping combo; otherwise snorkel at Puerto Villamil's Concha de Perla boardwalk jetty for free — sea lions, turtles and reef fish right off the beach. Check into a Puerto Villamil guesthouse (this is the sleepiest, most backpacker-friendly of the three towns, all sand roads). Rent a bike for the afternoon (~£4/day) to cycle the flamingo lagoons and the beach track. Eat at a local family restaurant — set lunches £5–7.

🚌Public inter-island lancha ferry (~£28–36)

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Villamil, Isabela (~£22–30 double)

• →Inter-island ferry crossing
• →Concha de Perla snorkelling (free)
• →Bike hire and beach cycling

Morning: walk to Las Tintoreras (or take a 10-minute water taxi, ~£3) for the boardwalk over lava where white-tip reef sharks rest in the channel, plus marine iguanas, penguins and sea lions; local guides run 2–3 hour snorkel tours for $35–45 if you want the boat version, or you can do the land boardwalk free and snorkel the bay. Late morning: the Arnaldo Tupiza Giant Tortoise Breeding Center is a $5–10 entry, 20-minute walk from town — the best cheap tortoise encounter in the islands, with hatchlings through to adults. Afternoon: hire a sea kayak on Puerto Villamil bay (~£12–15 for 2 hours) and paddle past the flamingo lagoon and mangrove channels. Sunset on the beach with the sea lions.

🚌Walk or bike; water taxi ~£3 if heading to Las Tintoreras by boat

🛏Same guesthouse, Puerto Villamil

• →Las Tintoreras boardwalk and snorkelling
• →Arnaldo Tupiza Tortoise Breeding Center
• →Flamingo lagoon
• →Sea kayaking Puerto Villamil bay

The big walk of the trip: Sierra Negra is the world's second-largest volcanic crater (roughly 10km across) and the 17km round-trip hike with a local park guide takes 5–6 hours. You cannot walk it unguided — book the guided transport-and-guide package locally the day before ($40–50, includes the 4x4 up to the trailhead and the mandatory licensed guide). Leave around 07:00; the crater rim in cloud is genuinely spectacular, and the extension to Volcán Chico's sulphurous fumaroles is worth the extra hour if conditions allow. Afternoon: collapse, eat a big set lunch, and swim at the beach. Budget for decent shoes — the trail is lava rock, dusty and exposed.

🚌4x4 transfer to trailhead included in guided hike package

🛏Same guesthouse, Puerto Villamil

• →Sierra Negra crater rim hike (17km)
• →Volcán Chico fumaroles extension

Morning lancha Isabela → Santa Cruz (~2 hours, $30–35), arriving into Puerto Ayora, the islands' biggest town. Book a shared highlands tour locally through any agency on Avenida Charles Darwin (~£30–40 for 3–4 hours) — you'll see wild giant tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands, walk through an organic farm's coffee and sugarcane plantation, and pass the lava tunnels. Alternatively, the public bus to Santa Rosa plus a short walk gets you to the tortoise reserve independently for a few dollars. Back in town, eat encebollado — the tuna-and-onion soup the group tour makes in a cooking class — at any local eatery for £4–6. Evening: check out the fish market where pelicans and sea lions fight over scraps.

🚌Inter-island lancha ferry (~£24–28); shared highlands tour transport included

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Puerto Ayora (~£20–30 double, £12–16 dorm)

• →Santa Cruz highlands tortoise spotting
• →Organic farm visit
• →Encebollado lunch at local eatery
• →Fish market and waterfront evening

Walk 45 minutes from Puerto Ayora along the paved trail to Tortuga Bay — free, and one of the best beaches in the archipelago: white sand, marine iguanas everywhere, and a calmer mangrove lagoon at the far end where you can swim with turtles and small reef sharks. Go early to have it near-empty. Afternoon: the Charles Darwin Research Station is free (donation welcome) and houses the famous tortoise breeding programme including the legacy of Lonesome George — a genuinely good, self-paced visit. Continue to the Galápagos Conservancy exhibits and the town's small interpretive displays. Last-night dinner on the waterfront; grab your ferry-and-bus plan for Baltra airport tomorrow.

🚌All on foot

🛏Same hostel/budget hotel, Puerto Ayora

• →Tortuga Bay beach walk and lagoon swim
• →Charles Darwin Research Station
• →Galápagos Conservancy exhibits

The DIY exit is straightforward and cheap: pickup truck or taxi from Puerto Ayora to the Itabaca Channel (~$25–30 private, or $5 on the public bus from the terminal), the 5-minute channel ferry ($1–2), then the free/50c Bus Lobitos shuttle up to Baltra airport (GPS). Allow 1.5–2 hours total and leave early for a morning flight. Flights from Baltra to Quito/Guayaquil connect with onward international departures. If you have slack in the trip, the classic add-on is a couple of extra nights and a dive at Gordon Rocks — bookable locally from Puerto Ayora.

🚌Taxi/pickup truck to Itabaca Channel (~£5–8), channel ferry (~£1.50), Bus Lobitos to Baltra airport (~£0.50); onward flight

🛏None (departure day)

• →Independent transfer to Baltra airport