Our final stop on our Galapagos adventure, Los Gemelos (or the Twin Craters) are two giant sink holes formed when empty magma chambers in the ground below collapsed over time due to erosion and tectonic shifts. The craters were essentially the caved-in remains of huge versions of the lava tunnels we had walked through at nearby El Chato. I was glad that we stopped here after El Chato so that I wasn’t aware that the roof collapsing on the lava tunnels was a risk! The Twin Craters are found on either side of the main road through Santa Cruz. Our …

Located in the highlands of Santa Cruz, El Chato is a private tortoise reserve that is home to hundreds of Galapagos giant tortoises. Because the reserve is located between the Baltra airport and Puerto Ayora, many people stop here on the way to or from the airport. Our original 2020 itinerary had us staying on Santa Cruz at the beginning of our trip so we were planning to stop after our arrival from Quito. But when we rescheduled because of the pandemic, we flipped our itinerary and stayed on Isabela first so we ended up visiting El Chato on our …

The tour’s first stop at Mosquera Islet was such an unexpected surprise. I couldn’t believe what an incredible day it had been and we hadn’t even been to the main attraction yet. After lunch, we boarded the zodiac boat to go the short distance to North Seymour. With no beach to pull up to like on Mosquera, the zodiac pulled up to a rocky section of the island and the guide helped us all off the boat. The difference in landscape from Mosquera to North Seymour was striking. White sand beaches were replaced by red sand and rocks. Bare trees …

Our first stop on the North Seymour day trip was Mosquera Islet, one of the smallest islands in the archipelago. The tiny island is located in between Baltra and North Seymour. Standing in the center of the island, you can see the entire island from one place, as well as both Baltra to the south and North Seymour to the north. Yet somehow this tiny island had more sea lions and Sally Lightfoot crabs than I ever could have imagined in one place. Home to one of the largest sea lion colonies in the Galapagos, walking around on this tiny …

From Santa Cruz, there are several day trips available to uninhabited islands. Each island offers its own unique opportunities for wildlife viewing, hiking, and/or snorkeling. The most popular options from Santa Cruz include North Seymour, Bartolome, Sante Fe, Pinzon, South Plazas, and Floreana. For us, it came down to a choice between North Seymour and Bartolome. The Bartolome tour focuses on hiking and includes an opportunity to see the most iconic view of the islands. The North Seymour tour focuses on wildlife, with opportunities to see plentiful sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and magnificent frigatebirds. We ultimately chose wildlife over landscape, …

We took the early morning ferry from Isabela to Santa Cruz and planned to spend the first day on Santa Cruz exploring the island on our own. Our first stop was the Charles Darwin Research Station. It was a little longer walk from town than we expected, and the walk was made a little more stressful by the fact that we weren’t 100% sure we were going the right way. We hadn’t completely gotten our bearings in town yet but thankfully we were headed in the right direction and came to the Research Station after about 30 minutes. The Charles …

Isabela is the largest Galapagos island by size but not by population. Santa Cruz is roughly 380 square miles but is home to over 18,000 people.  In comparison, Isabela is over 1,770 square miles but only has a population of about 2,200. The overwhelming majority of the island’s residents live in the town of Puerto Villamil. The port town is small and laid-back, which made it a perfect place for us to base our trip. We spent 5 days on the island and appreciated the chance to slow down and relax after our active days. While there is a small …

When traveling internationally with kids, you are bound to have some uncomfortable moments. Our most notable one to date had been a nerve-racking border crossing from Belize to Guatemala and an equally nerve-racking drive back to the border when our driver stopped to pick up a mystery package hidden on the side of the road. If you’re lucky, you get through those moments safely and they become part of a great story that your kids will tell their kids one day. We added another one of those moments to our family travel history on our day tour to Los Tuneles …

We knew that our hotel on Isabela, Iguana Crossing, was within walking distance of town and had an amazing beach view. When we got there we discovered that it is also adjacent to a Flamingo Lagoon. When I think of the famous birds and wildlife of the Galapagos, flamingos aren’t the first things that pop into my mind. But I was excited to learn that they live on the islands and that we would have the chance to see them right in our own backyard. (We had opted out of doing this with our tour guide as part of the …

Located on southeastern Isabela Island, Sierra Negra is one of the largest and most active volcanoes on the Galapagos. Like the other volcanoes on Isabela, Sierra Negra is a shield volcano featuring a low profile, a wide opening, and gently sloping sides. Its caldera measures more than 6 miles in diameter, making it the second largest in the world. It has erupted 9 times since 1900, with the most recent eruption in 2018. As part of the package through Iguana Crossing, we had a private tour of Sierra Negra. Our guide and a driver picked us up at the hotel …