Bartolome Island Snorkeling Guide, Galapagos [Rated + Reviewed]

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 

Four masks out of 5! The blacktip reef sharks swimming through massive bait balls of salemas at the base of Pinnacle Rock was one of the most exciting snorkel moments of our Galapagos trip.

Galapagos Snorkeling Rating System

Here is how the masks work.

Every rating reflects our own time in the water at that specific site, measured against years of snorkeling around the world.

Conditions and wildlife change daily, so consider this a well-traveled baseline, not a guarantee.

You have two ways to experience Bartolome. The one you pick changes everything from crowd levels to what time you summit.

Day Tour

Option 1 is a day tour from Santa Cruz.

That involves a 45 minute taxi ride to Itabaca Canal, a 2 – 2.5 hour sail out, your time on the island, then a 2 – 2.5 hour sail back and another 45 minutes back to town.

It is a long day with a lot of transit.

One more thing from my research: many day tours snorkel at Sullivan Bay after the Bartolome hike instead of Pinnacle Rock.

From what I read, Pinnacle Rock may be the better of the two, but I cannot confirm that since I have not snorkeled Sullivan Bay. If snorkeling at Pinnacle Rock specifically matters to you, confirm which spot your tour visits before booking.

Cruise

Option two is a cruise.

After your hike + snorkel at Bartolome, the ship simply sails on to your next destination in a large, comfortable boat that makes navigating the open seas much easier on your body.

We had originally booked a day tour, then decided to do a cruise with Golden Galapagos on the Endemic instead, and we are so glad we did!

To board, we traveled from our beautiful hotel in downtown Puerto Ayora to Baltra: a 45 minute taxi drive, a 10 minute water taxi across the channel, then a short bus ride to Baltra Airport where the cruise picked us up.

Bartolome was the first stop on our cruise itinerary and it was a fantastic start to the trip.

The timing difference matters too.

We snorkeled in the afternoon and there were no other tourists in the water besides us. Then we hiked right before sunset, which meant an amazing view and much cooler temperatures.

On a day tour, you would be doing all of this midday. A very different story in the equatorial sun.

And here is the part that sold us completely.

Taking the cruise means you skip the 3+ hour ride back to town.

While day tour passengers were settling in for the long sail home, we were sipping pisco sours on the rooftop of our beautiful, comfortable catamaran as we sailed to our next snorkeling destination: the famous Devil’s Crown off Floreana.

The panga from our cruise ship dropped us near Playa Dorada, and we snorkeled around the base of Pinnacle Rock before hugging the coastline from there.

Most of the action was near Pinnacle Rock itself.

The rock is enormous, a massive volcanic spire shooting straight up from the ocean with so much life swimming around its base. If your time or energy is limited, spend it there.

Daniel, our amazing Endemic naturalist, led the way the entire time, so following the route was easy. No navigating required on our end.

Easy entry. We hopped out of the panga into the water around 3:15 pm, right where we needed to be.

No shore walk, no lava rock scramble, no swimming out to the site. The panga positions you exactly at the action.

Blacktip Reef Sharks and Salemas

The highlight was the juvenile blacktip reef sharks moving through massive schools of salemas in the deep canyon formations around the base of the rock.

The salemas formed dense, swirling walls of silver in the blue water, and the blacktips cut through them with complete confidence.

We had spotted baby blacktips in the distance at sites like Concha de Perla and La Loberia.

Bartolome was the only snorkel site across our entire Galapagos trip where we got closer up.

The combination of the sharks, the bait balls, and that dramatic rock backdrop was hard to beat.

And if shark action is what gets you in the water, Devil’s Crown took it even further for us. Three shark species in a single snorkel, including hammerheads. It was the best snorkel of our entire trip.

Other Wildlife Spotted

• Pair of Golden Rays
• Stingrays
• King Angelfish
• White sea urchin
• Mexican Hogfish
• Yellowtail Surgeonfish
• Parrotfish
• Massive bait balls of Black-striped Salemas
• Juvenile yellowtail damselfish

Penguins

Bartolome is supposedly a good spot for penguin sightings. We spotted them on the rocky outcroppings during our panga ride around the island, just not in the water during our snorkel.

We briefly snorkeled with one penguin at Las Tintoreras and one at Concha de Perla during our 2-week trip.

But if penguins in the water are what you are after, skip the guesswork and head to Playa Isabela on Isabela Island. We snorkeled with them there on every single visit while we were there in early May.

A Note on Our Guide

Daniel, our amazing naturalist on the Endemic cruise, did an excellent job navigating us through the snorkel. He always gave us enough room to explore on our own while still pointing out cool things along the way.

He reminded me of Alejandro, another fantastic guide we had on our Kicker Rock 360 Tour on San Cristobal. A great guide changes the entire experience, and we got lucky twice.

After the snorkel we hiked to the summit via a wooden boardwalk. The landscape reminded me immediately of Padar Island in Bali.

Almost Martian. Multi-colored volcanic formations, cacti, lava lizards darting across the path, and the ocean stretching out in every direction.

Daniel named the 3 viewing platforms along the way: bronze, silver, and gold. The gold platform at the top, looking out over Pinnacle Rock at golden hour, was exactly what those names promised.

The snorkel-then-hike order was set by the cruise itinerary, not something we chose, but it worked out perfectly.

We got to the summit right before sunset with cooler temperatures and that incredible late light over Pinnacle Rock. One of the most beautiful sunsets of our entire trip! 

• Bartolome can be a day tour or a cruise experience. We were happy we chose the cruise. The afternoon snorkel with no crowds and the sunset hike made a real difference.
• If booking a day tour, ask whether the snorkel is at Pinnacle Rock or Sullivan Bay so you know what you are getting.
• Day tour logistics from Santa Cruz: 45 minute taxi, 2 – 2.5 hour sail each way, 45 minutes back. Budget your energy accordingly.
• The snorkel is accessible by panga from the boat. No shore entry involved.
• We brought our GoPro for the sharks and bait balls and got some amazing photos and video footage.

Some places just stick with you. Bartolome is one of them.

The blacktip reef sharks weaving through the salemas at the base of that towering volcanic spire. The golden ray drifting past. The hike to the summit as the light turned gold, Pinnacle Rock standing below us with the ocean stretching out in every direction.

This was our first stop on the cruise, and it set a high bar for the rest of the trip!

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Questions about our snorkeling experience at Bartolome Island?

Let me know in the comments below!