Best Snorkeling in the Galapagos [10 Sites Rated + Reviewed]

Before we get to the list, here is how the scoring works.

 Every site is rated on my five mask scale based on what we personally experienced in the water: the variety of sea life, the quality of the encounters, and how it stacks up against the many places we have snorkeled around the world.

 Wildlife shows up on its own schedule, so a five mask site can have a quiet day and a two mask site can surprise you.

The map above shows where all 10 sites sit across the archipelago. Below, I break down each one with a quick summary of what we saw and why it earned its rating.

Want to go deeper on any of them?

Each site links to its own full guide covering how to get there, where exactly to swim, tide and timing tips, and every animal we encountered, all documented with my favorite snorkeling camera.

Please keep in mind this guide is from a snorkeler’s perspective, which will differ from a diver’s experience.

One more thing before we start. Bring your own snorkel gear. The Galapagos is a bucket list snorkeling destination, and a mask that actually fits your face changes everything.

Here are my the recommended snorkeling gear items I brought on our trip.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

My favorite snorkeling site in the entire Galapagos.

Within thirty seconds of entering the water, we were looking at hammerhead sharks. Up to four at once, clearly visible in the deep blue. Large Galapagos sharks cruised beyond them, and sleeping whitetips rested along the reef edges.

Three shark species in a single snorkel.

The site is the exposed rim of a sunken volcanic crater off Floreana, and the fish life packed in and around it was unlike anything else we experienced on the trip.

Our guide Daniel told us hammerheads are not a common sighting here, so we got lucky. Even without them, this would have been a top-tier snorkel.

Devil’s Crown is cruise access only. It is the single biggest reason to book a cruise, and in my mini guide below I’ll tell you who I booked with.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

This is one of the best free shore snorkel sites I have ever visited anywhere in the world due to the sheer variety of sea life. We snorkeled it four times and every visit was different.

The highlight: two golden rays circled us for about 10 minutes in what felt like a perfectly choreographed dance. They would swim away, turn, circle back, again and again. I had never seen rays swim back toward me before.

We also saw marine iguanas swimming, sleeping whitetip reef sharks (three at once on one visit), baby blacktips near the buoys, turtles, a marble ray, and a massive school of parrotfish.

Steps from the ferry pier in Puerto Villamil. Free. Go about an hour before low tide.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

I am not aware of anywhere else in the world where you can snorkel with Galapagos penguins in clear water from a free public beach. Playa Isabela is that place.

We snorkeled here three times, and every single time we snorkeled with penguins.

They swim along the surface, spot a school of fish, then torpedo down to scoop them up while baby blacktip sharks cruise through the same bait ball and pelicans dive-bomb from above.

On our last visit, six to seven penguins were in a full feeding frenzy right at my feet.

I am not sure if we got lucky, if this is the norm, or if it depends on the time of year (we went early May). A local guide mentioned a colony of juvenile penguins had just started appearing in the area, so go in with hope rather than a guarantee.

You do not even need fins. Just wade in waist deep, put your face in the water, and let the Galapagos do what it does.

Right beside Concha de Perla, on the other side of the ferry pier. Free.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

The best full-day snorkel tour we did in the Galapagos, and one of the best we have done anywhere.

Three completely different snorkel stops in one day. At Bahia Rosa Blanca, four eagle rays swam together in formation and stayed with us, completely unbothered. At Bahia Sardina, sea lions chased bait balls of salemas while Galapagos sharks cruised under the boat.

And at Kicker Rock itself, the moment we came for: hammerhead shark silhouettes in the deep blue. I counted at least 10 at one point.

Book far in advance. All the details including who we booked with can be found in my mini guide.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

Muelle Tijeretas is a free shore snorkel site about a 25 minute walk from town in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

This is where we snorkeled with sea lions for the very first time, and they did not hold back. They blow bubbles, spin upside down, whip around you in tight circles, and stare you down with enormous dark eyes from inches away. 

We also watched marine iguanas dive in and swim right in front of us, plus bait balls of Black-striped Salemas, a Giant Hawkfish, and a Panamic Fanged Blenny.

Go early. We arrived around 8:30 am both visits and had the platform nearly to ourselves.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿

Pinnacle Rock rises straight out of the ocean like something from another world, and the snorkeling at its base delivered the closest blacktip reef shark encounters of our entire trip.

Juvenile blacktips cut through massive swirling schools of salemas in the deep canyon formations around the rock.

We also spotted a golden ray, stingrays, a King Angelfish, and penguins on the rocky outcroppings from the panga.

We visited via cruise, which meant an afternoon snorkel with no other tourists in the water and a sunset summit hike. Day tours from Santa Cruz exist, but many snorkel Sullivan Bay instead of Pinnacle Rock, so confirm before booking.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿

La Loberia is a gorgeous little sandy cove where the sea lions come at you from every direction.

I jumped in with my GoPro and before I even had a chance to look around, a baby sea lion was already trying to take a nibble out of it. My husband’s Scubapro fins with bright orange accents were a constant sea lion magnet too.

We also saw five to six large turtles near the back buoy, a couple of skittish baby blacktip reef sharks, and beautiful schools of Yellowtail Surgeonfish.

Take the $4 taxi. Do not walk. Learn from us.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿

Los Tuneles is on every Isabela must-do list, and the full tour experience is genuinely special. The snorkeling itself earned a 3 from us.

The lava arches are spectacular, the water inside the tunnels is like glass, and a blue footed booby stared us down from about 2 meters away like we were the strange ones.

We counted at least 10 turtles at one point, and my husband captured video of a seahorse in the murky mangrove section.

We were hoping for more shark and ray action, which may depend on the season. We went in early May when waters were unusually warm.

All of our booking details can be found in my mini guide.

Rating: 🤿 🤿 🤿

This is a cruise site. There is only one day tour I am aware of that visits, so for nearly everyone, a cruise is how you get here.

We watched a marine iguana sunning himself on the rocks, then he stood up, walked to the edge, and plopped in to feed right in front of us. A large Galapagos shark also sliced through a massive school of salemas.

Blink and you miss it. We did not blink.

Not as thrilling as Devil’s Crown or Bartolome, but it still offered some cool snorkeling moments.

The key to the best Galapagos experience is to snorkel as much as you can, because you never know what you are going to see in the water.

Rating: 🤿 🤿

Las Tintoreras literally means “sharks” in Spanish. The famous lava channel is where whitetip reef sharks reportedly stack on top of each other at low tide.

We went during low tide like it was suggested. There were no sharks.

The tour still delivered a few moments: a solo penguin torpedoing through an underwater canyon right in front of me, and Sally Lightfoot Crabs blazing red against the black lava tunnel. But with murky visibility and only a handful of turtles, we would have skipped it.

At $70 per person versus $160 for Los Tuneles, it is the budget option. If you see that channel full of sleeping sharks, tell me in the comments what month you went.

We were in the Galapagos for two weeks and hit the big highlights, but I could easily stay another two weeks and still have more to do. It offers that much.

These are the sites we researched, wanted, and did not get to. They are the reason we are already planning a return trip.

Gardner Bay (Espanola)

Unfortunately, they had engine trouble and had to cancel a few days before our trip. There is no other day tour with a ship of that quality offering the route, so we could not make it happen.

You can also reach Gardner Bay on a cruise, as Espanola appears on several itineraries.

When we come back, this is at the top of the list. We are also hoping to time the return trip to catch the courtship displays between the waved albatross, one of the most famous wildlife spectacles on Espanola!

Pinzon (Santa Cruz Day Tour)

From what I have read, Pinzon appears to have a lot of whitetip reef shark action.

I had already reached out to Stephanie from Guiding Galapagos Expeditions, who seemed to work with the best boats for this route, and was close to booking.

But we had been snorkeling every single day of this 2-week trip, and hubby needed a rest day at the pool at our beautiful hotel, El Barranco, in Santa Cruz.

I will let him have that one. Pinzon stays on the list.

Champion Islet (Floreana)

Right near Devil’s Crown, which blew us away. If Champion is anywhere close to that caliber, sign us up.

A Western Itinerary Cruise

Our 3-night Endemic cruise covered the central sites, and the western routes are calling. Three stops in particular:

• Punta Vicente Roca: a chance to see a mola mola
• Tagus Cove: considered one of the best places in the Galapagos to swim with both the Galapagos penguin and the flightless cormorant, over an underwater carpet of green algae where marine iguanas feed
• Punta Espinoza: known as the best location to watch marine iguanas feeding underwater

When we go back on our return trip, we are definitely booking a western itinerary with Golden Galapagos to hit these last few snorkel sites on our list.

Unlike some destinations, where nearly everything is shore accessible, the Galapagos rewards a mix of approaches.

The free shore sites (Tijeretas, La Loberia, Concha de Perla, Playa Isabela) are extraordinary on their own and cost you nothing but a taxi ride or short hike.

The day tours unlock sites you cannot reach from shore. Our two favorites: the Kicker Rock 360 Tour on San Cristobal, and Los Tuneles on Isabela.

And then there is the cruise, which unlocks sites like Devil’s Crown, Bartolome Island without the day tour crowds, and Chinese Hat that you simply cannot snorkel any other way.

We did a 3-night cruise on the Endemic with Golden Galapagos and it completely changed what was possible on our trip. My full cruise review is coming soon.

If you want our exact itinerary, email me and I will share my direct contact at Golden Galapagos, the actual boat owners.

#1- Bring Your Own Gear

Tours provide equipment, but nothing beats a mask that actually fits your face. My husband and I have been testing snorkel gear since 2007.

Here are my recommended snorkeling gear items that I actually brought on our Galapagos trip.

#2- Check the Tide Table

Several sites snorkel best approaching low tide, especially Concha de Perla and Los Tuneles. Our best sessions were when low tide occurred mid-morning.

Check the tide table the night before and plan around it.

#3- Cover Up

The equatorial sun is intense and unforgiving. I wore a long sleeve rash guard and swim leggings for every snorkel. In May, a transition month, we never needed a wetsuit at the shore sites, but cooler months may be a different story.

#4- Respect the Wildlife

The animals here have not learned to fear humans, and that relationship is fragile. Do not touch the wildlife. Do not stand on the rocks.

Keep your distance and let them come to you. The encounters you get from simply being still will be far more memorable than anything you could force.

#5- Bring an Underwater Camera

My husband and I carried our underwater cameras, and we consistently captured completely different things.

The guides also take photos and videos too, and some of our best footage (a seahorse, close-ups of hammerhead sharks, a flounder, puffer fish) came from a guide’s camera.

But we also captured some epic footage. Here is my favorite underwater camera I brought to the Galapagos along with some of my favorite snorkeling photos I took from around the world.

The Galapagos is the most animal-dense snorkeling destination we have ever experienced, and we say that having snorkeled 87 sites around the world.

If I had to point you to just a few from this list: Devil’s Crown was my favorite site of the entire trip, Concha de Perla is one of the best free shore snorkels in the world, Playa Isabela gives you penguins at your feet, and the Kicker Rock 360 Tour is the best full-day snorkel tour we have ever taken.

One more thing about the ratings.

Every mask score is a snapshot of the days we were in the water. My 4-mask site could easily be your 5-mask site because of one epic encounter.

Case in point: fellow travelers who did the Kicker Rock tour the day before us saw a whale shark. A whale shark!

We have snorkeled with whale sharks at Isla Mujeres and in the Maldives, and they are incredible. One day apart, completely different experience. That is the Galapagos.

But honestly, the real advice is simpler. Snorkel as much as you can, everywhere you can. In the Galapagos, you never know what is going to swim by.

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Questions about our Galapagos snorkeling experience?

Let me know in the comments below!