As a recovering scientist (more on that here), I’ve always been fascinated by the Galapagos Islands.
We haven’t visited the Galapagos yet, but I’m looking forward to a day when I get to take our two little ones and chat with them about Darwin’s famous finches.
I’ve spent so much time scouring through photos and blogs in preparation, in fact, that I thought I’d share some of these with you.
I’m happy to note that most of these fantastic photos were taken by fellow travel bloggers. You can find even more of their great photos here on our Galapagos Dreaming Pinterest board.
Sealion at San Cristobal Photo courtesy of Adam Off The Radar
Blue Footed Booby Photo courtesy of Adam Off The Radar
Kicker rock on San Cristobal courtesy of Finding The Universe
Venus setting across Floreana. Courtesy of Finding the Universe
Marine Iguanas on Land Photo Courtesy Green Global Travel
Penguin on the Surface. Photo courtesy of Alaska to Brazil by Truck
Underwater at Concha del la Perla Photo courtesy of Adam Off The Radar
Turtle at San Cristobal Photo courtesy of Adam Off The Radar
Photo courtesy of ThePlanetD
Frigatebirds by Peter Wilton Flickr
Eagle ray by lowjumpingfrog Flickr
Tortuga Bay Santa Cruz Photo courtesy of Adam Off The Radar
Sea lion pup by dagpeak Flickr
Sally Lightfoot Crab by A.Davey Flickr
Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus on Santa Cruz Galapagos Islands by Dallas Krentzel Flickr
Lonesome George by A. Davey Flickr
Iguana by SaraYeomans Flickr
Galapagos Tortoise Geochelone Nigra by H.A.S PhotoDesignsHeart+Soul Flickr
Photo courtesy of ThePlanetD
Colorful Crab courtesy Traveling Canucks
Little Seal by the Traveling Canucks
Reef Octopus. Photo courtesy of Ever in Transit
Photo courtesy of Ever in Transit
Photo courtesy of Ever in Transit
Opuntia Cactus – adapted to grow leaves high on the plant so tortoises can’t reach the leaves. Photo courtesy of Ever in Transit.
Yellow Cordia Glue Bush Cordia Lutea. Photo courtesy of Ever in Transit
Darwin’s finch. Photo courtesy of Green Global Travel
Mating Green Sea Turtles by Brian Gratwicke on Flickr
Little penguin underwater Photo courtesy From Alaska to Brazil by Truck
Galapagos Islands by Michael R Perry on Flickr
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Galapagos Rift Exploration 2011 by NOAA Ocean Explorer on Flickr
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Galapagos Rift Exploration by NOAA Ocean Explorer Flickr
Just breathtaking photographs!
Oh my gosh, all of those creatures are incredible looking! I just returned from a recent trip to Australia and it was so cool seeing the beautiful birds/creatures that are normal everyday sights for Australians. Will have to add The Galapagos to my list 🙂 Just came across your blog via Twitter, while looking for travel bloggers & love your site! As a bucket list blogger, will definitely be following your blog from now on.
Thanks Christine for the kind words.
Before we went to Australia, I read a lot about the wildlife there, and it seemed that almost everything was poisonous. For the first week, I wouldn’t even take off my sandals to walk around barefoot in my room for fear of stepping on a poisonous spider :). By the end of our five months there, we were wandering around forests in the dark, with now worries at all.
WOW! Incredible photos. I so want to go there one day. Alan and I dive, so it is on our “dive” to do list.
Indeed! I so need to go visit the Galapagos – what extraordinary photos!
Holy gorgeous photos, Batman! I like the naughty turtles, especially 🙂
I have always wanted to go. And I don’t know why it has always eluded me. It’s probably the best place to photograph wildlife. So jealous. And great captures.
Hi Sherry,
The’re such gorgeous photos aren’t they? Almost all of them were taken by fellow travel bloggers – I’m always impressed how talented they are.
Awesome photos, love the one of the two turtles It’s on the list to visit one day and this has just reconfirmed it. Thanks for sharing!
Some great underwater photos – I can’t wait to go diving there 🙂
What a great collection of photos. The Galapagos are quite high on our list and pics like these make me want to get on a place right now!
These are gorgeous! I think I’ll need a new camera if we go there. The iPhone just won’t do for wildlife photography.
Paige, we’re in the same boat. We just got our first DSLR (yay!!!) and we’re really looking forward to taking some outdoor photos here in British Columbia in the summer.
These photos are incredible! What a beautiful destination! My favorite is of the Blue Footy Booby. What a unique bird! Thanks for sharing.
I am not even sure that I have the appropriate words to describe these photos. Truly stunning. Definitely makes me push the Galapagos higher on my list of must see places.
Incredible photos!! These would definitely make me buy a plane ticket to the Galapagos!
Wow, those photos are incredible! A friend of mine has been to Galapagos and she loved it. I hear it can be expensive to get there, but that it’s well worth the money.
Sheralyn, yes, it’s been on our list for a while now as well. We’r based out of Canada, and it’s honestly the cost of airfare down to Ecuador (for four of us, too!) that’s kept us from going. I think we’ll need to start getting really creative and find a cheap airfare, or bus it part of the way…
Wow, very nice. Those photos are awesome. I wish I could go to Galapagos these year! I’d like to see those in the picture for real and feel the place. Thanks for sharing to us it really inspires.
Thanks again for featuring some of my pics! It’s a great collection.. I like the one of Venus setting and the one of the amorous turtles!
Will hopefully get to back there next year. The flights are pretty pricey from the UK but I’d say it’s worth it for such a special place.
You took some great photos while you were there Adam. I love that turtle pic of yours. Thanks for sharing!
Amazing photos! Hope you’ll get there soon (hope I can go there myself as well at some point). I love that it’s so remote (at least from Europe) but unfortunately it makes it quite expensive to get there..
I am trying to work out a trip this year. I have wanted to go forever, your pictures just tripled my desire.
Ohh… if you find any airfare deals let us know! We may be close behind!
When ever we get the inevitable question “where’s your favorite place you’ve been to?” we answer The Galapagos Islands. They are truly incredible. Enjoy your journey.
Hiya!
Question: how do you go to the islands? Surely as part of an organised tour right? You can’t just go there and take photos wherever you want right? I thought the entire islands are a nature reserve. It would be nice to spend some time camping there though…sigh.
And yes, pictures are awesome 🙂
Les, you can fly right and stay at a handful of hotels and places on a couple of the islands like San Cristobal and Santa Cruz all on your own. It’s not very different than flying and staying anywhere except the Galapagos are more remote (and therefore expensive) to get and stay at. The group of islands are about 1000km west of South America so most people plan their entire trip in one go to make sure they see what they want to see.
There are some quirks in regards to the wildlife like you’re only allowed in the national park (which is pretty much everywhere) with a certified guide however you can camp in a handful of places as long as you have the proper permits.
Most people fly in as part of a package however you could fly in on your own (you need to have a return ticket), rent a room and then choose from the dozens of boats, cruises and tours to see the best sites. Though the Galapagos aren’t cheap to get to, there are budget options once you get there.
Take a quick peek at it’s travel wiki to get some ideas. We’re just waiting until we’re somewhere in the relative vicinity before we make the plunge to check it all out. The place is definitely on our to do list.
Excellent photos. They bring back so many memories. The pictures in my head are like those but not the pictures on my camera!
Great pictures and brings back my memories of our trip last year! As a fellow world traveler and scientist, the Galapagos was the best trip I’ve ever been on and can highly recommend. FYI the yellow bird is not a Darwin Finch, but a yellow warbler. happy trip planning!
Ah I’m heading to Ecuador soon, and I’m desperate to make it to the Galapagos but I’m just not sure it will make it into the budget this time. These photos are fabulous, I’m absolutely dying to make it there, hopefully soon!
Wow I have now added this to my list, it really looks amazing.
I really really wanna go to the Galapagos (just look at those animals!!!) but I am weirdly terrified of iguanas, and the ones from the Galapagos haunt my dreams…Even the pictures here made me shiver from head to toe. Guess it’s a fear I’ll have to face someday!
Lucia, it’s so funny the things that make us uncomfortable, isn’t it? Snakes and spiders are really common, but I can understand why you wouldn’t like iguanas.
Such great photos! Galapagos is a great destination in South America. There are a lot of options for adventure travel as well. I haven’t been there but it is on my list!
I’m planning on going to Ecuador within the next month on my way to Columbia. I’m definitely going to have to visit the Galapagos Islands on my way through, these photos really do paint a beautiful picture!
This is one of the places we really want to visit before the chance is gone forever. Following Notre Dame fire, which i was glad we were able to visit, we need to speed up our traveling schedule and make sure we don’t miss these amazing sites.
I should probably update the my travel bucket list on our website.
Love the photos. A place I originally thought it was not possible to go, until I started researching it. We visited last year during Sea Lion birthing season.