Galapagos: When’s the best time to go?

Galapagos Islands Map

The big advantage to traveling to the Galápagos at this time of year: The ocean is much calmer, so your ocean crossings will be much more comfortable. You cross a lot of ocean and it can be quite rough sometimes…

Being on or slightly south of the Equator, the water and the air are also warmer during the southern summer. It is the sunniest time of the year. However, it is also the rainy season. There’s some rain – a little – almost every day.

It’s also less busy. Mid December through mid January is Summer high season, so crowds are less after that. Through March and April, as the rainy season lessens, flowers bloom and the islands sprout many bright colours.

This is the time when you can watch sea turtles nesting on the beach, and March through May, you can often see land tortoises looking for mates around the low lying areas. With the summer’s warmer water, swimming and snorkeling are more enjoyable. However, you won’t see quite as many fish as later in the year.

End of summer is the breeding season for land birds, so you can catch mating rituals of many species. Sea lions also mate during the rainy season. In March/April, you’ll see many newborn pups crawling around on the beaches. For more on this check out our Galapagos information.