Is Galápagos safe? What to watch on the islands, and on the way there

Short answer: yes. The Galápagos towns are small, everyone knows everyone, the economy runs on visitors, and a stranger asking for directions at eleven at night gets walked to the corner rather than robbed. The honest risks on the islands are the equatorial sun, the sea, and the lava underfoot. The place that deserves the caution you might have brought for South America is not the islands at all, but the mainland cities you pass through on the way.

On the islands

Towns and nights

Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and Puerto Villamil are walkable at any hour. The waterfronts are lit and busy until late, families are out after dark, and the police station is a short walk from anywhere. Petty theft happens as it does everywhere people leave phones on café tables, so do not leave phones on café tables, and keep your passport and the bulk of your cash in the hotel safe. That is the whole list. Floreana, with a few hundred residents, is safer still.

Solo travellers and women

The islands are one of the easier places on the continent to travel alone, and many women do. Tours are group affairs with a licensed guide, ferries and taxis are shared, and the towns are the size where you keep meeting the same people. The usual habits apply: tell someone your plan for the day, take the hotel's advice on a bar, and use the water taxi rather than a lift from a stranger's boat.

The sun

This is the risk that sends people to the clinic. On the equator the sun burns in twenty minutes, on a cloudy day as well as a clear one, and worst of all from a boat, where the water reflects it back. Sunscreen of factor 50, reapplied after every swim, a hat that stays on in wind, and a long-sleeved rash guard for snorkelling do more for your trip than anything else you pack. Drink more water than you think you need.

The sea

Currents around the islands are real. Snorkel where the guide says and stay inside the group; the guides know which corner of which bay pulls out to sea. Wear the wetsuit when it is offered from June to November, when the water drops below 20 degrees and the cold takes strength faster than you notice. On the ferries the crossing can be rough; a motion-sickness tablet an hour before, a seat at the back, and your electronics in a dry bag.

Trails and wildlife

Lava is sharp and uneven, and ankles turn on it. Closed shoes for the trails, sandals with a strap for wet landings. The animals are not dangerous to you if you are not dangerous to them: keep the two metres the park asks for, never step between a sea lion and the water, and give the bull sea lions on the beaches a wide berth, especially in the mating season from July to December.

Health

The islands have no malaria, no yellow fever, no altitude and no dangerous animals. The Hospital República del Ecuador in Puerto Ayora and the Hospital Oskar Jandl in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno handle everyday problems, stitches, infections and the like; Isabela has a health centre. Anything serious means a flight to Guayaquil, so travel insurance that covers evacuation is not optional. Pharmacies in the two larger towns stock the basics; bring your own prescription medicines for the whole trip. Tap water is not for drinking, anywhere. The emergency number in Ecuador is 911.

On the way there: the mainland

Every trip to Galápagos passes through Quito or Guayaquil, and this is where the standard South American advice applies. Both cities have neighbourhoods that are fine and neighbourhoods that are not, and the difference is a few streets.

• Airports and transfers. Use the airport taxis, a hotel pickup or a ride app, never a car that approaches you. In Guayaquil the airport is close to the city; in Quito it is 45 minutes out, and a night at a hotel near the airport is a reasonable way to handle an early flight.
• In the city. Keep the phone in a front pocket and out of your hand on the street, no jewellery or watches that look expensive, a little cash rather than all of it. Take taxis at night rather than walking, even short distances, and use the app or a hotel-called cab.
• Quito's altitude. The city sits at 2,850 metres. Take the first day slowly, drink water, and skip the big dinner and the wine on the first night.
• Guayaquil. The Malecón, the historic Las Peñas hill and the better hotel districts are used to visitors; away from them, go by taxi.

None of this means avoiding the mainland. It means treating the two cities like the big cities they are for the day you spend in them, and then relaxing on the islands.

Before you go

Travel insurance with evacuation cover, a copy of your passport in the cloud, your bank told the dates, the emergency number saved, and a small first-aid kit with what you use at home. The health chapter of the travel guide has the packing list to go with it.

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In the travel guide

Health, safety and packing

The sun is the real hazard. What to bring for it, and the few other things worth knowing.

Open the chapter