BARRINGTON (Santa Fe) 

Themselves, land iguanas and lava lizards keep silent company. The noble “palo santo” and dramatic stands of “opuntia” cactus also attracts attention.

BARTOLOME  

Bartolomé Island (Spanish: Isla Bartolomé) is a volcanic islet in the Galápagos Islands group, just off the east coast of Santiago Island. It is one of the "younger" islands in the Galápagos archipelago. This island, and Sulivan Bay on Santiago island, are named after naturalist and lifelong friend of Charles Darwin, Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, who was a lieutenant aboard HMS Beagle.

With a total land area of just 1.2 square kilometres (0.5 square miles), this island offers some of the most beautiful landscapes in the archipelago. The island consists of an extinct volcano and a variety of red, orange, green, and glistening black volcanic formations.

Bartolomé has a volcanic cone that is easy to climb and provides great views of the other islands. Bartolomé is famous for its Pinnacle Rock, which is a distinctive characteristic of this island.
It has two visitor sites. At the first one, one may swim and snorkel around Pinnacle Rock; the underwater world there is really impressive. Snorkelers are in the water with the penguins, marine turtles, white-tipped reef sharks, and other tropical fish. The bay is also an excellent place to go swimming. The twin bays are separated by a narrow isthmus.
Galápagos penguins are frequently seen, and a small cave behind Pinnacle Rock houses a breeding colony. Seasonally, Bartolomé is the mating and nesting site for the green turtles. With herons, they make use of the gentler beaches. The Galápagos lava cacti colonize the new lava fields.

FERNANDINA (Punta Espinoza)

This is one of the most pristine islands with no introduce species to date. It’s  volcano La Cumbre, is still very active and recent lava flows are evident. Along the shoreline, you will see hundreds of marine iguanas bask in the sun, gulls, Flightless cormorants and  Galapagos hawks.

FLOREANA (Charles)

Since the 19th century, whalers kept a wooden barrel at Post Office Bay, so that mail could be picked up and delivered to their destination by ships on their way home, mainly to Europe and the United States. Cards and letters are still placed in the barrel without any postage. Visitors sift through the letters and cards in order to deliver them by hand.
Due to its relatively flat surface, supply of fresh water as well as plants and animals, Floreana was a favorite stop for whalers and other visitors to the Galápagos. When still known as Charles Island in 1820, the island was set alight as a result of a prank gone wrong by helmsman Thomas Chappel from the Nantucket whaling ship the Essex. Being at the height of the dry season, Chappel's fire soon burned out of control and swept the island. The next day saw the island still burning as the ship sailed for the offshore grounds and after a full day of sailing the fire was still visible on the horizon. Many years later Thomas Nickerson, who had been a cabin boy on the Essex, returned to Charles Island and found a black wasteland: "neither trees, shrubbery, nor grass have since appeared. It is believed the fire contributed to the extinction of some species originally on the island.

HOOD (Espanola)

Nearly all of the species found on this island are visible at Punta Suarez. Tame mocking birds, uncommon red and gree-trimmed marine iguanas both blue-footed and masked boobies, and albatross colonies..

-Gardner Bay, is on the northeastern tip of Hood Island, facing the Gardner islets, we’ll find a large white stretch of white sand beach. The site is favored by the sea turtles for nesting, and sea lions for snoozing. Also good snorkeling.

ISABELA

Tagus Cove is a natural protected harbor where centuries ago whalers safely spent the night and left their ship’s signatures painted on the rocks. Inland on this large island are 5 huge volcanoes,mountains, and Darwin’s salt lake crater. (Penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas).

-Urbina Bay (Located at Central West coast of Isabela Island at the foothills of Volcano Alcedo and Darwin). You will see  colony of large and colorful land Iguanas, Darwin’s finches, Galapagos Hawks, Doves and very intersting vegetation. Also, colonies of flightless Cormorants, Blue footed boobies and Penguins.  Good possibilities of seeing giant Tortoise in the wild.

-Punta Moreno (Bay (Located at Central-south Western coast of Isabela Island) Spectacular views of Volcanoes Alcedo, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul. Impressive black and immense lava flows from eruptions 200 years ago. Desolate, extremely pristine landscape. You will see Darwin’s finches, doves, mockingbirds, lagoon birds, flamingos, the rare gallinules, frigates, pelicans and other sea birds.

JAMES (Santiago)

Santiago (San Salvador, James) Island – Its name is equivalent to Saint James in English; it is also known as San Salvador, after the first island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea. This island has an area of 585 km2 (226 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 907 m (2,976 ft). Marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, land and sea turtles, flamingos, dolphins and sharks are found here. Pigs and goats, which were introduced by humans to the islands and have caused great harm to the endemic species, have been eradicated (pigs by 2002; goats by the end of 2006). Darwin finches and Galápagos hawks are usually seen, as well as a colony of fur seals. At Sulivan Bay, a recent (around 100 years ago) pahoehoe lava flow can be observed.

On the western  side in James Bay a colony of fur seals is at home on the black lava rocks, thanks to the cool Humboldt Current. At Flamingo Lake you can depend upon seeing a flock of feeding flamingos

NORTH SEYMOUR:

North Seymour (Spanish: Isla Seymour Norte) is a small island near Baltra Island in the Galápagos Islands. It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation. The whole island is covered with low, bushy vegetation.
The island is named after an English nobleman, Lord Hugh Seymour. North Seymour Island has an area of 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 28 metres (92 ft). This island is home to a large population of blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. It hosts one of the largest populations of magnificent frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens) and a slowly growing population of Galápagos land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus).
North Seymour has a visitor trail approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length crossing the inland of the island and exploring the rocky coast.
The stock for the captive breeding program of the Galápagos land iguana is descended from iguanas which Captain G. Allan Hancock translocated from nearby Baltra Island to North Seymour Island in the 1930s. This was very important because Baltra Island had a U.S airbase on it during World War II, while North Seymour, which has no people who live on it, and is only viewable today with an official guide who works for the Galápagos National Park.
North Seymour was created by seismic uplift, rather than being of volcanic origin. The island has a flat profile with cliffs only a few meters from the shoreline, where swallowtail gulls and tropicbirds sit perched in ledges. A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves, waiting for rain to bring them into bloom. The island is teeming with life. While visiting the island, one may have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana. Flocks of pelicans and swallow-tailed gulls feed off shore, and seasonally, Nazca boobies can also be seen.

PLAZA

South Plaza (Spanish: Isla Plaza Sur) is a small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands. It has an area of 0.13 km² and a maximum altitude of 23 metres.
South Plaza was formed by lava up streaming from the bottom of the ocean. Despite its small size, it is home to a large number of species and known for its extraordinary flora. The sea bluffs hold large numbers of birds, such as nesting red-billed tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls, and offer wide vistas. The prickly pear cactus trees (Opuntia echios) are noteworthy, as is the large colony of Galápagos land iguanas. Furthermore, the territory and breeding season of the Galapagos land iguana overlap only on South Plaza Island with those of the marine iguana, giving rise to a unique population of hybrid iguanas.[3] Depending on the season, the Sesuvium ground vegetation changes its colour from green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season.

SANTA CRUZ (Indefatigable)

Home of the Darwin Research Station...internationally staffed with scientists doing biological research and conservation projects. Tortoises are at home here at the Station and at a protected highlands reserve. This is were Puerto Ayora is located and where most of the yachts and vessels are stationed.

Santa Cruz Island  is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of 986 km2 (381 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 864 metres (2,835 ft). Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz, there are some small villages, whose inhabitants work in agriculture and cattle raising.
The island is an oval-shaped, 32 km (20 mi) long and 40 km (25 mi) wide shield volcano. Its summit contains a shallow caldera that has been largely buried by youthful pit craters and cinder cones with well-preserved craters. The most recent eruptions may have occurred only a few thousand years ago with the effusion of sparsely vegetated lava flows from vents on the north flank and along the summit fissure. A gigantic lava tube measuring over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) long is a tourist attraction on the island. As a testimony to its volcanic history there are two big holes formed by the collapse of a magma chamber: Los Gemelos, or "The Twins".
Named after the Holy Cross, its English name (Indefatigable) was given after a British vessel HMS Indefatigable. Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago at the town of Puerto Ayora, with a total of 12,000 residents on the island.
Tortuga Bay is located on the Santa Cruz Island, a short walk from center of Puerto Ayora where you can view marine iguanas, birds, Galapagos crabs and a natural mangrove where you can spot white tip reef sharks and the gigantic Galápagos tortoises.

TOWER (Genovesa)

Genovesa Island, named after the Italian city of Genoa, in honor of Christopher Columbus, (referred to in English as Tower Island) is a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The island occupies about 14 square kilometres (5 sq mi), and its maximum elevation is 64 m (210 ft).[citation needed] The horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay, surrounded by cliffs.

Lake Arcturus, filled with salt water, lies in the centre, and sediment within this crater lake is less than 6,000 years old. Although no historical eruptions are known from Genovesa, there are very young lava flows on the flanks of the volcano.
This island is known as Bird Island, because of the large and varied bird colonies which nest here. There are an abundance of frigatebirds and it is among the best place in the archipelago to see red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, storm petrels, tropicbirds, Darwin's finches, and Galápagos mockingbirds.
Prince Philip's Steps is an extraordinary steep path that leads through a seabird colony full of life, up to cliffs that are 25 metres (82 feet) high. At the top, the trail continues inland, passing more seabird colonies in a thin palo santo forest. The trail also provides overviews of a rocky plain. Storm petrels here are different from any others in the world because they are active during the day. To avoid predators, they only return to their nest holes at night.
The smallest marine iguana in the archipelago lives here.

Galapagos Islands are sunny year round the warmest months are from December to June. January to March can be hot and humid but also mostly green at this time. The months from July to November are cooler. The average year-round temperature is 24C. 76F.