Puerto Villamil City Hall

Ingreso a Isabela - Galápagos, muelle de pasajeros control Municipal

Going to the Galapagos is knowingly going to a place that is expensive. But nowhere do you feel like a money cow that all are trying to milk more than at Isabela Island, at Puerto Villamil. It starts at the water taxi from the boat to the shore. In all other places this costs 50 cents. In Isabela the price doubles to 1 dollar. Then, as you reach shore you are hit by a special tourist tax of 10$. By the municipality, no less. They are upgrading their roads and found a way to finance it. No other island does it, nor any other city in the world that I know of. When you get further into town expect two things- a) people will try to sell you tours to places that have free access and are within walking distance- such as the flamingos, the turtles bearding station, the wall of tears, and more. C), everything is more expensive than in Santa Cruz or San Cristobal, significantly. Also, nowhere else in the world have I met a tour guide cutting short the tour because he is late for his lunch. At least not openly. This is what happened to us on a kayak tour. The guide suddenly said, “now we need to cut short and paddle hard because I must make it for my lunch” . Basically he wanted to cut a 2 hours tour into 1.5 hours. Well, two kayaks did not make it on this time and stayed behind : - )
Once you accept these, and get over being milked nonstop for money, Puerto Villamil Isabela is a nice island to visit. Not great, but nice. Lots of options to see animals up close. Especially if you do not take guided tours.