North Seymour Island Day Trip
Just a short panga ride north of Baltra lies one of the most electrifying wildlife stages in the entire Galápagos archipelago. North Seymour packs blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, sea lions and land iguanas into a flat 1.9-square-kilometre island where the animals are so unbothered by humans you will have to watch where you step.
The greatest bird show on Earth
North Seymour hosts the largest colony of magnificent and great frigatebirds in the Galápagos. During breeding season, males inflate their vivid scarlet throat pouches to basketball size, rattling their bills at passing females in a display so theatrical it feels staged. The visit trail runs directly through the nesting area, so the drama unfolds at arm's length.
Blue-footed boobies nest on the open ground and perform their famous high-stepping courtship dance right across the path. The blue of their feet comes from carotenoid pigments in their diet — the brighter the blue, the healthier the bird. Chicks, covered in white down, sit in rings of guano that mark each ground nest.
Snorkelling Mosquera Islet
Most North Seymour day tours include a stop at Mosquera Islet, a tiny coral-sand bar wedged between North Seymour and Baltra. It holds a large, boisterous colony of Galápagos sea lions, and the surrounding water is patrolled by white-tip reef sharks, rays and barracudas — ideal for snorkellers of any level.
The snorkelling here is genuinely excellent, with rays and reef sharks common sightings just metres from shore. Bring a wetsuit in the cool-season months of June to November, when the Humboldt Current pushes water temperatures below 20 °C.
North Seymour Island Day Trip on video
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