Hiking and Snorkeling
Bartolome & Sullivan Bay Day Tour
Bartolomé is a small island located 2 hours northwest of Santa Cruz. It is particularly known for its iconic pinnacle view with the two beaches back to back and the much larger island of Santiago in the background.
Land excursion
The summit trail begins with a dry landing, though Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) make the purpose-built dock more exciting. The trail is a dusty walk through volcanic ash. The only vegetation is the “pioneer plants”, grey Tiquilia (Tiquilia galapagoa) and greenish Chamaesyce (Euphorbia amplexicaulis).
These are vital in binding the ash that fans down from the hill. Some wooden steps were built to facilitate the ascent/descent and to avoid further erosion. The summit of about 114 m is a reddish spray cone whose eastern part has many small lava tubes and if you look closely, you can make out sunken craters in the sea below.
With a clear sky, most of the central islands can be seen in the distance: the peaks of Isabela to the west, and Marchena and Pinta to the north. A wonderful sight! At the foot of the pinnacle, lives a small family of Galapagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus). Usually, after going down the hill, you take a zodiac ride to watch out for these northernmost penguins in the world.
Snorkeling
The beach landing is wet. Take some repellent. A short ten-minute walk across a sand dune takes you to the southern beach, where harmless black-tipped reef sharks and rays are often seen in the warm, shallow water. Ghost crabs creep over the sand and disappear as you approach. Look up at the sky and often you may see a juvenile Galapagos hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) hovering overhead. From January to March you may see sea turtles coming ashore to nest in the sand.




Highlights
- Galapagos Penguin
- Galapagos Hawk
- Sea lion
- Black-tipped Reef Sharks
- Ghost Crabs
- Sea Turtles
Activity
Tour start: 07:00 – 08:00am from the hotel/ meeting point, depending on the operator and the location of your hotel. Arrival back to town around 05:00pm.
The tour includes transportation, a bilingual naturalist guide of the Galapagos National Park, hot lunch, snacks, beverages, snorkel equipment (wetsuit USD 5 extra), and towel service.