How to Get to Isabela Island from San Cristobal Galapagos

If you’re searching how to get to Isabella Island from San Cristobal – you’ve found the right place. My husband and I spent 10 days on land island hopping through the Galapagos, so we became familiar with transportation. Getting around Ecuador generally is pretty easy, but the Galapagos requires planning.

If you’re planning to do a land based trip like we did – you probably have researched how much transportation there is to get around. It felt like half our trip was spent in taxis, airplanes, boats, or walking rather than exploring.

How to Get to Isabella Island from San Cristobal Galapagos

There are no ferry’s that go from San Cristobal to Isabella- the only way to get there is by plane. The airline that will take you from San Cristobal to Isabella is an inner island only airline called Emetebe. It’s connected to the main airport SCY, but you can’t access it from inside the main airport. You’ll need to go through the door to the Emetebe lobby to the left of SCY main entrance.

Our flight was at 8:00 am and we showed up to the airport around 6:45 am thinking it would be like any other airport – but it’s not. It’s very small with nothing but a tiny waiting room. We showed up WAY too early and were the only ones there for 45 minutes. So I would recommend getting there about 45 minutes before your flight. We even beat the workers there.

They weighed and checked our bags – flight price can go up depending on the weight of your luggage. I recommend weighing it before you arrive to ensure you’re at the limit you paid for. If you end up going over try and spread out your items between different bags to distribute the weight better.

How to Get to Isabela Island from San Cristobal Galapagos

The plane fit 8 passengers and was so loud they provided ear muffs – and it was still pretty loud. Along the way we flew over some islands and the ride was smoother than I thought it would be.

When we landed in Isabella there was no taxi in sight, and we were the only ones at the tiny airport. We called our hotel to see if they could arrange transportation but the request got lost in translation. We ended up hitching a ride with a tour truck that happened to be there. So I highly recommend arranging transportation from the airport while planning your trip from San Cristobal to Isabella, and don’t rely on nearby taxis.