Daphne Island, Galapagos

Daphne Major is a volcanic island just north of Santa Cruz Island and just west of the Baltra Airport in the archipelago Colon, commonly known as the Galápagos Islands. It consists of a tuff crater, devoid of trees, whose rim rises 120 metres above the sea. Though easily accessible to most visitors to the Galápagos, the national park service has highly restricted visits to this island, and it is primarily used for scientific research.

Visitors to the island will view a variety of birds including Galápagos Martins, Blue-footed Booby, Nazca Booby, Short-eared Owls, Red-billed Tropicbirds and Magnificent Frigatebirds. Visitors can also hike the steep trail to the rim of the crater.

Things to See & Do

* Bird watching
* Hike the crater

General Information

Cruise Season – Jan - Dec
Currency – U.S. dollar (USD)
Language – Spanish
Population – 40,000 approx (Galapagos islands)
Electricity – 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style
Time – GMT minus five hours
International Country Telephone Code – + 593

Port Location – The dock on Baltra island is located in a small bay, a short bus ride from the Baltra airport. There is no port at Daphe island.

Transport Links – Flights to the Galapagos are relatively easy to arrange and depart from Quito and Guayaquil on a daily basis for the Isla Baltra airport, about two hours by public transport from Puerto Ayora, the main settlement of the Galapagos, on the central island of Santa Cruz.

On arriving into Baltra, all visitors are immediately transported by bus to one of two docks. The first dock is located in a small bay where the boats cruising the Galápagos await passengers. The second is a ferry dock which connects Baltra to the island of Santa Cruz via the Itabaca Channel.