Isabela island is the quietest of the three main islands (there are very few restaurants and stores). There are a ton of excursion offices, but I would definitely recommend booking these in advance because they tend to sell out. I tried to book a snorkeling excursion last minute and they were completely booked.

I don’t typically post about the hostels I stay in, but Hostel by Bar De Beto is worth mentioning. My friend and I stayed in a room overlooking the Flamingo Bay and it was beautiful. It is about a two minute walk to the beach, and they have a beach bar as well. The women who runs the hostel is extremely helpful and gave me advice for my favorite activity I did on the trip: biking the Wall of Tears trail.

Wall of Tears Trail

My friend and I rented bikes in the morning and set out on our bike ride, not knowing what to expect. Well, let me tell you, this bike ride completely surpassed our expectations. Within ten minutes we came across a giant tortoise in the middle of the trail (bigger than any we had seen on the trip thus far). As we continued, we saw more tortoises, iguanas, birds, etc.

Ok, this is the part that tourists don’t know about (we found out about this from the woman who runs our hostel). When you arrive at El Estero (a stop along the trail), park your bike and walk on the El Estero trail until you reach the mangroves in the water. Walk through the water, through the mangroves, until you get out into the open water. The whole walk is never above mid-torso. Be prepared for the most amazing bird-watching of your life! There are so many pelicans diving for fish and blue-footed boobies hanging out on the rocks!

Once you are back to your bike, continue on until you reach the Wall of Tears (this was built by prisoners as a form of punishment, so the history of it is more interesting than the actual wall itself, but still cool to see). On your way back, make sure to stop at the massive stairs. There’s a great lookout at the top!

If you do this bike ride, I’d suggest doing it in the morning while all of the wildlife is out and before it gets too hot. It takes 2-3 hours to do, so bring snacks and water.

Sierra Negra Volcano Hike

I spent so much time researching different volcano hike companies, and come to find out, they all bring you in the same vehicles together. So whatever company you go with, you will be fine!

This hike is intense (you are hiking for about four hours) and my tour guide said it is often extreme weather (extreme heat or extreme rain). Well, I happened to hike it during extreme rain and was completely soaked by the end of the trip (even with a rain jacket). This made the hike very uncomfortable. So, if you are a science nerd or hike lover like I am, I’d recommend this hike because it is pretty neat to say you’ve hiked on a volcano! Just be prepared for all types of weather (and bring tons of water).

Food and Drink

I would recommend grabbing a drink (or coconut) and watching the sunset on the beach one night. Grab some empanadas from the Yummy Yummy empanada stand on the beach for dinner (best food I had on this island), and then grab a post-sunset drink at The Pink Iguana.