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Galápagos National Park rules: the 17 official visitor rules, explained

The 17 official Galápagos National Park visitor rules, explained: guides, the 2-metre distance, drones, sunscreen, food, camping and what happens if you…

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Galápagos National Park Rules: The 17 Official Visitor Rules

By David Brito, Galapagos Dana Tours · Mindo, Ecuador · Updated 5 October 2026

Almost everything you do in Galápagos happens inside a national park that covers 97% of the land, and the rules are not a suggestion box: they come from a legal resolution, your guide is legally responsible for enforcing them, and breaking them carries sanctions. None of them is hard to follow. A few surprise visitors, though, so here is the full list from the current General Visitation Rules (Resolution 0000007 of the Ministry of Environment, published in March 2024 and in force in 2026), with what each one means on the ground.

The 17 rules, in one table

#	The rule	What it means for you
1	Visits only with a licensed naturalist guide authorised by the park	No wandering off at official visitor sites; towns and a few designated beaches are the exception
2	Use only authorised operators and vessels	Book boats and day tours with licensed companies, not a fisherman with a spare afternoon
3	Stay on marked trails and respect the signs	The trail is the visit; the rest of the island is not
4	Keep at least 2 metres from every animal, cameras included	The sea lion may come closer; you may not
5	Do not touch or feed wildlife	Including the “harmless” finch on your table
6	No flash; filming, professional photography and drones need park permission	Leave the drone at home unless you hold a permit
7	Camping only in authorised sites, with a permit	Four sites, requested 48 hours to 15 days ahead
8	Do not bring seeds, plants or animals; luggage is inspected	Fresh fruit and seeds get confiscated at airports and docks
9	Take nothing: sand, shells, coral, stones, wood, animal parts	The “one small shell” is the most common infraction
10	No writing on rocks, trees or walls	Yes, people try
11	Carry your rubbish back to the towns	There are no bins at visitor sites
12	No alcohol, smoking or fires inside the protected area	Drinks stay on the boat
13	No speakers or radios; headphones only	The islands are quiet on purpose
14	Fishing only from authorised boats, in the regulated sport-fishing modality	No casting a line from the beach
15	No jet skis, submarines or aerial tourism	Kayaks and paddleboards are allowed at designated sites
16	Visiting hours 06:00 to 18:00; diving ends at 17:00; night dives 18:00 to 22:00 at set sites	Day tours and cruises plan around this
17	Sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate and similar chemicals are restricted	Pack mineral sunscreen

Blue-footed boobies nest beside the trail on several islands, which is exactly why the 2-metre rule exists Photo: David Brito

Rule 1 in practice: the guide

Every official visitor site is visited with a naturalist guide licensed by the Galápagos National Park Directorate, in groups of up to 16 people. Licensed cruise boats carry a maximum of 16 passengers per permit and vessel, which is why you will never see a 500-berth ship anchored at Genovesa, and dive day boats are capped at 12. The guide briefs you before each landing, sets the pace on the trail, calls the distance to the animals and reports infractions. A good guide is half the product: the rules only make sense when someone explains why the Nazca booby chick is where it is.

Where you do not need a guide: the inhabited areas and a short list of free-access sites the park has designated near the towns, such as Tortuga Bay on Santa Cruz, Concha de Perla on Isabela, and the town beaches. Your hotel or operator will tell you which is which, and the sign at the trailhead will too.

The rules that change how you pack

Sunscreen (rule 17). Bring a mineral sunscreen based on zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and expect some guides to ask to see the bottle. This is the single most common packing mistake we see, and the right products are in our Galápagos packing list.

Food and biosecurity (rule 8). The Galápagos Biosecurity Agency (ABG) inspects luggage at the mainland airports, on arrival, at every dock and before every inter-island ferry. Fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, raw meat, unprocessed dairy and plants are confiscated; sealed, processed snacks pass. Fill in the online goods declaration before you fly (the link is in our entry fee guide) and do not carry fruit between islands. Clean the mud off your boots between islands too: seeds travel in treads.

Drones (rule 6). Flying a drone anywhere inside the park requires prior authorisation from the Park Directorate, which is granted for research and approved productions, not for holiday footage. Without it the drone can be confiscated at the airport. The inhabited towns are outside the park, but the shoreline is not, so the practical answer is to leave it at home.

Photography. No flash, ever, near the animals. Normal photography is free and encouraged; commercial shoots and filming need a permit arranged in advance.

Camping, fishing and the water

Camping is allowed only at authorised sites, with a permit requested at park offices on the inhabited islands between 48 hours and 15 days in advance. The sites currently listed by the park are Playa Garrapatero on Santa Cruz, and Puerto Chino, Manglecito and Puerto Grande on San Cristóbal.
Fishing by visitors exists only as “pesca vivencial”, a regulated sport-fishing day on an authorised local boat.
Kayaks and paddleboards are allowed at designated sites and prohibited at others (Elizabeth Bay, Sullivan Bay and Bartolomé among them). Jet skis, private submarines and sightseeing flights are banned outright.
Marine sites are open from 06:00 to 17:00. Night diving happens only at a handful of designated sites between 18:00 and 22:00.

Sea lions ignore the rules; visitors keep two metres anyway Photo: David Brito

What happens if you break a rule

Guides must report infractions, and the resolution states that non-compliance is sanctioned under Ecuador’s environmental law. For small things, such as stepping off a trail for a photo, the sanction is the guide’s warning and, if you insist, being taken back to the boat. For serious cases, such as taking wildlife, extracting coral or entering a closed zone, the law provides fines and, in the worst cases, criminal proceedings; the park has prosecuted people for smuggling iguanas. We have never seen a guest sanctioned for anything short of deliberate behaviour. The animals walk through your camera frame without any help.

Two myths to retire

“Eating at visitor sites is illegal.” The current resolution contains no standalone rule against it. What it bans is feeding animals and bringing certain foods into the archipelago; not snacking on the trail is operating practice, and some sites discourage it. Follow the practice anyway, if only because a mockingbird will unzip your daypack in seconds.

“There is a visitor cap and the islands are full.” No current regulation sets an annual visitor limit. What limits visits is the system itself: a fixed number of licensed boats with 16 passengers each, a fixed set of visitor sites with scheduled slots, and the capacity rules per site (Las Grietas, for example, admits 32 people at a time).

Frequently asked questions

Can I visit the Galápagos National Park without a guide?

Only at the free-access sites near the towns, such as Tortuga Bay, Concha de Perla or the Interpretation Center trail on San Cristóbal. Every other visitor site requires a licensed naturalist guide, and the remote islands require an authorised boat as well.

Can I fly a drone in Galápagos?

Not without written authorisation from the Park Directorate, which is not granted for tourism. Drones can be confiscated on arrival, so leave it at home.

What happens if a sea lion comes closer than 2 metres?

Nothing, as long as you did not cause it. Step back if you can, keep your hands to yourself and let it pass. The rule is about your behaviour, not the animal’s.

What food can I bring to Galápagos?

Sealed, processed products such as crackers, nuts in packets, chocolate and energy bars. Fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, raw meat, unprocessed cheese and plants are confiscated at the biosecurity inspection. Declare what you carry on the online form before you fly.

Is there a fine for breaking the park rules?

Yes. The visitation rules refer to Ecuador’s environmental law for sanctions, which range from fines to criminal charges for taking wildlife or damaging protected areas. In practice, a guide’s warning resolves almost every tourist infraction.

Which sunscreen is allowed in Galápagos?

Mineral sunscreens based on zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Products containing oxybenzone, octinoxate and similar reef-damaging chemicals are restricted by rule 17.

Sources

Last verified: October 2026