Ecuador
North Seymour, Galapagos Islands
North Seymour: Blue-Footed Boobies and Frigatebirds Beside Baltra
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A Guided Landing
Visits to North Seymour are made only with a naturalist guide authorized by Galápagos National Park, as part of your boat's itinerary. Boats have landed visitors at a dock since 2025, and a visitor trail of about 2 km crosses the island and follows its rocky coast.
- The island covers 1.9 square kilometers and rises only 28 meters. It was formed when a submarine lava formation was pushed up, rather than by a volcano.
- Low, bushy vegetation covers the island, with a small grove of silver-gray palo santo trees just above the landing.
- The site receives an average of about 120 visitors a day, and nobody lives on the island.
- Pelicans and swallow-tailed gulls feed offshore, and in some seasons Nazca boobies can be seen.
Visiting Rules
North Seymour is a protected visitor site of Galápagos National Park, so you visit it only with an authorized naturalist guide and through authorized tour services. The park's rules apply on every landing, and your guide will hold the group to them.
- Keep at least 2 meters from wildlife, and keep your camera at that distance too.
- Do not touch or feed animals. Take photos without flash, and do not use drones.
- Walk only on the marked trail, and respect the visiting hours your guide gives you.
- Take nothing away and bring nothing in: no plants, food, animals or pieces of the landscape, and leave no writing on rocks.
- Do not smoke, drink alcohol or light fires, and use sun protection that is safe for marine life.
- Play music only through headphones, and take all your trash back to the boat.
A Brief History
North Seymour has no permanent population, so its history is one of passing ships and of conservation. A small iguana population moved here in the 1930s later became the source for restoring the species on a larger island.
- 1845: The captain of HMS Daphne, a Royal Navy ship that spent a month in the Galápagos, gave the name Seymour. The word North distinguishes the island from Baltra, also known as South Seymour.
- 1930s: Captain G. Allan Hancock moved land iguanas from Baltra to North Seymour.
- Second World War: Baltra became the site of an American air base, and the iguanas already moved to North Seymour helped the species survive.
- 1959: Galápagos National Park was created, Ecuador's first national park, covering 97 percent of the islands' land.
- 21st century: The iguana population on North Seymour grew to more than 5,000, reaching the limits of the food on the island.
- January 2019: The park and the conservation group Island Conservation moved 1,436 land iguanas from North Seymour to Santiago Island, where the species had not been recorded for about 180 years. The same month, drones were used to spread rat bait across North Seymour, the first time the method was used against vertebrates in the wild.
- About 2021: After two years of monitoring, the park declared North Seymour free of rats.
- March 2025: A dock for visitors opened, built by the park with the Galápagos tour boat owners' association.
- To learn more ashore: The Charles Darwin Research Station, on Academy Bay in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, is the base of the Charles Darwin Foundation's research and conservation work.
North Seymour with Children
North Seymour suits children who can walk about 2 km on a rocky route in the sun and keep still and quiet near nesting birds. The 2-meter rule matters here, because birds and iguanas can be right beside the trail.
- Younger children: Go over the rules before the landing: no touching, no feeding and stay on the trail. Hold hands near nesting birds.
- School age: Make a spotting list: blue-footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, frigatebirds, sea lions, land iguanas, and pelicans fishing offshore.
- Teenagers: Follow the iguana story from the 1930s rescue to the 2019 return to Santiago, and the drone campaign that cleared the island of rats.
Accessible Travel
The dock opened in 2025 was built for safer landings, but the visit is still a walk of about 2 km that includes a rocky stretch of coast. The island is low and flat, with no point higher than 28 meters.
- Ask your boat in advance how the transfer from ship to dock works and how long the walk takes at your group's pace.
- Bring a hat, water and sun protection that is safe for marine life.
- Medical facilities in the Galápagos are limited, so make sure your travel insurance includes air ambulance evacuation. Boats may ask for your blood group and emergency contacts when you board.
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