Country shortlist

Best snorkeling in Ecuador

The Double Fathom shortlist for Ecuador, ranked — 1 catalog destination. The grouping is ours; every rank and tagline is the catalog’s own.

Ecuador appears in our catalog as the Galápagos, and that is the whole of our coverage: a national park archipelago in the Pacific, a long way off the Ecuadorian mainland and reached by flying from Quito or Guayaquil. The draw is the animals rather than the coral — sea lions that swim with you, marine iguanas grazing underwater, penguins and turtles in volcanic, boulder and mangrove water — and the water runs cool on the Humboldt current, so exposure protection is normal rather than optional. A park entry fee applies on arrival and most visitor sites require a licensed naturalist guide. It is the least carefree destination in this catalog and one of the most rewarding; read it as a regulated park visit that includes superb snorkeling.

What we cover — and what we don’t

Where we cover Ecuador: the Galápagos Islands, as a single destination with five sites across Santa Cruz, Isabela and San Cristóbal. The Ecuadorian mainland coast is not in this catalog, and nothing here covers the country's highland or Amazon regions.

The ranked Ecuador shortlist

In catalog rank order. Rank, taglines and “best for” notes are the catalog’s own; each destination page and guide goes deeper.

Galápagos

The regulated one

Volcanic shore · Marine park

Sea lions, penguins and cool-water reef inside a strictly regulated national park.

The Galápagos is not a carefree beach trip and this catalog will not describe it as one: it is a tightly regulated national park, where a park entry fee is collected on arrival, many sites can only be visited with a licensed naturalist guide, and you reach the islands by flying from mainland Ecuador to one of the archipelago's two airports. It is also one of the few places on earth where you can snorkel beside sea lions and Galápagos penguins. The water runs cool on the Humboldt current, so exposure protection is normal rather than optional.

Galápagos destination guide →Best Snorkeling in the Galápagos →

Part of the regional shortlist

This country sits inside the Indo-Pacific — the wider grouping the ranked catalog uses.

Best snorkeling in the Indo-Pacific →

Other countries on the shortlist

Each country page groups the ranked catalog by country and states plainly what this catalog covers — and what it does not.

Planning a trip to Ecuador?

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