Signal verified · updated 2026-09-03
Floreana (Galapagos)
The Galapagos' southern inhabited island of ~140 residents; famed for the 1793 Post Office Bay barrel, flamingo lagoons, and the eccentric 1930s settler sagas — now a flagship of tortoise and mockingbird restoration.
- Formation
- volcanic shield island; tuff cones and lagoons (e.g. Cormorant Point) along the coast
- Population
- 140
- Water
- Pacific Ocean
- Access
- moderate
Every required movement
The passage
to Floreana (Galapagos).
Fly Quito/Guayaquil to Baltra (GPS) or San Cristobal (SCY) with LATAM or Avianca, then inter-island speedboat/day-tour boats to Puerto Velasco Ibarra; Galapagos transit control card and park fee required.
- 01San Cristobal Airport (SCY); Seymour Airport Baltra (GPS) as alternative
Nearest recorded air access
Schedule or condition may change · verify - 02Water crossing
Daily speedboats from Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal); licensed day-tour boats.
Schedule or condition may change · verify - 03Entry check
Ecuador entry rules plus Galapagos transit control card (TCT) and national park entry fee; guide required at visitor sites.
Schedule or condition may change · verify
Research, then reserve
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What the chart cannot hold
What becomes visible when you follow post office bay barrel (1793) beyond the familiar map?
Floreana (173 km2) was the first Galapagos island settled — Irishman Patrick Watkins in 1807-1809 — and Ecuador's first penal-colony site after annexation in 1832. Today its tiny community lives on farming, fishing and regulated tourism inside a national park and UNESCO site.
Sighted 1535 by Tomas de Berlanga; whalers install the Post Office barrel 1793; first resident Patrick Watkins 1807-1809; Ecuador annexes 1832 and names it for President Flores; penal colony era; Norwegian then German colonists in the 1920s-1930s with famous disappearances; national park 1959; UNESCO 1978.
Field ledger
The useful
details.
- Coordinates
- 1.28° S · 90.43° W
- Sovereignty
- Ecuador · part of country
- Nearest mainland
- Ecuador mainland (~1000 km east)
- Best recorded window
- December-May (warm, calm seas); June-November cooler with garua.
- Permits / entry
- Ecuador entry rules plus Galapagos transit control card (TCT) and national park entry fee; guide required at visitor sites.
- Languages
- Spanish
Community intelligence
Notes from
the crossing.
Share firsthand conditions, access changes, respectful observations, or a question for someone who has been.
No traveler has left a public note here yet.
The empty ledger is part of the mystery—and an invitation to be useful.Travel information changes quickly. This field file was last revised 2026-09-03. Confirm all transport and permit details before booking.
Official source