Tours to Seymour North depart from Itabaca Channel, north of Santa Cruz Island. This island is located north of Santa Cruz Island and is known for its large colonies of blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds (the latter known as Galapagos pirates).
Arriving at Seymour North, you disembark on land and immediately begin hiking along a 1.5 mile trail. You will either follow the coast clockwise or head inland to first visit the booby colony. During this tour you will access the nesting sites of the largest chick colonies on the islands. At that point you will understand why Seymour is known for its rich wildlife. Get ready to spot land iguanas, marine iguanas and a colony of sea lions, lava lizards and pelicans! As you progress along the trail, you will see several trees where male and female frigatebirds nest. Then the terrain becomes rocky and this is where you can observe the place where the spectacular blue-footed boobies nest. This species is fascinating for their mating dance in which they can dance for hours until finally captivating the female to nest together.
Dive Site
One of the sites of Seymour North is in the channel which separates the island of Seymour and Mosquera. This sand channel features large stones cascading down to the middle of the channel. Sites have a maximum depth of 65 feet (20 m). The sandy bottom is perfect for observing Galapagos garden eels, rays, moray eels, dense schools of reef fish, but also different species of sharks such as whitetip reef sharks, Galapagos reef sharks and sometimes sharks. hammers which come along the sandy bottom. This is a beginner site, often used at the start of a diving cruise, combined with the island of Mosquera which is located right next door.
It is also possible to dive on the northeast part of the island, on a site with a shallower sandy part, then a wall going down to almost 90 feet (27 m) deep. This site has more current, which can sometimes be very strong, but is also ideal for observing pelagic species such as the occasional manta rays, hammerhead sharks, eagle rays.
This island can be dived from a diving cruise or from a day trip, because the navigation from the Itabaca channel is not very long (around 45 minutes).
