Galápagos National Park rules every visitor must follow

Almost everything you will do in Galápagos happens inside a national park, and the rules come from an actual legal resolution, not a suggestion box. They are enforced by your guide, who is legally responsible for them, and broken rules carry sanctions. None of them are hard to follow. But a few surprise visitors, so here is the complete list from the current General Visitation Rules (Resolution 0000007, MAATE), published in the Official Registry in March 2024 and in force in 2026.

You need a licensed naturalist guide

Rule one is structural: visits to protected areas in Galápagos can only happen with a specialised guide authorised by the Galápagos National Park Directorate (DPNG), with a few free-access sites designated by the park itself. Guides may take groups of up to 16 visitors, and licensed tour boats are capped at 16 passengers per permit. You must also contract only authorised tour operators and vessels for any activity inside the protected area.

In practice this means you cannot wander off on your own at any official visitor site, and no reputable operator will offer to. Some places around town are open access (beaches near Puerto Ayora or Puerto Villamil, the Charles Darwin Research Station approach), and your hotel or operator will tell you which is which.

The rules that affect your day

These come straight from the resolution, condensed:

• Stay on marked trails at all times and follow the signage.
• Keep a minimum distance of 2 metres from every animal, including with your camera or phone.
• Never touch or feed the animals.
• No flash photography. Commercial filming, professional photography and drone use all require prior authorisation from the park.
• Do not remove anything: sand, coral, shells, stones, wood, or any part of an animal.
• Do not write on rocks, trees or walls.
• Carry your rubbish out with you to populated areas.
• No alcohol, no smoking, no campfires inside the protected area.
• No speakers or radios; audio only with headphones.
• Do not bring seeds, plants or animals into the archipelago. Your luggage is inspected at the docks and airports, and there is a list of permitted food products.
• Visiting hours run 06:00 to 18:00 under the park management plan; diving must finish by 17:00, with night dives from 18:00 to 22:00 at designated sites.

Two of these have real trip-planning consequences. First, the biosecurity inspection is not cosmetic: fresh fruit, unprocessed foods and organic material get confiscated at the Baltra and San Cristóbal docks and airports, and your inter-island ferry bags are checked too. Pack snacks accordingly. Second, the drone rule: leave it unless you have park authorisation, because confiscation is on the table.

Sunscreen has its own rule

Rule 17 restricts sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate and other chemicals that harm marine ecosystems. In practice: bring mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide), and expect that some guides will ask to check your bottle. It is the single most common packing mistake we see. The full list of what to bring is in our Galápagos packing list.

Camping, fishing and water activities

• Camping is only allowed in authorised sites, with a permit requested 48 hours to 15 days ahead at park offices on the inhabited islands. Current authorised sites include Playa Garrapatero on Santa Cruz and Puerto Chino, Manglecito and Puerto Grande on San Cristóbal.
• Fishing is only permitted on authorised vessels, under the regulated sport-fishing modalities.
• Motorised water sports vehicles, submarines and aerial tourism are prohibited.

What happens if you break a rule

Guides must report infractions, and the resolution states that non-compliance is sanctioned under current environmental law. Fines exist and, for serious cases like extracting wildlife or entering closed zones, the consequences escalate well beyond a fine. We have never seen a guest fined for anything short of deliberate behaviour; the animals walk through your Instagram frame without any help.

One myth to retire

You will read that “eating inside visitor sites is illegal”. The current resolution does not contain that as a standalone prohibition. It bans feeding animals and restricts food imports; not snacking on a trail is operating practice, and some sites discourage it, but it is not written as its own rule. Follow the practice anyway, if only because a cheeky mockingbird will un-zip your daypack in seconds.

Last verified: September 2026