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Galapagos Travel Guide: Cruise, Tours, Last minute deals
Cabo Rosa Tunnels | Tour price $135 | Galapagos
Cabo Rosa Tunnels is one of the best snorkeling you will have in Galapagos. If you’ve ever dreamt of swimming with marine turtles, stingrays, sharks and seahorses. I can help you book the tour to Cabo Rosa tunnels for *$135.
The tour to Cabo Rosa Tunnels on Isabela Island (Galapagos – Ecuador), will be a unique and emotional experience, believe me you will not regret the time and money invested in this tour.
Cabo Rosa tunnels and its giant sea turtles
Cabo Rosa Tunnels
- How to get there
- Trip itinerary
- Tour information
- Reviews
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- Check availability
- ES: Túneles Cabo Rosa
How to get to Cabo Rosa Tunnels?
The only way to get to Cabo Rosa Tunnels on Isabela Island is through a tour of the same name. Many tourists want to do this tour from Santa Cruz Island but it is not possible, since their departure times do not allow them. You should therefore plan to spend the night in Isabela for at least one night.
Speedboats to enter tunnels
Penguins in Snorkeling in Cabo Rosa Tunnels
Trip itinerary
This tour includes three stops (you can also check out the map at the end of this blog):
Stop 1: la Unión rock followed by a 45 minute boat ride to
Stop 2: Cabo Rosa Tunnels (short hike) and nearby,
Stop 3: Finados (snorkeling)
Pangaride at Union Rock
You’ll first head to a rock called la Unión. After this short spot, you’ll continue by boat for another 45-minutes to get to the Cabo Rosa Tunnels, the most beautiful lavarock formations on the Galapagos Islands. Ancient lava eruptions created the Cabo Rosa tunnels, an expanse of arcs where you’ll observe sea lions and marine turtles weaving their way below the surface of the crystalline water. Here, you’ll get to take a short walk across the lavarock formations and snap some nice pictures.
ENTER AND ENJOY IT!
Hiking the Cabo Rosa Tunnels
After this point, the tour will take you to a place nearby known as Finados to snorkel with sea turtles, sharks, golden rays, eagle rays, sea horses and fish, such as sturgeons and damselfish, otherwise known as the demoiselle.
Alternative hike on the Tunnel Tour
You should know that the vessels that offer tours to these Tunnels aren’t luxurious because they need to be light and fast to enter the areas visited on Isabela. Some days the swell might be strong, which makes navigation difficult but, rest assured, the captains have it under control.
PS: Due to sea conditions (swells and waves) and, depending on the tide, tours into the actual tunnels may be cancelled or reprogramed with short notice. Above all else, the safety of our passengers is our priority.
CABO ROSA TUNNELS IN VIDEO
Information on Cabo Rosa Tunnel tour
› Tour price: US$ 135
*Tour price changes in high season
› Departure dates: Every day
› Passenger per yacht: 10 people
› Pick up: In the lobby of your hotel
› Travel time to and from the island: 2h (1h each way)
› Schedule 1: 07h30 to 13h30
› Schedule 2: 11h00 to 17h00
› Does not include: Alcoholic drinks, tip, soda and neoprene suit (I recommend renting these during the months of June-December from any operator).
* Price does not include 12% tax. (Only charged if you require an invoice.)
* This tour is not recommended for children from 0 to 2 years old.
* You definitely need to bring a pair of trekking shoes (lava rocks are sharp!).
* Reserve the Cabo Rosa Tunnels tour with a partial payment using the available payment methods: a bank transfer from any Ecuadorian bank (no additional cost), using WeTravel you can a bank transfer from any U.S. bank (1% + 0.30 cents in additional costs), credit or debit card (only 3.9% additional cost) o using Paypal (5.9% additional cost). Price does not include 12% IVA (only if you need an invoice).
DON’T MISS OUT!
I can help you reserve a tour to Cabo Rosa Tunnels with local operators that own the vessels. Instead of wasting time wandering around each island looking for tours, you should be enjoying the places you can visit on your own while at the Galapagos Islands.
DON’T MISS OUT!
I can help you reserve a tour to Cabo Rosa Tunnels with local operators that own the vessels. Instead of wasting time wandering around each island looking for tours, you should be enjoying the places you can visit on your own while at the Galapagos Islands.
*We work directly with boat owners and tour operators in the Galapagos, thereby avoiding additional costs, unlike travel operators like Viator, Get Your Guide and Civitatis which rely on third-party local operators.
TRAVEL SAFE THROUGH THE GALAPAGOS
After a lot of research, I found a travel assistance service that really works and helps in difficult moments. Good travel insurance that covers flight cancellations is key and, in purchasing this, travelers that visit my blog also get a 5% discount.
Christian was really helpful with booking our trips, and he responded really quickly to sort out an administrative problem with our trip while we were there – so highly recommend booking through him. The trip itself was truly amazing. The lava tunnels are spectacular, and the wildlife was wonderful – we saw blue-footed boobies up close, and snorkelled with lots of sea turtles, sealions, sharks and rays, and also saw a few seahorses and a penguin! It was an amazing day, and we were all so happy that we did this trip. Very highly recommended!
Choko Trips organizó todos mis Tours en las 3 Islas de Galápagos donde estuve . Y la organizacion fué muy buena . No tenía mucho tiempo en cada Isla, y así estaba segura antes de viajar a Galápagos, que tenía asegurados todos los Tours ,especialmente los que tienen muchisima demanda .
La comunicación con Christian fué rápida y fluida siempre, tanto por WhatsApp como por mail. La gestión de reserva de los Tours también muy rápida y eficaz .
Así que por todo esto , lo súper recomiendo .
El Tour los Túneles en Isla Isabela me gustó mucho. El paisaje es especial y distinto. Y la zona de snorkel es muy cómoda. Vimos bastantes animales.
Si me hubiera gustado poder andar algo más por la zona de los túneles, solamente sacamos fotos justo donde desembarcamos. A mi la verdad me gusta andar un poco ,y vi que otros grupos si lo hacían.
Pero la verdad la excursión fué preciosa , y el guía nos pasó sus fotos de Gopro de recuerdo.
Recomiendo esta excursión.
We booked our tour through ChokTrip and it couldnt have been more straight forward and simple. Super responsive and helpful. We were picked up from our hostel and met up with our group and guide at the tour office. Great english, very friendly and knowledgeable. The journey to and from Los Tuneles on the boat was a little hairy – very much like a wet rollercoaster – but it was all part of the fun, and totally worth it! Los Tuneles was absolutely stunning, and to see the blue-footed boobies up close and doing their mating dances was incredible! We snorkelled near the Tuneles close to the Galapagos penguins and sea lions which was super cool. We then snorkelled about 15 mins from there and saw so many huge tortugas, reef sharks, sea horses, parrot fish and more. Once in a lifetime experience. Highly recommend!
We took the CHOK tour to the Cabo Rosa Tuneles in early June 2023. It was the best of many wonderful excursions we took in the Galapagos. We were on a land based trip and hadn’t booked tours ahead of time. We really wanted to see the Tuneles and Christian at CHOK was wonderful. Unlike some other tour operators who did not return our inquiries or could only put us on standby for the trip, Christian got back to us quickly with multiple options for our group of nine and was patient when we delayed booking as one of our group wasn’t feeling well. She recovered and we booked that day for the date we wanted our tour. We were a little confused about whether Cabo Rosa Tuneles is the same as ‘The Tuneles’ (as our google map seemed to give use different locations), but rest assured you get to see it all on this trip. Our tour guide, Harry, was wonderful and very informative. He knew where to look for wildlife and we were fortunate to see 25 penguins and swam with several. We saw huge turtles, small sharks, seals and many birds. While walking in the Tuneles, we saw a pair of courting blue-footed boobies, complete with their dance and stick exchange! The Tuneles are amazing other-worldly lava structures in the water that were so beautiful, with huge turtles and other wildlife swimming and landing all around- we will never forget this beautiful place. Our boat captain displayed impressive ability to negotiate the surf and his local knowledge of the reefs was amazing. We felt safe and secure the entire tour as it was clear the captain knew just what we was doing! Our lunch of fresh ceviche and plantain chips was the best tour lunch we had on any of the trips we took in Galapagos regardless of island. Everything was so well organized and it was an excursion we will remember and talk about for many years, the highlight of our entire trip! Thank you to Christian, Harry, the captain and the crew for everything you did to make us comfortable, informed and well treated!
The Galapagos is an amazing place. For anyone thinking of going, book it! For those already booked, you are in for a trip of a lifetime.
My family loved the trip. We are a family of 4 with girls who are 6 and 8. We love to snorkel and the sea life here made it really special. In all the beaches/tours we visited in the Galapagos, theres no shortage of things to see. We were the only ones on these tours with small kids. We brought our life vests, goggles and snorkels for the kids. The tour ops gear is fine but wasn’t worth taking the chance with kids.
I highly recommend booking in advance. We did… like 6 months ahead. Turned out it was the right choice since I heard from fellow travelers we met down there that they couldn’t get their ideal trips/times. I also heard from people who spent hours with tour operators at their stores trying to schedule something and others waiting for email/whatapp confirmations whether they were booked or not. Who wants that anxiety (let alone the wasted time when you could be exploring) especially when you are there only for a couple/few days. No question in my mind that booking ahead was the right decision for us. Make note, most boats looked like they max out at 10-12 people so its definitely more challenging if you are traveling as a family if you are trying on the spot.
We decided to book x2 tours (plus booked the speedboat from Isabela to Santa Cruz). The 360 tour in San Cristobal and Los Tuneles Tour in Isabela. Speaking only for these 2, Los Tuneles was our favorite. Pros and cons for Los Tuneles are as follows. PRO: 1) Its a shorter boat ride. We are not seasoned boaters (mostly lakes/pond kayaking). We went prepared with Dramamine and Sea band. 2) The wildlife is plentiful. We saw everything from seals, sea turtles, Blue footed boobies (up close and personal which was 100% our highlight of the trip), sea horses, black and white tip sharks, many species of birds, crabs, etc. 3) the scenery is spectacular. You can really see how the islands formed and the magma flows and erosion over time. CON: 1) Keeping up with the group was hard for us with kids in tow. The group moves and with other tour guides in the water, need to be aware of surroundings. 2) Cant think of anything else.
As for Chokotrip, before we left I was highly confident in the x3 bookings. Christian was super responsive on Whatsapp and answered all of my questions including entertaining multiple scenario itineraries till we settled on one. Since we booked so far in advance, I followed up a couple of days before our trip and was told all was good. The first x2 tours went off without any issue. I followed to the “T” Christians instructions which clearly stated to check-in the day before the tours. Super helpful.
The speedboat between Isabela/Santa Cruz at 3PM was a MAJOR issue. With Christian’s confirmation in hand, we got to the dock and much to my surprise, the WOLF boat operator DID NOT have our name on the list, not to mention his list was full. Given the limited boats leaving and the fact that it was the 3PM departure, had we not been able to make this boat this would have killed our trip to Santa Cruz since we only had 1 full day there (the next day). Also, since these boats fill up quickly there was no guarantee there was an opening the next day either especially for 4. As you can tell, it was essential we made it on this boat one way or another. Upon realizing we were in the right place, right time, speaking to the right operator, but no way to get a ticket, I tried to reach Christian. This proved impossible. I tried to get the WOLF operator to call him as well. I even gave him the confirmation/point of contact I received from Christian for WOLF. Not entirely sure if he called either person. He didn’t confirm to me he even knew who the WOLF point contact was. Overall I’d give the WOLF operator a 3.5 out of 10 stars knowing it wasn’t his fault but at the same time, he could have been more transparent about what he was communicating in Spanish to whomever was speaking with on his phone. All I was told was to wait. Meanwhile, many visitors were receiving tickets from their operators including WOLF and eventually started boarded. Finally, 10 min till 3PM, the operator motioned to us and handed me 3 tickets with number 29, 30, 31 on it and crossing off random names on his list (clearly, names of x3 people that didn’t show up). I firmly reminded him we were a family of 4. On one of the tickets he added “infant”. We got on. Not sure what would have happened had those x3 people or even one of those people showed up. All things considered it was THE WORST 1 hour (and only bad part) of the entire trip. This should not have happened. Still have no explanation as to what happened. Not sure how i could avoided all this either.
Hope this was helpful. Regardless of our speedboat issue, I would still recommend all to explore the different islands. They are vastly different in many ways; the people, the sites, and the animals.
This will forever be a trip I remember (and hopefully for my kids as well)! Will definitely plan a future return trip maybe 15 years later once kids are grown up!
Had a great time on Cabo Rosa Tunnels. Swam with seals, penguins, rays, tropical fish, sharks and more sea turtles than I’d ever seen before. When I return to the Galapagos I’ll look you up again. Thanks Choko.
Amazing trip to Los Tunneles. 45minute boat ride to shoot the ‘reef’ and waves into the calm Tunneles area. We walked on the lava among the cactus and looked down on the water and marine life. The young people managed in flip flops but I was glad to have my hiking shoes for the uneven ground and sharp rocks. Then snorkeling with seahorses which were found in the seaweed. The water is cool. Rent a wetsuit. Then snorkeling in shallow water to find many huge turtles and when your guide leads you to look in a small cavern be ready for many black tip or white tip sharks resting near the bottom. points to note. The guide took photos and we were given the underwater photos at the end which was great. If you want to be in the photos stay with the guide and dove under to look at the wildlife. It made our trip a little hectic as some people were eager to get in all the photos and you had to snorkel reasonably fast to keep up and see everything. But otherwise excellent. Good plentiful lunch and fun boat ride home with music! Fun to meet the fellow tourists too.
We loved our trip to the Galápagos Islands. Working with Choko was easy and all went smoothly with our tours. You must remember you are on island time and go with the flow. Santa Cruz had some great tours and Tortuga beach is beautiful!! Isabella was one of our favorites as it is less built up. The Caba Rose Tour is a must as is biking up to the Wall of Tears. While walking some of the offshoot trails you see the tortoises, and possibly flamingos.
San Cristobal is a nice island with some good hikes and small beaches.
Kicker rock tour is a good one too. On all the tours we learned something new. Loved snorkeling with the fish and sea turtles and even some sharks.
A great tour en a must do when visiting Isabela. the captain of the boat was very capable when he entered Cabo Rosa en sailed along the rocks looking for penguins. snorkeling was good and the guide helped well to see the sharks and other sea life. unfortunately the sea was to rough to snorkel in de sea horses area.
it is amazing how things work in the Galapagos. the agency we were supposed to visit the day before the tour was closed (a note said the owner would be back in 10 minutes, but that wasn’t thru). in an agency across the street they told us the owner was on vacation. they called the number on the voucher given by chocotrip and the man on the phone told that we would be picked up the next morning for the trip. and so it happend.
This is one of the must-do tours in Isabela. I booked it with Choko and everything went great. A great tour guide, amazing place and everything well organised. Choko was easy to reach if I needed although it was barely needed as instructions were clear. Isabela is a wonder
Cabo rosa – los túneles: great tour, we enjoyed a lot, we saw turtles, blue footed boobies, sea horses and sharks. In the winter season for Galapagos is better to use 2 wetsuit because we were freezing in the water. Also check when is the tide because with the high tide you can’t almost see the túneles. Be prepared to a rocky ride with the boat.
I arranged my trip on Chok Trip for Tuneles Cabo Rosa and it was a great experience. Choko sent me a message on whatsapp to let me know it was all arranged I was also able to ask any questions via WhatsApp. The convenience of booking through Chok Trip was well worth it. I was able to book online and enjoy my trip/time versus going from tour agency to tour agency using up valuable time. The tour I went on was amazing. Our guides were great and it was my favorite tour of all!!
The tour was great to Cabo rosa tunnels! The guide maybe not that great but everything else was fantastic!
If you are in isla isabela you must do the tunnels tour! It was amazing!! Out of all the tours and trips we took, this one was the best! We were able to see sharks, sea turtles, sea horses, pingüin, boobies, and many different kinds of fish. The crew was great and fed us the most delicious fruit! I highly recommend the tunnels tour and Choko trips for organizing everything for us. He is very responsive and flexible!
Great trip! One of the highlights in Galapagos. Would recommend!
Spectacular trip to Cabo Rosa. Definitely don’t miss the chance to do this!
I booked this tour in 2019, but was not able to take the trip until 2021 due to concerns about COVID. Choko Tours was extremely accommodating and rebooked our tours for no extra charge in 2021. Choko Tours was also very responsive to my questions about the tours and provided me with all of the information I needed for them. The tour itself was great. We saw some great blue footed boobies who were very friendly and did some great snorkeling. My 6 year old loved it! He saw white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, an eel, a seahorse, and a giant sea turtle. He was very impressed by the sea turtle. This was a great adventure for us!
Cabo rosa was my favorite snorkeling tour on the Galapagos. The water was clear and we swam with lots of turtles. Gabriel, the National Park tour guide was exceptional and the tour operator, was very professional.
Choko arranged our tuneles trip and we were extremely happy with the service. There are a lot of tour companies and it is difficult to choose and know if there’s much difference between them so having someone vet them for us was very helpful. I thought the price was reasonable and we absolutely loved our tuneles tour and felt the guide was knowledgeable and helpful and we were provided some fantastic photos from the trip by David our guide. We were given the name of the boat and all necessary information in advance which was very helpful also. All in all highly recommended!
The Cabo rosa tunnels tour was absolutely spectacular! The service and attentions to details is superior with very friendly staff, outstanding boat captain. A Great Value! A definite must if you come to Isabela, regardless of how may times you visit.
We booked all three Isabela tours with Choko, Los Túneles, Tintoreras, and Sierra Negra Hike. Choko was very responsive via WhatsApp to any questions, as well as the tour operators that he arranged for us. The Tuneles tour was incredible, we got to snorkel right next to turtles, sea lions, rays, and (friendly) sharks! Our tour guide Michael was great, he ended up being our guide for the Tintoreras tour as well, where we snorkled up close to even more wildlife. The Sierra Negra hike had some great views but it was a very long and hot hike (even in late October), bring comfortable clothes and lots of water! Would recommend using Choko to arrange your Isabela tours.
Fantastic trip. A must for snorkeling in Isabela. Saw huge turtles. Stingrays. Manta rays. Sea horse and even an eel. Guides are great food excellent. Must trip for Isabela. Thanks choko.
This was a great trip. I especially enjoy our guide Sebastian who was wonderful! Good snorkelling.
I booked two tours with Choko and enjoyed them both. Christian made everything easy and affordable. The Los Tuneles Cabo Rosa tour was AMAZING! We saw more sea turtles than ever before, as well as a seahorse, reef sharks, tons of fish, penguins, and Blue Footed Boobies. The second tour was Sierra Negra Volcano. This was very interesting but the best part was our guide. He loved what he did and it showed. He had been a guide for more than 30 years and was very enthusiastic about the volcano.
The Tour itself was fantastic. Perfectly organized by choko and the Team. We saw a seahorse, turtles, sharks etc.. everything. Unfortunately we have been a bit unlucky with our female guide at the end of December. She was rude and unfriendly. We she die tell us very rude that we have to respekt the 2m, she took Fotos herself from 0.50m of the baby blue footed Babies. When we asked if we can See Pinguins here when we are lucky she said, it is not a zoo here. Furthermore it was raining a lot in isla isabela, i didn’t like the island.
One of the best tours from Isabella island. We were snorkeling not far from tunnels with sharks, huge turtles (different kind), sting rays and even saw numerous manta rays on our way back from tunnels. The tunnels are also incredible, fantastic lava formation. We cannot stop taking pictures so beautiful was this scenery and incredible encounter with wildlife.
Thank you, Christian, for organizing it for us.
Good trip all around. Boat left a little to be desired but didn’t detract from the day. Would recommend!
This was my best snorkeling experience on Galapagos. Snorkeling with Sharks, penguins, turtles and I think 6 small golden manta Rays in formation. Choko gives you his WhatsApp number and you can ask him if you have problems or questions. Thank you Choko with your help. Next time on Galapagos I book my tours with Chokotrip again.
This tour was really good, would definitely recommend. I know some other travelers who missed out because they didn’t book ahead, but this might also be due to us being there over Easter. Saw a lot of animals while snorkeling including sharks and giant turtles. the tunnels part was really cool looking and we saw blue footed boobies.
We did 16 nights on San Cristobal, Santa Cruz & Isabela island with trips arranged by Choko. Tunneles & Cabo Rosa was the best trip of the stay. We sailed with boat Tropical. Fast trip first to an isolated rock with great photo ops…then on to the Tunnels where we saw Blue footed Boobies & penguins. Then the highlight the snorkelling at Cabo Rosa…AMAZING..giant sea turtles swimming alongside, sharks in caves, Octopus, Sea Horse & abundance of fish. The captain on Tropical was great he snorkelled with us diving down to show best spots. Nice fresh tuna pasta salad onboard..thanks again Choko
One of the highlights of our trip, not to be missed if you are on Isla Isabela, truly amazing. Booking with Choko in advance was perfect as there were no vacancies available the day we wanted to go. I would recommend booking with Choko for any of the tours and ferry boats in advance, to simplify your vacation.
Excellent trip, great guide, magic scenery.
I booked my Isabela Island trip and Tuneles Cabo Rosa tour through ChokTrip. Choko has provided his whatapps contact in case if we hit any problem. Days before our trip, Choko has initiated communication with us and has given detailed instruction for us to transfer from the airport to the ferry. Choko also established contact between us and our Tuneles Cabo Rosa tour operator in advance so that we can meetup to try out the wetsuit. If you are traveling to Galapagos for the first time, I would recommend ChokTrip for your traveling need as he is very responsive in helping out. I enjoyed my Isabela Island trip and Tuneles Cabo Rosa tour as everything is well organized.