Puerto Ayora, Academy Bay : Profile

Location

The hub of the Galapagos, Puerto Ayora (Admiralty Bay) is the largest town and the main tourist centre, with a wide range of hotels, restaurants, shops and internet cafes. Puerto Ayora has the best options for chandlery and repairs.

Academy Bay is open to the southeast, which is the direction of the prevailing winds, but these rarely blow with any strength and even at the height of the southeast trade wind season, between June and the end of August, the swell in the anchorage is bearable.

Clearance

Under current law in all ports of Ecuador it is necessary to use an agent to check in with the port captain for any stay of more than 1 day. That includes the Galapagos islands. The agent acts as a go-between for your dealings with the port captain and he will collect the fees for your entry into the harbour.

However, there is no requirement to use an agent for immigration.

For full information on Clearance into the Galapagos see the main Clearance Page.

Last updated May 2010.

Docking

The busy anchorage is used by local excursion boats, most of which have permanent moorings on the south side of the bay.

There are 2 choices for anchoring.

A minor amount of protection can be gained anchoring close in along the SW shore, but this is also the main channel in and out the harbour, and is where a great many tour boats anchor very closely together. Stern anchors are mandatory, and there will certainly be some proximity negotiations along the way.

The other option is to anchor more towards the middle of the harbour, basically just outside the 3 lines of bow and stern anchored boats. A stern anchor is not necessary and often it seems that the roll is no worse as long as the wind holds.

Getting Ashore
A narrow unmarked channel, with a depth of approximately 7 feet (2.10 metres) at high tide, leads into a cove crowded with local boats. This small pool is fronted by two short concrete docks used for loading and unloading goods and passengers, the inner one being more suitable for dinghies. A better alternative is to take the dinghy to the small dock at the Port Captain's office, in the northwest corner of the harbour. The shallow channel is marked with perches and outboard engines can only be used at high tide, while at low tide the area sometimes dries out completely.

WIFI is sometimes available in the harbour (REDGAL), but can be unreliable.

Last updated May 2010.

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Recommendations for an excellent mechanic in Puerto Ayora (Academy Bay) (27 Jun 2011)

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Essential Information When Visiting The Galapagos (12 May 2011)

Clearing In and Out of Galapagos Islands – With an Autografo (21 Mar 2011)

A Note about the Galapagos National Park (14 May 2010)

Seven Weeks in the Galapagos (03 May 2010)

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