Skip the Line:El Chato 2 Reserve Admission Ticket in Santa Cruz Island,Galapagos

Excelente aventura, excelente viaje, guías muy cordiales y atentos. Muy recomendado para los que quieren vivir la magia de Galapagos ????

This ticket/excursion is totally unnecessary and I'm shock that its on Viator since I've only had good experiences with the service until now. There is absolutely no wait once arriving at El Chato and guests still had to pay full admission to park. Extremely disappointed.

I took the bus from Puerto Ayora to Santa Rosa. The bus leaves from the market which is about a 10 minute walk out of town and costs €1. When you arrive in Santa Rosa it is the last stop on the bus and you walk straight ahead. There is a turning on the left which is clearly signposted to the tortoises. You will then reach a point where you can turn left for the Rancho Primicias Tortoise place which is about 700m and right for El Chato which is 1.5km. I had planned on going to Rancho Primicias but read the sign wrong. The walk to El Chato from the sign was 25 minutes and from the bus stop 45 minutes. Rancho Primcias would be a lot closer to walk to. You have to have a guide to show you round which costs $10. You basically follow a path and do a loop, passing the giant tortoises. It is great to be so close to the tortoises and waych them move. On site there are also 3 lava tunnels that you walk through. I could stand up fully in them, some I have heard of are very low but these ones were not. It is possible to borrow wellington boots for the walk but it was not necessary when I was there and wore trainers. There is a restaurant on site which looks nice and you sit overlooking the area the tortoises are in, however I did not eat there. All in all a good experience. I understand that there are also lava tunnels at the Rancho Primicias site too. Most people do this with an organised taxi from Puerto Ayora, this costs $50 and the driver gives you 45 minutes wait time. You still have to pay your entrance fee on top of that. Doing it independently is lovely as you pass a lot of tortoises on the walk in but it is a long walk in the heat!