Galápagos Islands (Santa Cruz)

Using Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz as your base, take day boat trips to Bartolomé, North Seymour, South Plaza and more, and get up close to giant tortoises, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies.

This destination is based on Santa Cruz Island, in the central Galápagos. The archipelago sits in the equatorial Pacific about 1,000 km west of mainland Ecuador. 97% of its land area is national park, and in 1978 it was among the first places inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Giant tortoises, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and sea lions show little fear of people. Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz is the largest town in the islands and the hub for transport and dining. On your own, you can visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, Tortuga Bay, the Las Grietas lava-fissure swimming hole and Garrapatero Beach, as well as the giant tortoise ranches and the Los Gemelos (Twin Craters) in the highlands. On the north shore are Black Turtle Cove, Las Bachas Beach and Dragon Hill. With Puerto Ayora as your base, you can book national-park-licensed day boat trips each day to North Seymour, South Plaza, Santa Fe, Bartolomé with Sullivan Bay, and Floreana. Divers can head to Gordon Rocks to see hammerhead sharks. Isabela Island is about 2 hours away by speedboat, and an overnight stay is recommended. San Cristóbal Island to the east has its own separate destination entry. Season: December–May is the warm season, with calm seas that suit snorkeling; June–November is the cooler season, with more mist and colder water, but marine life is at its most active. Getting there: fly from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra, then take a ferry and a bus for about 1 hour to Puerto Ayora. Costs: Transit Control Card USD 20; national park entrance fee for foreign adults USD 200 (since August 2024). Recommended stay: 4–6 days. Notes: most sites must be visited with a certified guide; keep 2 m from the animals; bringing biological products onto the islands is prohibited. Since July 2024, Ecuador has reinstated visa requirements for Chinese ordinary passport holders, so check the latest policy with the embassy.

Top sights

• Charles Darwin Research Station – A research and conservation base east of Puerto Ayora, where you can see giant tortoises of different island subspecies and land iguanas up…
• Tortuga Bay – A white-sand bay ranked among the world's most beautiful beaches, where marine iguanas sunbathe on the sand. The calm inner bay is good for…
• El Chato Tortoise Reserve – A privately owned ranch reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, where hundreds of wild giant tortoises roam freely among the pasture…
• Bartolomé Island – The Galápagos' most classic postcard view. Climb a volcanic cone to look over Pinnacle Rock and the twin crescent beaches, then snorkel alo…
• Las Grietas – A narrow natural swimming pool between two basalt cliffs, where fresh and sea water meet. The water is clear to the bottom, making it a hid…
• North Seymour Island – A flat small island north of Baltra, where blue-footed boobies perform courtship dances and frigatebirds inflate their red throat pouches…
• South Plaza Island – A small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz. Its red sesuvium ground is covered with land iguanas and prickly pear cacti, and swallow-t…
• Santa Fe Island – An ancient volcanic island southeast of Santa Cruz, home to the endemic Santa Fe land iguana and a forest of giant cacti. Visitors can snor…
• Floreana Island & Post Office Bay – A small inhabited island in the south of the archipelago, with the barrel post office left by 18th-century whalers, pirate caves, a flaming…
• Las Bachas Beach – A white-sand beach on the north shore of Santa Cruz, a nesting site for green sea turtles. Flamingos are occasionally seen in the lagoon, a…
• Black Turtle Cove – A shallow mangrove lagoon on the north shore of Santa Cruz. Visitors drift quietly by dinghy, watching young sharks, turtles and golden ray…
• Dragon Hill – A successful land iguana conservation site on the northwest coast of Santa Cruz. The trail passes cacti, forests and a lagoon, and flamingo…
• Gordon Rocks – A dive site off the northeast coast of Santa Cruz, formed by a collapsed volcanic crater. It is famous for schools of hammerhead sharks, se…
• Sullivan Bay – A lava field on the east coast of Santiago Island, formed by a flow in 1897. Large areas of ropy black lava look as if they have just solid…
• El Garrapatero Beach – A quiet white-sand beach on the east coast of Santa Cruz. It can be visited independently for free, offering snorkeling and kayaking, with…
• Puerto Ayora Fish Market & Av. Charles Darwin – Open-air fish stalls on the Puerto Ayora waterfront, where sea lions and pelicans wait beside the cutting boards for scraps. Nearby Charles…
• Laguna de las Ninfas – A small mangrove lagoon in the center of Puerto Ayora, with a wooden boardwalk around it. Turtles, rays and young sharks are often seen.
• Cerro Crocker – The highest point on Santa Cruz Island, at about 864 meters. The trail crosses humid highland ferns and endemic shrubland, and on clear day…
• Los Gemelos – Two giant collapsed pits beside the highland road on Santa Cruz, surrounded by endemic Scalesia forest. A great spot for birdwatching.

Where to eat

• William's Seafood Stall (Seafood Street) – A long-standing corner stall on Puerto Ayora's seafood street, famous for encocado, a seafood stew in coconut milk. Lov…
• Almar Seafood Grill – A seafood restaurant with a terrace right on the bay, where sea lions and marine iguanas often appear by the tables. On…
• Isla Grill – An open-front grill on the corner of Avenida Charles Darwin, combining Argentine-style charcoal grilling with Galápagos…
• Galápagos Deli – Puerto Ayora's go-to budget meal: stone-baked thin-crust pizza, house-baked bread sandwiches and handmade ice cream, go…

Itineraries

• Galapagos Three-Island Hopping – Fly into San Cristóbal and out of Baltra, staying on land to connect three islands, featuring volcano trekking and unin…
• Ecuador Highlights: Andes, Amazon & Galapagos – A two-week journey connecting Quito, Cotopaxi, Baños, the Yasuní rainforest, and two islands in the Galapagos.
• Galapagos and Machu Picchu – A multi-country route connecting Quito, the Galapagos, Lima, the Sacred Valley, and Cusco, covering the islands and Inc…