Santa Cruz Island is one of the most developed of the Galápagos Islands and this is where we decided to base ourselves for our one month adventure. After spending much of this time exploring the island, I put together a list of the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island.
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1. Go to Tortuga Bay
You MUST go to Tortuga Bay. It is by far on of the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island. We frequented Tortuga Bay many times and had a different experience each time.
How to Get to Tortuga Bay
There are two ways to get to Tortuga Bay. First is a boat taxi that leaves from the dock in Puerto Ayora and takes about 20 minutes to get to the beach. It is $10 dollars a person. If you are unable to hike the 45 minutes it takes to get to the beach or have limited time, this is a nice option. It drops you off at the edge of Playa Mansa and the far end of Playa Brava.
The second option is a very pleasant hike to the beach. Take Charles Binford Avenue all the way to the end where the road closes to vehicles. Continue on this road until you get to the Centro de Energia Renovable. This is where you check in and the people there will direct you to where you need to where the trail leads to the beach.
Playa Brava
After checking in, you walk up stairs to get to the cobblestone trail. The trail takes about 25-35 minutes and is fairly easy. On the trail you will encounter small lizards scurrying out of your way, a variety of birds chirping at you, and a constant presence of the most beautiful cactus trees alongside you.
At the end of the trail, you are rewarded with a jaw-dropping white sand beach, Playa Brava. They advise you to not swim at this beach because the rip currents are very strong, but it is gorgeous to walk along or hang out at. This is also a popular beach for surfing.
If you walk to the far end of the beach (Go right after arriving at the beach from the trail), you will encounter a group of marine iguanas sunning themselves by the mangroves. Soak in the views as you slowly meander to the marine iguanas and see where the sea turtles come up on the beach to nest. Press on another 100 feet or so to find the beach where most people swim and relax.
Playa Mansa
Playa Mansa is a calm bay with shallow water. You can walk out into the water quite far before it gets too deep to stand. While some people bring snorkeling gear, it isn’t the best place to snorkel as we often found it to be more silty than other waters around the Galápagos.
There are, however, plenty of opportunities to see wildlife. We saw sea lions sleeping in the sand, marine iguanas walking along the shore, pelicans diving for fish, and crabs hanging out on the rocks almost every day we went.
Hot Tip: If you go to the far side of the beach, near the mangroves, there is an opportunity to see large white tip sharks. These sharks will swim right near your legs but we never felt threatened.
If you go out into the water a little ways, you also could see large stingrays and sea turtles. We even saw a small baby hammerhead shark swimming just a few feet off shore!
If you don’t feel comfortable swimming or walking into the water to get near these animals, you can also rent a sea kayak.
Helpful Advice For Tortuga Bay
- Bring cash if you want to rent a kayak.
- Use the restroom before going. There are no public bathrooms in this area.
- Bring plenty of water and snacks. There isn’t anywhere to buy snacks once you pass the check-in point. Even there you will only find an overpriced ice-cream vendor.
- Don’t feed the finches! They will gather around you while you are eating.
- Visitors are required to leave Tortuga Bay by 5:00pm, so plan your time accordingly.
- If you see something cool, especially a shark or sea turtle, don’t make a big deal out of the occasion. The second you start waving your hands, pointing, rushing towards the creature, and making loud exaltations, every other person on the beach will be running to where you are and the animal will be long gone. DON’T DO IT! If you want to be nice, enjoy your experience with the wildlife privately and quietly, and then when you are proudly walking away, mention the opportunity to someone else who appears capable of not making a scene.
2. Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station
On the far end of town away from the dock you can visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. There are a few different areas that you can visit for free there. These include a little beach, Playa de la Estación, and the Exhibition Hall which is a small museum.
At the Research Station, they breed and research land tortoises. For $10 per person, you can have a guide take you around the facility where you get to see tortoises at each stage of their lives. The babies are super cute, and something you likely will not encounter at the tortoise ranches on the island. You will also learn about the history of the land tortoises. This was the best part of the research station in our opinion and well worth the $10 dollar fee.
3. Walk the Pier in the Evening
One the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island in the evenings was to explore the town. Ultimately, we’d always end up on the pier. Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz Island, lights up their dock in the evenings so that you can see into the water. We saw baby black tip sharks, pelicans, a small heron that slowly became my favorite bird to watch fish, sea turtles, small stingrays, and sea lions. It was always fun to see what animals you would spot.
4. Go Out on Friday Nights
Since we explored the town most evenings we started to learn the schedule of what happens when on Santa Cruz Island. Every Friday, the town goes all out! There are a few areas in the town where the locals will put on shows. They are mostly traditional dancing from the local dance studios. These are amazing to watch and the kids can be so adorable.
Sometimes they have other unique events. One Friday we saw a fashion show and a well-choreographed Christina Aguilera dance and lip-sync experience. The Friday before Halloween they had a large party with a haunted house for the kids. Other random things you may find are ping-pong tables set up in the street, bounce houses, street cocktails, live bands, and pig roasts. Puerto Ayora is super safe and friendly, so be brave and wander!
5. Visit a Galapagos Tortoise Ranch
One of the main reasons many tourist visit the Galapagos is to see the famous Galapagos Tortoise; therefore, visiting a Galapagos tortoise reserve makes the list as one of the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island.
You can see the tortoises in many different places in the Galapagos. One of the best places to see them is to visit a reserve on Santa Cruz Island though. The reserves are where the tortoises wander and live in their natural setting. They aren’t enclosed in the reserves but can come and go when they please. A guide will show you around the ranch and provide interesting information along the way.
In combination with a tour of the tortoise ranch, visit the lava tunnels and Los Gemelos sinkholes. These two attractions aren’t worth a separate trip inland, but when combined with a trip to see the tortoises are worth the stop!
6. Playa El Garrapatero
My last recommendations for the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island is to visit the hidden gem, Playa El Garrapatero. Garrapatero beach was recommended to us by our taxi driver, Jorge, who gave us such great advice on all things to do on Santa Cruz Island.
Garrapatero beach is not a popular beach that many tourists visit, but it is a beautiful one. You need to take a taxi to the parking lot and then walk to the beach along the well-maintained path. We told our taxi to return to pick us up in a couple of hours and we were on our way. The path is similar to the trail to Tortuga Bay but it is shorter. It is about 500 meters and takes about 15 minutes to walk. The beach is open from 6 am – 5 pm.
Besides a beautiful beach, there are little inlets to explore at low tide, mangroves and a little lake where flamingos like to eat. There are also a few picnic tables where you can eat your packed lunch. Garrapatero Beach was one of the few places we saw flamingos. Flamingos are hard to spot in the Galapagos because the flocks move around so much. We kept missing them, so this was so cool to finally catch a glimpse.
I hope you enjoy your time and enjoy all of the best things to do on Santa Cruz Island!
For day trip ideas from Santa Cruz Island, check out our posts on:
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