Santa Cruz is not the largest island in the Galápagos, but it has the largest population and biggest town – Puerto Ayora. This makes Santa Cruz, particularly Puerto Ayora, the greatest jumping-off point to explore all the Galápagos Islands have to offer.
Here you can find pretty much everything you go to the Galápagos for – white sand beaches, hiking trails, the Charles Darwin Research Center, and incredible diving – just for starters.
What to do in Santa Cruz
Puerto Ayora is a famous port town on the most populated island in the Galápagos, Santa Cruz. Chances are, if you are traveling to the Galápagos islands, you’ll stop through here at some point. After much research, we wanted to prioritize dive trips and decided to split our time between Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal. Here’s what to do in Santa Cruz for a few days! Ps – if you’re looking for where to eat – start here!
- Beaches in Santa Cruz
- Diving and snorkeling in Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz Highlands
- Charles Darwin Research Center
- Where to stay in Santa Cruz
Go to the beach in Santa Cruz
Tortuga Bay Beach
This was my favorite beach on Santa Cruz Island and can’t be missed. Tortuga Bay is aptly named after the turtles that nest on its shores. To walk, the trail to the beach takes about 30 minutes from Puerto Ayora, or you can take the water taxi for $10 each way. I’d recommend the walk as it was absolutely beautiful, there are very interesting cacti and birds and the path is mostly shaded. As it’s a national park you do need to check in and out when you visit, so be mindful of the opening and closing times too.
Tortuga Bay itself is a breathtaking expansive white sand beach with surf. They recommend swimmers move along to the very far end where you can find a much calmer lagoon. At the lagoon, it’s also possible to rent kayaks and perhaps see sea turtles, rays, marine iguanas, pelicans and even white-tip sharks along the mangroves. There are no shops or anything like that, so pack for the day!
Playa Los Alemanes (German Beach)
After one of our dive days, we were looking for a beach close by. We decided to take the water taxi to the Hotel Angermeyer. You pay $1 per person and walk about 10 minutes to Playa los Alemanes.
Hotel Angermeyer is just off the pier and is also a great spot to stop for a cocktail, lunch or dinner on your journey. It’s also probably a quiet place to stay. Like the hotel, Playa Los Alemanes is much less crowded than the beaches by the Darwin Research Center and definitely a bit more beautiful. The water is warm and you can also snorkel here.
Just behind Playa Los Alemanes, you’ll find another of the most exclusive places to stay on the island. Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel is a 5-star resort located right on the beach, and tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of Puerto Ayora. They have a beautiful swimming pool, spa and of course, VIP service to town. If you’re looking to splurge, this is the place.
Playa de la Estacion
Playa de la Estacion is nearby the Charles Darwin Research Center. After visiting the center, it’s the perfect place to rest a while before returning to the town. Walk a little further along and you’ll wind up at La Ratonera. This area is bustling with marine iguanas and other wildlife. On weekday afternoons the beach can get crowded with locals (and iguanas) taking a post-work or school day dip.
Dive or snorkel in Santa Cruz
Go diving
Santa Cruz Island has some of the best dive sites for beginners in all of the Galápagos. Article coming soon on diving in the Galápagos with plenty of specifics! On our dives, we were able to spot white-tip reef sharks, black-tip reef sharks, Galápagos sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, dolphins, schools of fish, rays and more.
Snorkel at Las Grietas
You can snorkel pretty much at every beach on the island, but Las Grietas is a favorite. To visit, you must be accompanied by a guide and it costs $10 per person. After about a half-hour walk to explore the flora, fauna and understand the local area and history, you get some free time to snorkel, swim or simply enjoy nature. To get here, you take the water taxi from Puerto Ayora for $1 per person each way and walk down the path past Las Alemanes Beach. We decided not to visit Las Grietas because our dives had been so successful, but everyone I encountered on the water taxi highly recommended it.
Visit the Santa Cruz Highlands
If you are arriving by plane, the locals recommend doing the Highlands tour on your drive to Puerto Ayora. This way, you don’t need to complete this drive again later and you get to see some of Santa Cruz’s most popular sites right away.
We chose to do this with a private driver who met us directly at Baltra airport for $90 for two people. Note, this was advertised to me as a tour, but really the driver just stopped at each destination and shared some of his own insights in Spanish. I found the stops interesting, but not overly exciting.
Los Gemelos
On the way to El Chato, you can stop at Los Gemelos, or “The Twins”. These are twin craters, separated now by the motorway. You can visit both giant craters in less than 20 minutes as the trail is quite short between the two. While here, you’ll see plenty of Darwin’s finches and maybe even an owl or two.
El Chato Reserve and the Lava Tunnels
El Chato is a giant tortoise reserve in Santa Cruz’s highlands. You can see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. This was one of the highlights of visiting the Galápagos by land. We were even able to see (and hear) two giant tortoises mating!
For $10 per person you can visit the ranch with a guide. The guide will tell you all about the ranch and answer any questions you have about the history, tortoises and the lava tunnels. They even provide rain boots to keep your personal shoes dry and clean. In addition to the reserve, you get to visit and learn about the lava tunnels.
Charles Darwin Research Center
Don’t have time for the Highlands? Visit the Charles Darwin Research Center. It’s just a 10-minute walk from Puerto Ayora and for $10 you can take a one-and-a-half-hour tour. You’ll learn all about the giant tortoises and some other wildlife and conservation efforts on the Galápagos Islands. The tours start every 30 minutes or so and you cannot visit the Center without a guide, so make sure to check in at the little booth a bit in advance.
Animal time!
While you’re on the island you’ll also be privy to finding all sorts of wildlife. Without a doubt, you’ll get the chance to see sea lions, marine iguanas, pelicans, giant tortoises, Darwin’s finches and more. You’ll quickly notice this town is not run by people, it’s run by animals. They are everywhere! My favorite were the sea lions. A great place to spot them is at Muelle de Los Pescadores, the local fishing pier in the center of Puerto Ayora. Look how cute these guys are – taking over park benches, plopping in the middle of the street and cuddling up at the fish market.
Where to stay in Santa Cruz
We ended up staying at a vacation rental. We really loved our host and the stay was great. He made it super easy, supplied us with water and kept the apartment tidy. Plus the A/C worked great.
The hotel most recommended to me was Ikala Galapagos Hotel. It’s a centrally located sustainable property. The prices are fair, the rooms are renovated and there’s a swimming pool. We liked having our privacy, but I would have loved a pool and a place to tan after a long day diving or in town.
Of course, if you want to splurge, there’s always Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel or Hotel Angermeyer. Keep in mind they are a little more remote, but the water taxi runs regularly back and forth and if you’re a hotel guest, it’s free!
Now that you know what to do in Santa Cruz, check out where to eat in Puerto Ayora.
