Santa Cruz – Galápagos Islands

Santa Cruz is the most populous island in the Galápagos and also the most frequented destination by travellers. For us, it was our second destination in the island group, right after San Cristóbal. Upon arrival, you can immediately tell that Santa Cruz is much more touristy and also more expensive compared to the other islands. Once you leave the area around the port, however, the crowds are replaced by a much more local and authentic vibe.

There are many things you can do on- and offshore, so let’s take a look at the highlights of Santa Cruz!

Things to do on land & animals to spot

El Chato Ranch

On this island, we encountered the biggest tortoises we have ever seen! The Galápagos tortoises gave the island group their name and can only be found on seven of the islands. Some of these giants were as old as 80 years and can weigh up to 400 kg. The ranch is the perfect spot to see them and learn about the conservation efforts, without which these endangered animals would most probably be extinct.

We had a very nice time at El Chato, the facilities are very well organised for a convenient visit. The entry costs $10 per person and includes a guided tour as well as some boots for the muddy terrain. In the visitor centre, you can relax and try some coffee grown and roasted on the grounds of the ranch – we really liked the taste and even picked up a couple of packages as a unique souvenir. On the tour, you will not only learn about the gentle giants but also visit a lava tunnel carved by extinct volcanoes that formed the islands. This is also a very popular thing to do on the island so you can make this excursion into a 2-in-1 experience. After the tour, you can roam around freely or take a rest at the visitor centre. They even have empty giant tortoise shells you can climb in, so that you can really experience life as a tortoise…

You have to organise transportation to the ranch as it is quite far away from the town centre. The best way is to ask in your hotel or flag down a taxi on the streets and negotiate the price for the ride there and back. Location

There are also a couple of other ranches in that area such as Rancho Terramar, Rancho Primicias and Rancho El Manzanillo, in case you want to opt for another one.

Tortuga Bay Beach

This is a beautiful sandy beach, around a 25-minute walk from the city centre. We saw many marine iguanas and pelicans around the beach. Blue footed boobies can also be spotted, especially on tours approaching from the sea. It was their nesting season when we visited and we managed to see them close-up guarding their babies – it was an incredible experience! Make sure to walk all the way to the small bay on the far side of the beach too. Here is the exact location.

Charles Darwin Research Station

This active research facility houses multiple exhibitions about the Galápagos flora and fauna showcasing not only numerous native species but also information about conservation efforts on the islands. You can reach the centre on foot in about 15 minutes from the town centre. There is no entry fee here. Location

Take a walk around the port area

The Charles Darwin Avenue can almost be described as the main street running along the water. We spotted many marine iguanas, sea lions chilling on the streets, pelicans watching tourists and baby black tip reef sharks swimming around the boats docking at the port.

Twin Craters

Despite the name craters, these formations are actually caused by a collapse of magma chambers – a stark reminder of the islands’ volcanic origin. A circular hiking trail leads visitors along the rims of the craters and treats with amazing views of the dense forest area. It is possible to spot many bird species here – Darwin’s finches, Galápagos doves, short-eared owls and Vermilion flycatchers. The best way to visit is either on a tour or organising car transportation by taxi. There is a small parking lot at the trailhead. Location

Pick up Galápagos souvenirs

Being the most frequented island by tourists, Santa Cruz has much larger variety of souvenir shops and general stores compared to the other islands. If you want to pick up some fun Galápagos-themed items and souvenirs, we recommend holding off the shopping spree until you reach this island. You can find many places to browse in Puerto Ayora along Charles Darwin Avenue.

A really fun shop is Patas Azules Socks selling quality clothing (not just socks) in unique Galápagos designs. I truly regret not buying the blue-footed boobie socks… If anyone is heading to Santa Cruz, can you please pick up a pair for me? 😀 Here’s the location of the flagship store.

Tours

This island has the best tours in our opinion, so a quick warning right at the beginning is in order: they sell out very fast, so much so that we did not manage to book the famous North Seymour island tour, unfortunately. We were quite sad to miss out seeing the frigatebirds in their mating season. But more on that later.

Bartolome Island tour

This is one of the most popular tours on the Galápagos Islands and it sells out fast, so we definitely recommend booking in advance if you want to secure a spot. The tour takes you to one of the most breathtaking landscapes of the island group. Bartolome is a volcanic island formed by lava eruptions millions of years ago, and has a very rich biodiversity. You can hike up to a stunning viewpoint and snorkel in pristine waters later on. Depending on the season, it is also possible to spot penguins here. You can book the full day tour through Viator here.

North Seymour Island tour

This is another very popular one, especially for bird enthusiasts. We were very keen on this tour as September marks the mating season for frigatebirds. Males try to attract females by blowing up their red bellies, which is quite the spectacle! (Funnily enough, we stumbled upon two frigatebirds looking for their mate completely by chance later in Mexico, but we will write more about that in another article.) Besides frigatebirds, there is also a high chance of spotting blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls on this tour. After a hike around the island, you will be then taken to swim and snorkel with sea lions and other marine life.

Unfortunately, when we got to Santa Cruz, all tours to North Seymour were sold out, much to our disappointment. If you want to be sure to get a spot, book your tour through Viator here in advance.

Plaza Island tour

After not being able to get a spot for North Seymour, we decided to take this tour instead and it turned out to be incredible! We started on South Plaza island where we got to see plenty of Galápagos land iguanas and lava lizards in truly beautiful vegetation. The landscape is so unique and breathtakingly beautiful on the island! It was interesting to observe land iguanas slowly eat spiky fruit fallen from huge tree-like cactuses. We hiked around the island to the cliffs where we spotted many birds such as masked boobies and swallow-tailed gulls, both endemic to the Galápagos Islands, as well as sea lions chilling on the rocks.

The second stop was a beautiful snorkelling spot, called Punta Carrion, with crystal clear waters. Here we saw white tip reef sharks sleeping in the muddy ground, many fish, sea turtles, sea lions and a couple of blue-footed boobies. There were many piranhas (don’t worry, this is not the flesh-eating type found in the Amazon). We managed to get a last-minute deal at a tour office for $200, however, if you are travelling in the peak season and want to be sure to get a spot, you can book the tour here through Viator.

Pinzon snorkelling tour

We had high hopes for this tour, as it is widely praised by travellers to be the best tour for snorkelling on the Galápagos islands. The tour takes you to crystal clear waters where you can snorkel with turtles, sea lions, white tip reef sharks, sting rays and, with some luck, even penguins. Although we enjoyed the snorkeling, personally, we felt that we already saw the same marine life on other tours and we preferred the Los Tuneles tour on Isabela island. It was very interesting to see the sharks sleeping between the rocks though and swim through the mangroves. As this tour is very popular, this too might sell out in the busy season. You can book tickets online in advance here on Viator.

Diving at Gordon Rock

This famous dive site is known for the chances to spot schools of hammerheads and other sharks, various species of rays, tunas, green turtles and with some luck even a mola mola in the colder season. It is one of the best places to find pelagic animals. This dive site does require divers to be more experienced due to its strong to very strong currents. Some dive operators require you to have at least 25 logged dives to join a group, however we have also heard of people with less dives being taken on the tour. With my 10 dives at the time, I decided to skip it this time as I was already quite challenged at Kicker Rock. Read more about my experience diving at Kicker Rock in our article about San Cristóbal island.

Transport to and from the airport

The local airport is located on Baltra island to the North of Santa Cruz. You have to take a bus or taxi from the town centre to the port located on the Northern tip of the island, then a ferry to Baltra. From there, the airport is a short shuttle bus ride away, with busses leaving every 15 minutes or so. It was a little chaotic when we got to the port before our flight back, as there was a huge number of people waiting for tours and for the airport ferry. There were also large tour busses arriving full of people.

Because of the many transfers involved in getting to the airport, we recommend planning with plenty of extra time. We made it to the airport just on time but were definitely a little nervous by the end.

Where to stay

Stays on the island are quite affordable starting from around $20 per person per night for a private room. Below are the hotels we recommend:

• Hospedaje Germania ($): This is the one we stayed at and we had a fantastic time. The owner is very nice and helped us organise transport to the tortoise ranch and to the port as well.
• Flightless Cormorant ($): A newer hotel located right on Charles Darwin Avenue, where the action happens. Also a great location to quickly reach the port and various tour offices.
• Hostal Sir Francis Drake ($): A good budget-friendly option, especially for families or bigger groups.
• Zurisadai ($$): A more upscale option in a quiet area. A really good choice with a nice pool to cool down after a long tour!
• Semilla Verde Boutique Hotel ($$): This is one of the highest rated hotels on the islands where you might even encounter some giant tortoises wandering the grounds!
• Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel ($$$): A luxurious beach front hotel with a spa and restaurant that can be accessed by water taxi.

Restaurant recommendations

Restaurants here were a little more expensive than on the other local islands, especially around the port area. Here are some options that we really liked:

• Kyu FastFood: This is an amazing restaurant offering delicious burgers for just $7-$10 (burgers and similar meals cost around $15 elsewhere in the touristy area). They even won a Galápagos fast food contest! There were only locals eating here and everyone was very kind to us. We liked it so much that we came back to eat here a second time. Location
• Panaderia La Canasta: A great spot for some fresh pastries, bread and coffee or even a quick breakfast. There are seating options too inside. Location
• Santa Cruz Brewery: A fun brewpub in the main tourist area serving locally brewed craft beer and burgers. Location

ATMs

It deserves a special mention that there are multiple ATMs on the island which makes it an ideal place to stock up on dollar bills before heading to other islands. You can find the ATMs near the port in the building of the Proinsular Market, a bigger supermarket.