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Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island
4.5
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Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles144 reviews
Excellent
104
Very good
29
Average
6
Poor
1
Terrible
4

Peter
Rotterdam, The Netherlands75 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
Santa Cruz is the most lively island of the three I visited (the others being San Cristóbal and Isabela Island). This isn't the one to visit if you solely come for exotic animals, though. Sure, there are sealions, crabs and big turtles (the latter at a 30 minute drive from Puerto Ayora), but I mostly liked it for its modest nightlife.
Written 11 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

County-Hunter
Tacoma, WA3,732 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2021 • Couples
The big question facing is and many first time visitors is do I do a land or sea based vacation. My brother took a cruise pre-pandemic and loved it but would have liked to spend more time off the boat so we opted for a land based vacation and Santa Cruz Island, specifically Puerto Ayora, was where we stayed. From here , we spent one day on the island seeing the Darwin Research Center (walking distance from where we stayed), the giant tortoises at El Chato and the collapse Craters at Los Gemelos. The other three days were day cruises on luxury yachts to nearby islands. We really enjoyed our vacation and I would definitely recommend making Santa Cruz your base during your stay.
Written 20 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Eduardo R
Guayaquil, Ecuador7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2021
Galápagos is a huge ground and Santa Cruz is a good, safe way to do a first time trip to the islands and get out of your comfort zone.

If you are not that adventurous, Santa Cruz provides the right balance between civilization and adventure including beautiful beaches and natural reserves. It has great hotels, restaurants and all the amenities that you would expect to feel safe (phone, internet, ATMs, guides, etc.). It's a good headquarters to organize trips.

From Santa Cruz we visited: Rancho de tortugas (giant turtles natural reserve), tortuga bay (beautiful beach) and then traveled to playa escondida (remote beach) and fishing/snorkeling tours.
Written 3 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter R
Dartford, UK1,361 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2024 • Family
This was our last stop at the end of our Galapagos Islands holiday. It was the liveliest island we visited, the others island’s we visited being San Cristobal and Isabela. It was a good stop for some R&R or maybe as a base to visit other islands, but both San Cristobal and Isabela were much better for wildlife and site seeing.
Written 27 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

The World is My Oyster
Orlando, FL21,652 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021 • Couples
This is where we were based for our short 4 days and 3 nights trip through the Galapagos! We had an amazing time, while staying at the incredible Semilla Verde Boutique hotel.

We went and walked with giant turtles, as well as exploring the main town; Puerto Ayora. Everything we ate was outstanding, and fresh from the ocean. The people were so welcoming, and we can't wait to be back again!
Written 20 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rparker2017
Wilmington, NC3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2017 • Family
Just returned from a six night stay on Santa Cruz. We loved all the islands of the Galapagos and would highly recommend a vacation there! I wanted to share a few things we learned…

Bring plenty of American dollars. It is $20 per person to enter Ecuador and $100 per person to enter the Galapagos. All fees must be paid in cash. I believe there is some discount for young children. In addition, many of the smaller restaurants and shops only take cash.

We rented an apartment in the Torre Mar apartment building through VRBO.com. I would highly recommend this place, the location was great and the owners were very gracious and helpful.

Don't book day trips to other islands through Moonrise. They came highly recommended but our tour was grossly overbooked. I think there were eight more people on our small boat than there were seats or life jackets, making for a very uncomfortable 5 hour roundtrip. This overbooking led to cascading complications during the day- the restaurant and buses on the island we visited were also expecting 8 less people. This tour operator did not bother to follow-up after the trip with an email or text so they are clearly not very invested in the whole thing. I wish I had a recommendation but we had booked through Moonrise in advance and so did not use any other operators.

On the days you do your own thing on Santa Cruz (Las Grietas, Tortuga Beach), plan to bring plenty of water. Most places do not have any facilities. We brought a ½ gallon per person minimum and we always drank it. The grocery stores there all sell half and whole gallon plastic jugs of water.

The main grocery store on the island, Proinsular Market, has everything you need. There are two checkout lines, the one closer to the inside of the store is the only one that accepts plastic. We also purchased items at Mega Primavera Supermarket on Baltra Road near downtown. This store was less expensive and also had an upstairs area with flip flops and some basic clothing items. They accepted plastic at all registers as far as I could tell.

If you go to Las Grietas (and you should!) bring your snorkel gear, there are plenty of amazing fish and rock formations under that clear water. Be prepared for lots of wasps on the wooden step entrance into Las Grietas. Once we got into the water we didn’t notice very many so jump in quickly. I did not see anyone get stung but it was disconcerting.

Taxis are white pickup trucks. They are literally always available within 30 seconds of sticking your hand out. They are $1.50 per stop. Same availability with water taxis from the dock, which are 80 cents a person. Getting around the island was very easy, I even let my teenage boys go off on their own.

The road to the Darwin Center is closed to vehicle traffic. It is maybe a half mile walk from where the taxi drops you off. On this road you will also pass the beach Playa de Estacion. We brought lots of water and food and made a day of it. The Darwin Center does have a snack bar that has drinks, ice cream and chips.

We felt very safe the entire time, even walking around town at night.

Hope you get to go!
Written 18 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Allgoodthyngs
Shrewsbury, UK1,629 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2017 • Couples
We sailed to Galapagos after transiting the Panama Canal and anchored in Puerto Ayora, a busy anchorage with many sailing folks like ourselves as well as larger tour boats. There are also regular ferry shuttles to the other inhabited islands of the Galapagos archipelago.

Santa Cruz island offers lots to see and do with Puerto Ayora being the main hub for cruises to the other islands. There are plenty of Tour operators close to the Peir on the mainstreet who also offer small day tours. The port is a hub of activity all day and night with trips and boats coming and going at all hours. Despite this it can be peaceful at times.

We did a short afternoon trip with Bay Tours but found it very disappointing. Being herded along we overlooked a pond where sharks bask- no sharks, we looked at a beach where ghost crabs gather, no crabs, we walked to las Grietas only to find too many people, lots of children jumping in and too chaotic generally for there for the fish hanging around. The only good bit was snorkelling where we saw a couple of very laid back turtles. Point being- be selective!

From Puerto Ayora you can easily hire a taxi that will take you anywhere, negotiate your price before getting in. Some drivers better than others but you get a feel for this as you make your request. For example, we used a taxi to get to the Giant Tortoise Ranch. This took about 3 hrs with travel time and we paid $60, very reasonable as the driver had to hang around while we strolled around the ranch.

The town itself has expanded beyond our belief since we were here in 2006. Once a quiet street with three or so small bars and cafes, now a bustling town with big hotels, cafes, bars, restaurants, tourism outlets, shopping from souvenirs to trendy boutiques to supermarkets and hardware stores.

We spent a month here, enough time to eat at many of the restaurants and savour the local foods. All very good apart from one meal few had at restaurant we forget the name of at the far end of the street behind the tree with Lonesome George’s statue. A restaurant bearing large guitar on the wall. This one we would not recommend under any circumstances. The worst food we;ve ever had.

The town has a very safe feel though we were warned by our agent to be careful when wandering in the back streets especially after dark -something we would never do anyway better to be safe than sorry.,

The bay has a large number of tour Boats in it and whilst our boat was inspected and the holding tanks have to be engaged with nothing going overboard, we often found ourselves floating in sewage pumped out from the large tour boats. They should be ashamed! We would not recommend swimming in the water in this area because this appears to be a daily occurrence by one or more of these boats on any given day.

Water Taxis zip about in the bay and will take visitors to their local destinations for $1 per person $0.60 for locals. This is a good way to get to some of the restaurants out on the point and also Las Grietas.

It was lovely to be back at Santa Cruz enjoying the antics of the seals usereping people form the benches to bask in the sun. Pelicans come flying it at close range and marine iguanas, rays, turtles and sharks can all be seen form the pier. Worth spending some time on the pier just to see the comings and goings.

We particularly embraced the one man band, one man versus the dreaded cigarette butt. We met Miguel Andagana Yaucha who stands by the pier under a small cwhite tent informing people about the danger to wildlife. We bought his amazing book- A Captains log of being adrift for 66 days and all that he encountered.

He lived to tell the tale and now devotes his time to cleaning up the islands and liberating them form the poison that is the humble fag end. He strives to maintain the hygiene of the islands and stop the thoughtless act of dropping fag ends to a halt. Stop and spend some time with him, very informative and showing shocking statistics.

Yachties can arrange for fuel to be delivered to their boats via their agent and this is also a very good place to provision before leaving to cross the Pacific to French Polynesia and the Marquesas. The supermarket by the pier is very well stocked but we found better unchilled fruit and veg at the market a 10 minute walk away meat is also available there too. Its a slightly up hill walk but downhill with any heavy loads. We hired a taxi for $10 to make provisioning easier.

On a hot day be wure to try the lemon Granita on offer from the street vendors, fresh and refreshing. Plenty of snack bars and ice-cream vendors and cafes for a quick pit stop.

Show respect to the locals and dress suitably for town, its not a beach!

Puerto Ayora has so much to offer and makes a great start to any trip to Galapagos
Written 4 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

nickmc
East Sussex, UK71 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2017
For most visitors to the Galapagos islands there are only two landing options, the airport on Baltra Island or the one on San Cristobal. if you choose Baltra, you are going to exit the plane, clear immigration, catch a bus to the ferry that takes visitors off the island and several minutes later be on Santa Cruz. Its the main island to which Baltra acts as a satellite.

What’s Santa Cruz got to to offer? The answer is a lot.

There is a vast range of on-island activities to pursue, some requiring a park guide, others not. Among those things you can do yourself are visits to various wonderful beaches where you will find many examples of the famous and unique forms of wildlife in the Galapagos. it’s also worth noting that you are on the most developed island, so you have all the resources of the main city, Puerto Ayora. Here you will find a wide selection of hotels, restaurants and bars at different price points and a worthwhile range of shops. Plus, PA is home to the Charles Darwin Research Centre, which is free to visit, and the famous fish market, also free and full of local colour.

What’s more, the harbour in PA is the starting point for many trips to neighbouring islands, so prices are keen if you are in a position to bargain and don’t have to be in a particular place at a particular time.

Almost everyone landing on Santa Cruz will be making their way to PA, on the opposite side of the island to the airport. You can take a taxi, or select a public bus for your 40 minute journey. The latter are fairly frequent and charge just a couple of dollars for the ride. Once in PA, any taxi ride around town is $1.50.
Written 8 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

biancovale
Vienna, Austria4 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2018 • Couples
The Galapagos Island are just fantastic. We spend 12 days there, between Santa Cruz and the Isabela islands. We did just 4 tours, and the rest of time we enjoyed nature by our self.
Here I just wanted to advise you not to go with the travel agency "Los viajes de Darwin", which is one of the first agency you find, close to the arbor. We (my girlfriend and me) booked with them 3 tours, and bought the tickets for the boats to/from Isabela. The tours were fine, and the manager of the agency appeared a polite person and gave us for free mask and flippers for snorkeling. just asked us a deposit of 40 dollars for them. before going to Isabela we asked him about the the tour "los tuneles", the "must" of Isabela. Just as information. It happened that, while we were asking, a tour operator from Isabela (and his collaborator) was in his office, and the manager of the agency just told us to organize everything directly with him, since he was based in Isabela and the tour organized there is cheaper. Fantastic, and we did it so. When we came back to the santa cruz island we had booked already a tour (for 140 dollar per person) which was cancelled at the very last minutes. The manager of the travel agency tried to convince us to go to a different tour for 100 dollars. We did it, and on the way back we went to the travel agency asking to refund us the 40 dollars each that we overpaid for the cancelled tour, and the 40 dollars for the deposit for the snorkeling equipment. In total 120 dollars. The manager was not there. We called them, and he told us to pass by later. We passed later, and he gave us only 60 dollars. He forgot about the deposit, and he started saying that he pretended a commission for the tour to "los tuneles" that we organized directly on Isabela, with his partner. He started saying "you know I have to pay the electricity, the rent of the office" and other exuses. We complained about that and pretend the money back, especially because the day after we had the flight back to Quito in the morning, but he sent us away from the agency saying that later he would have give us back the remaining money. We came back later and the agency was closed, just with a post-it saying "I'll give you the money tomorrow" ... and off course for us it would have been too late. We called him and he did not replied. In the evening I sow the manager walking between the locals, I tried to reach him but he disappeared. At the end, I was furious and I called his partner on Isabela telling him everything. The day after, the manager shown up 2 minutes before we took the taxi to go to the airport and gave us 40 dollars (not 60).
Honestly, I don't care about the 20 dollars we lost. What disappoints me a lot is his attitude. Considering that we paid around 900 dollars for the 3 tours and the boat tickets, it is quite miserable for this agency to find excuses to cheat you and still part of your money. That is miserable.
Written 23 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ajbukovitz
Appleton, WI122 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018 • Solo
What to do if you can't decide between a land based trip or a cruise; do both. I stayed on Santa Cruz for six days and pretty much exhausted all there was to do on the island plus did day trips to Bartolome and Pinzon. I was intent on seeing penguins and hopefully snorkeling with them if lucky. I did see a penguin on Pinzon but we did not get very close. Then, I got on a six day cruise onboard the Sea Star Journey and went to the islands of Fernandina, Isabela, Santiago and Cristobal. I saw much more wildlife on the cruise and it was very up close. No need for a long lens on the camera. I saw lots and lots of penguins and even snorkeled with them twice (they are fast swimmers). We snorkeled with white tipped sharks, eagle rays, so many sea turtles that I lost count, marine iguanas, Blue Footed Boobies, and actually played with sea lions. I enjoyed both parts of my time in Galapagos, but if my time was limited and I had to chose one over the other, my choice would be a cruise hands down.
Written 31 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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