Santa Cruz Island  is the most visited in Galapagos since plenty commercial flights from the mainland land here. There’s another airport in San Cristóbal Island, but most tourist prefer landing here because Santa Cruz has a privileged centered location and makes it easier to visit other islands in Galapagos in less time.

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz is also the most populated too island and because of that seems to be the more “cosmopolitan” compared to others in Galápagos where you can feel completely isolated and away from civilization. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; you’ll get plenty of craft beer bars, hotels, restaurants and cool places to enjoy the typical Galapagos Island’s nightlife. Also, you’ll have plenty of ATMs that are very escarce in the rest of the islands.

But don’t be fooled by first impressions, even though Santa Cruz seems to be too much of a city it has plenty of unique out-of-this-world places that you must visit during your stay in Galapagos and best of all: they are free. You just need to know where to look and that’s where we come up to help you.

There’s plenty of ways to get to Santa Cruz but it depends from where you are coming. Here’s some of the available options:

After you’ve landed on Baltra Island, you’ll have to pay the entrance fee to Galapagos National Park on the Airport before being able to go out. Once you do this, there’ll be local buses from a company called Lobito that will take you to the coast of Baltra Island. This bus ride takes about 10 minutes and it costs $5 per person. You journey doesn’t end here. After the bus ride, on the coast there will be few taxi boats to help you cross Itabaca Channel, the channel that separates Santa Cruz from Baltra. The price for this boat ride is $1 per person and is less than 5 minutes. When you cross Itabaca Channel many taxis (white trucks) will be waiting for you to take you to your hotel. From this part of Santa Cruz Islands, Puerto Ayora is about 45 minute ride away.

We offer different options for this tour:

From Puerto Ayora, there are to shifts every day, in the morning and in the afternoon, and the cost is $60.

We also can schedule this tour from the airport, ending the your in your accomodation. Price for this is $75 per person. Taking that combined tour you save $15 per person, since the transfer from Canal de Itabaca to Puerto Ayora costs $35.

If you don’t want to get lost or confused with all of this process on your first day in Galapagos Low Cost we recommend the airport pick up service with HighLand Tour on the way to Puerto Ayora. It save time and make the most of the ride.

We will take you to Highlands Tour where you can visit a natural giant tortoises reserve called El Chato, cross lava tunnels and see huge twin volcanic craters called Los Gemelos with a bilingual guide. After that we will drop you on your hotel in Puerto Ayora. You don´t ahve to worry about  your luggage, as we will wait you in theairport with a pick up van, and take care of it while you enjoy the spotlights of the  tour.

After your flight to the Galapagos Islands, you might want to see some of the wonders of the islands as soon as possible: this is the best way. You can see details of the Highlands Tour here.

The cheapest and most common way to move between populated islands in Galápagos (Santa Cruz, Isabela, Floreana and San Cristobal) is on water taxis or ferry that depart from the port. Price per way rounds $35 and lasts around 2 hours (2h30 depending on sea conditions and weather). This ferries only have scheduled two hours a day to depart, one in the morning and another one in the afternoon, so keep this in mind when you are planning for your tours and activities in Galápagos.

If you would like to make the most of your time in Galápagos and your budget allows it, you can move between islands on a flight. There’s two airlines in Galápagos that offer this service. Prices per trip are around $150 but depends on the season. Here’s the website of both pages if you want further information:

• EMETEBE
• FLY GALÁPAGOS

How to pack for Galápagos Islands?

As we’ve previously mentioned on our Isabela Island post, you need to be prepared for your trip to Galápagos. Before packing for Galápagos, is good keeping in mind that even thought this is a beach destination Galápagos isn’t like any other place you’ve ever been before. We usually associate the beach with flip flops and resorts but Galápagos is a unique preserved place on earth and some spots are a bit extreme.  And honestly, this is what makes Galápagos special.

So, here’s our recommendations on what you should pack:

Gopro is widely known and a good investment for your trip given all the features it has to make it easier to make videos or take pictures for your trip. If you go with the Gopro, the Dome accessory is a must to be able to take amazing pictures above and under water (few examples on pictures below). And if you don’t want to spend much on a camera, Apeman is a great brand too.

Restricted products and items in Galapagos

What things can you do in Santa Cruz Island?

Santa Cruz Island has a lot oc activities to do. It is the siland with most popupaltion, and Puerto Ayora is it´s city most alive. But geographically it is also de island in the middle of the arachipielago. That is the reason that most of the most amazing tours departs from this island.

In our website you will find both, the must do tours that  you can not miss, and a lot of recommendations of activities to do on your own with really low cost  or no cost at all.

The most famous beach in Galápagos and one of the top 10 beaches in Santa Cruz and of the world. Tortuga Bay is a great beach and the best of all is: entrance is free.  The only price to pay is the 45 minute walk but on the bright side is a very nice, 2.5 km full of nature path and the best reward is the amazing white sand and clear water beach at the end.

Once you get to the end of the road, you’ll see what is called “Playa brava” in Tortuga Bay (meaning angry beach) because of its huge waves. This is not the place to take a nice relaxing bath (good place to surf tho) since you’ll always see a red flag advicing is not safe. But don’t worry, the right spot is just few meters away. Walk a little towards the right side of the beach and you’ll get to Playa Mansa (meek beach) where there’s no waves and is a great spot to snorkel if you have your mask or kayak on your own (there’s a renting tent there)

Despite its popularity Tortuga Bay is a very isolated beach with not much people around and no shop at all so as we said above, make sure you have plenty of water, snacks and a hat to keep you safe from the ecuadorian sun.

Tortuga bay is only open until 17h30 so make sure you arrive early enough to enjoy it. In case you don’t want to walk your way through it, there’s a taxi boat service to get you there from the port in Puerto ayora at $20 per way per person.

Las Grietas is a place located in the south of Santa Cruz Island. Is a small water channel between volcanic rocks where you can swim in turquoise water and many colorful fishes. A great place to snorkel or just take a relaxing bath. Las Grietas is like a natural pool and if you are lucky enough you may see some locals jumping from the higher rocks to the water doing some acrobatic tricks.

To get to Las Grietas you have to take a 5 minute boat taxi from Puerto Ayora at $0,80 per ride per person and bring some comfortable shoes because the walk to get there is very rocky (and very nice too). Another way to go to Las Grietas is by taking Bay Tour in Santa Cruz, that includes a visit to this spot among other main highlights from this islands and a snorkeling session. This tour is $45 per person and its 3 hours with a certified guide on a boat, snorkeling session and a visit to Playa de los perros an exclusive beach you can only access by boat.

Perfect place to get to know more about Galapagos history, its discovery and of course you’ll get to see the famous Lonesome George.

A nice lagoon to take a walk on a free afternoon. Very near to Puerto Ayora. 

Close to Puerto Ayora, on the way to Darwin research station, Los Alemanes beach is small but charming one. Good place to just relax after a day full of adventure and excursions. Its near Las Grietas too, so keep this in mind when you are planning your daily itinerary.

You will walk to this place a lot of time since this is where most of the tours depart, but its worth taking some time on your schedule to spend here, get a coconut while you watch locals play volleyball, have a beer or see fisherman bringing fresh fish you’ll enjoy later on for lunch or dinner.

A 10 minute walk from Charles Darwin research station, a good place to buy fresh fish or eat one nearby on some of the small tents allocated around the market. You can have fun too watching pelicans and sea lions trying to steal fisherman some food and running away afterwards. In case you need to buy some souvenirs and hand made crafts for your family and friends you’ll find that here too.

To get the full Galapagos experience we recommend taking at least one paid tour per island to get to know places only reachable with an authorized guide and boat. Since Galapagos is a protected area, is not a place where you can just walk around and make your way to meet some places. There are standar paid tours where a certified bilingual guide will lead your way to some amazing places that give Galapagos the Enchanted islands name.

Here’s the ones we recommend on Santa Cruz, and off course, you can book any of them with us.

Galapagos has plenty to offer and not everything is among the sea. If you go deep in to Santa Cruz Island highlands, you’ll find yourself in a whole different environment (and a micro weather). This tour can be done on the way from the airport to the hotel, to make the most of the 45 minute ride that takes you to get to Puerto Ayora. The airport pick up + highlands tour + hotel drop off is $75 per person and if you would like to do it from the hotel instead of the airport is $60 per person. Highlands tour goes to Los Gemelos (two giant craters) then you’ll walk trough lava tunnels and ending in Rancho Primicias where you will see Galapagos famousegiant turtles.

Here you will spot the giant tortoises from Santa Cruz in its natural habitat. Rancho Primicias is a protected area dedicated to preserve and promote this endemic species Chelonoidis porteri (giant turtle from Santa Cruz). This singular specie has a black and oval shell with a vault shape and has around 1 meter long. The highlands are mostly inhabited by males and as you go down to the coast you’ll find females and baby tortoises.

This is a nice full of wilderness spot, with a unique ecosystem where you’ll learn about endemic plants (Scalesia, guayabillo, among others) and animals (lava lizard, owls, finches) and off course giant tortoises. Rancho Primicias is also a good place to have lunch and buy some souvenirs for your family and friends.

This is one of the most popular tours in Santa Cruz not only because is not very expensive ($45 per person) but its also very complete and gives you the opportunity to see Santa Cruz highlights and unique places that can only be reached by boat.

It’s a good way to save time because in a few hours you’ll cover the most important spots in Santa Cruz. There are two departures for this tour, one in the morning and another one in the afternoon. During the tour you will see several bird species, have a walk in the most iconic spots of the island, do snorkeling and a rest at a very beautiful beach.

Here’s the places you will visit during the Bay Tour:

Also known as Caamaño islet, here you will see a huge sea lion community to whom you will be able to do some snorkeling.

The best spot to enjoy sea life. You’ll do a quick stop here to enjoy snorkeling among blue footed boobies, frigates and sea lions.

Shark channel is a small crack in the volcanic rocks that has become the favorite sport to rest for sharks in Santa Cruz. We’ll step near the channel to see the sharks and the peculiar unique color of the channel and then wak towards Playa de los Perros (dog’s beach) where there’s a concentration of Galapagos iguanas and another endemic species.

The love channel is a cliff of gentle turquoise waters, it is a very beautiful and excellent place for photos. After watching the love channel, we’ll go to Las Grietas, which as mentioned above, is a place where you can snorkel and enjoy a refreshing swim.

If you are checking instagram before travelling to theGalapagos Islands, sure you have seen the amazing photos taken in this calm and wonderful spot of Santa Cruz Island.

One of the best things about Santa Cruz is its strategic centered location which give you the opportunity to do day trips to other islands such as Isabela o San Cristobal and also the most unique inhabited ones like Bartolomé or North Seymour. All of this day tours include lunch and usually depart very early in the morning to make the best out of the day, because of this is very important that you slept the night before in Santa Cruz.

Here’s some of the daily tours we offer that you can do from Santa Cruz:

Your trip to Galapagos starts here. In Galapagos Low Cost we’ll be happy to help you plan your trip with a personalized itinerary that suits your budget and needs. Take a look at all the tours you can book with us or drop us a line to let us know how can we help you make the most out of your trip to Galapagos.

Galápagos Islands Rules for all tourists 📜

Galapagos is a place where the humans and animals coexistence is unique and something very special you shoudl live at least once. Species like  blue footed boobies, marine iguanas or giant tortoises are very used to human presence and this trust (that you need to preserve) will let you witness the most amazing scenes of their daily wild lifestlye. You shouldn’t be surprised if you find a sea lion laying on your towel in the sand or resting on a landslide in a public park. There is no other place in the world where animals feel so comfortable with human presence.

This is the result of many years protecting the islands and all the efforts made by the Galápgos government to keep animals and the environment safe and always respected by visitors and locals. For this reason, there’s a few entry requirements tourists and locals have to comply with before entering the islands and also a set of norms and rules you need to follow while you are there, not only to protect the island but also to avoid huge fines if you don’t respect the rules.

10 Rules you have to follow during your Galápagos Trip ✅

Some things that might seem perfectly normal in any other place in the world could be forbidden in Galápagos because of the harm they could to the perfectly balanced but fragile ecosystem. You have to always keep in mind that Galápagos Islands are World Heritage since 1987 and they need to be protected. Here’s a very detailed post with the 10 rules you need to follow while you are there and you can also check out our instagram account for a summary with the most important ones here:

1. Keep a 2 meter distance from all animals 🐢

2. Do not touch or feed the animals ❌

3. Don’t take away any item from nature 🐚

4. Do not smoke, drink or create wood fires 🔥

5. Always walk through marked trails 🚶

6. Take photos to animals without flash. Drones and professional filming needs to be authorized. 📷

7. Camp only in designated areas, with previous authorization. 🏕

8. Fishing with authorized tours and boats 🎣

9. Do not introduce external elements to the ecosystem 🧳

10. Do not use motorized aquatic vehicles, submarines or air tourism 🛶

Faqs and recommendations for your Galápagos Trip

What you cannot bring to the Galápagos Islands ⛔️

Before you fly to Galápagos your luggage will pass a special revision to make sure you are not bringing any seeds, plants, animals or any living thing that could have a negative impact on the Islands. In our post about Galápagos entry Requirements we post the full list of forbidden items so you take a second look before packing for your trip (see post here👆).  When you land there and even when you are doing transfers between islands your bags and shoes will be revised, so make sure to always keep an eye on what you are bringing.

What do you need to go to Galápagos? 🧐

The full list of Galápagos entry requirements is here. Mostly you’ll need accomodation bookings, valid passport, tickets for a round flight (meaning you can’t have just one way) and to pay the tourist card and entrance fee according to your nationality. Read full post about requirements here. 

What you should bring to Galápagos

Few must pack items that will make your trip more easy and enjoyable.