Playa Punta Carola is located about 1 km from the center of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It is a nice walk going slowly uphill and downhilll pass the Interpretation center. There you will find a beautiful beach less crowded then Playa Mann. It is a nice place to go swimming and snorkeling with marine iguanas or just to relaxe on the quiet beach. It is also a good place to go surfing when the wind is from the right direction. Ask the locals for adivces !
To access Las Tijiretas you must walk on a magnificient marked trail of approximately 1km from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno that climbs slightly up. The entrance of the trail is on the street that leads to Playa Mann. Tijeretas is the common name for frigates bird in spanish. It is one of the only places where you can watch the two species of frigate birds nesting in the same colony. It is also a very nice spot to go snorkeling. You can have the chance to snorkel with sea lions, sea turtles and rays. This is also a good place to go for a swim in this very calm bay.
The beach of Puerto Chino is located on the opposite side of the island from the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It is accessible via a walking path from the road that passes La Galapaguera del Cerro Colorado. This beautiful and secluded spot is a good place for swimming and relaxing on the beach. You can observe sea lions and different types of birds around the beach. Is it a very nice spot to relax and enjoy a picnic.
Puerto Ayora is the Metropole the Galapagos archipelago. This is where the majority of the population is found, with around 15,000 inhabitants on the island of Santa Cruz. You will find an hospital, schools, a lot good restaurants and great places to do your shopping. The city is very busy and crowded and can be very hot with the sun. This is why it’s nice to escape to the highlands or at the beach to find some fresh air.
From Puerto Ayora, you can book many tours to go visit others islands around Santa Cruz such as Santa Fé, Bartolome, North Seymour and more.
This is also where you can find the Charles Darwin Scientific Station.
Floreana is one of the 4 inhabited islands of the archipelago. It has only around a hundred inhabitants. The village of Puerto Velasco Ibarra is a very small town made up of only a few buildings. This is the oldest colony of the archipelago that was colonized in 1862. The town offer only one hotel the Wittmer pension. You can observe very old buildings as well as the famous post office, which is still in operation. Every year, thousands of Galapagos visitors drop off letters and postcards in Post Office Bay. Other visitors headed close to an addresses will pick up the letters and take them home.
This town is an interesting step in the history of the Galapagos ! For those who want to know the details of its history must come here. The island of Floreana is accessible with daily excursions or via certain naturalist cruise itineraries.
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of the Galapagos and is home to over 6,000 residents, the second most populated town. A lot of beaches and interesting attractions are close to town and easy to walk to. This town is a great mix between tranquility and lively little village.
Puerto Villamil is the small town on Isabela Island. It is the third most populated island of the Galapagos with around 2,200 inhabitants. The town is very small and laid back. You will find minimal service with a couple of small restaurants, tour companies and hotels. There is no ATM on the island, so you need to bring enough cash with you. Only few companies accept other mode of payments. What is nice about Puerto Villamil is that several beautiful beaches are close to town and within walking distance.
Genovesa is a small island located at the northeast of Santa Cruz. This island is the paradise of bird lovers. The flat trails will leads you through the mangrove and saltbush where you will see nesting red-footed boobies. You can also see other species of bird like the lava gull, blue-footed boobies, lava herons and more. This island is only accessible via a very limited number of naturalist cruise itineraries.
Marchena Island is the largest of the northern islands. There is no terrestrial visitor sites on this island, this is why it is rarely visited by anyone, including scientists. Even if there are no tourist landing sites on the island itself, Marchena is surrounded by exceptional diving and snorkelling spot : Punta Espejo and Punta Mejía.
Dive site
Punta Espejo and Punta Mejía are very beautiful diving sites. Punta Mejia is situated on the southwestern side of the island, where rays, eels and numerous species of fish can be observed. Punta Espejo is a wonderfull dive site where you can observe hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, sea lions and much more.
This island is home to an endemic Lava lizzard and fur seals.
Baltra island, also know as South Seymour, is a small island located just north of Santa Cruz. Baltra is home to one of two airports connecting Galapagos with mainland Ecuador and is the point of arrival for most travelers to the archipelago. During World War II, Blatra was a military base for the Americans. Nowadays, the island does not have much to offer. It is moslty use for the airport. Baltra is still home to a unique endemic specie of land iguana.
