For our two weeks on the Galapagos we spent six days doing a cruise around Isabella Island, which you can read about here, and the rest split between the other two main islands – Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. This page is about the time we spent on the political capital of the Galapagos Islands, San Cristobal.
Contents
Go to one (or more) of the amazing beaches within walking distance from town
Visit the Centro de Interpretaciones
Have a stroll along the promenade
Find a place to enjoy the sunset
How to get there
Just like in Santa Cruz, there is only one real town on San Cristobal, which is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. So the odds are that you’ll be staying there if you’re spending any time on San Cristobal. Thankfully, unlike the hassle required to get to the town on Santa Cruz, it is very easy on San Cristobal, regardless of how you enter the island.
We got there by getting a ferry from Santa Cruz. The port is in the town and thus makes it very straightforward to get to your accommodation. The other option is from the airport. There are small planes that go in-between the islands but this airport also provides flights to and from the mainland. We returned to mainland Ecuador in this fashion. The airport is just on the edge of town and thus is also very easy to access – you could even walk there from the town centre if you wanted to.
Things to do on San Cristobal
There are a plethora of options for different activities if you are basing yourself on San Cristobal. These include small strolls from the town; exploring other parts of the island; or getting one of the day tours. In this section I’m going to give you a brief run-through of the activities we did during our 3-4 days on the island.
Go to one (or more) of the amazing beaches within walking distance from town
There are quite a few beaches dotted along the coast to the north and south of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Each of them is reasonably small but with their own charm and are full of wildlife. We spent one day going north and just walking from one to another. So I’m going to start by going through these.
Only five to ten minutes walk north from the port is the first beach, Playa Mann. This beach is generally quite crowded due to its close proximity to town and also the stalls that sell food and drink during various points of the day. The huge sea lions also take up quite a bit of space. It’s a very popular place to relax during sunset and late in the evening. We didn’t spend much time here before heading on but it’s a nice place with plenty of trees providing shade.
To get to the next beach you need to walk along the road for another ten to fifteen minutes until you reach a little trail. Another five minutes or so walking and you’re at Playa Punta Carola. This is a beautiful crescent shaped beach which stretches onwards towards a small lighthouse at its northern point. This is a really nice beach to relax on, just so long as you can find a patch of sand that doesn’t already have a sea lion on it. I came back here another day as well, given that it is probably the best point close to town from which to watch the sunset.
Half way along Playa Punta Carola is a small track that leads away from the ocean and into the trees. After a bit it turns into a proper path, some of which is made of wooden boards, that heads up the hill towards Bahia Tijeretas. There are a couple of routes (use Maps.me to have a look) but if you take the one on the left you go via a couple of viewpoints before ending up at a statue of Charles Darwin. This is because this was the bay that he first docked at when he arrived to the Galapagos Islands. After the statue you head down towards the bay itself. I’m cheating a bit, including the bay in this section, as there isn’t actually a beach here, but it is a popular place to go snorkelling. The steps lead down to the rocks where you can enter the water directly. The lack of wetsuit meant that the water was really cold but it was worth it as, almost as soon as we had entered, we were met by a couple of playful sea lions that followed us as we swam around the bay. They seemed to love it when our friend, Sabrina, would blow bubbles at them under the water. If you have access to a mask then it’s definitely worth walking to the bay. Just be careful when you’re getting out of the water again – there was an aggressive little black fish that didn’t like you getting so close to its home, so would come and give you little nips on your legs!
After Bahia Tijeretas, most people seem to head back to town but there is one more beach you can walk to. At this point we were also tempted to head back but we at least wanted to go to the viewpoint overlooking the bay, which provides amazing panoramic views. And once there, we thought we may as well go and check the last one out. It’s a fair bit trickier getting to the last beach than the ones mentioned so far, as the path contains a couple of steep parts and a bit of scrambling over rocks and foliage. We just about managed it in walking sandals but if you’re in flip-flops I wouldn’t recommend it.
We eventually made it to Baquerizo. This is another nice beach and is obviously more secluded and quieter than the others due to the effort it takes to get there. Not to say that it was empty though, there were still a few people dotted about but there was more than enough space. Some of these people were locals who were hunting here and they showed us the octopus they’d caught and were taking back for dinner. I’m not entirely sure that this was legal but it must happen all over and is certainly better than allowing commercial fishing here. Whilst we didn’t see an octopus in the water, there were quite a few graceful sea turtles swimming in the shallows plus the sea lions, which were everywhere on the island. The funniest part of the day occurred when Radka was entering the water, turned round for some reason and then turned back as a wave was crashing in. This wave contained a surfing sea lion that almost bowled into her. Luckily it only brushed her as it came in as, due to its size, it would have sent her flying if it had collided head on. Just goes to show you should never turn your back on the ocean…
After we had finished here, we headed back. It was mainly the same route but after Bahia Tijeretas we took a different boarded path that took us back via the Centro de Interpretaciones, which I’ll mention a bit later.
A further beach that we visited a couple of days later, was La Loberia. This beach is south of the town, past the airport. It would be a short taxi ride but we actually walked there. Whilst not as picturesque as some of the others I’ve mentioned, it more than made up for it with its snorkelling. Just as a note, it’s best to go during low-tide, as at this time outcrops of rock provide shelter from the waves, making it safer to swim. I had barely made it up to my knees before I was next to the first large sea turtle. After that I ended up doing some awkward, weird, waddle into the deeper water, with my masked face bent into the water as I still walked to make sure I didn’t step on any. In addition to the turtles, there was a multitude of fish as well as the ubiquitous sea lions. So if you have time, I’d recommend heading to La Loberia as well, even if it’s just for a couple of hours.
Visit the Centro de Interpretaciones
This museum is on the northern outskirts of the town and you basically pass it as you walk between Playa Mann and Playa Punta Carola. It also has a path behind it heading up the hill if you want to go to Bahia Tijeretas without first walking to Playa Punta Carola.
The museum was free to enter and was spread out over quite a large area. I quite liked it. It had sections on the geology of the islands; the wildlife and environment; and the history of the people who lived there. The last part also went into current issues facing the islands, from environmental to political. I found it interesting that the prices on the Galapagos are kept purposefully high. The reason for this is to avoid over-tourism so that they can try and protect the islands and the unique ecosystems that exist there; whilst still bringing in enough money to support the local economy. It is a very delicate balancing.
Whilst you will not spend lots of time here, I still think it is worth a look and it’s certainly better than the Darwin Centre on Santa Cruz.
Have a stroll along the promenade
Either side of the port in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is a nice walkway along the water. On one side there are a couple of sandy areas that are filled with sea lions. We were lucky that there were quite a few young ones when we went in November. The other side of the port is a more traditional promenade, with a wide paved area separating the sea from the line of restaurants, shops and tour agencies on the main street. But if you look over the barriers towards the sea you’ll still see rocks covered in crabs and marine iguanas. Whilst it’s nice to see everything during the day, it’s also a pleasant place to have a stroll in the evening.
Find a place to enjoy the sunset
With its position on the west of the island, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is a good place to go in search of a sunset spot. Whilst the weather also needs to work with you, we were lucky a couple of times. If you want to sit and have a drink and food then The Pier Restaurant is quite a good shout. It provides you with nice views across the small boats docked in the bay. My favourite spot, however, was Playa Punta Carola. It’s a bit more of an effort to get there but it’s peaceful; you get a nice unobscured view towards the horizon; and the dozens of sea lions provide great photo opportunities. Unless you head back shortly after the sun dips below the horizon, however, it may be best to bring a torch for getting back.
Post a postcard into a barrel
During the COVID pandemic the Ecuadorian postal service closed down. This doesn’t just affect the Galapagos Islands but the whole of Ecuador. Thus there is no way to send anything unless you go with a private company, such as DHL. Because of this and maybe inspired by the famous Postman Bay on Isla Floreana, the small kiosk next to the Pier Restaurant has a barrel to which you can add your postcards. The concept is that a tourist will take any postcards addressed to their own country home with them and post them when they get back. It’s a fun idea and we put a postcard there, never really expecting to see it again. Because I’m so late in writing this post, I can tell you that the postcard arrived two months later. So thank you so much to the kind German(s) who posted our card for us. It is a bit weird having absolutely no idea who you are. The postcard actually ended up arriving faster than most of the the ones we’ve sent through the proper routes in South America!
Take a tour
There are multiple options for different tours. They range from going to different parts of San Cristobal, to famous diving spots, or to smaller, more obscure islands. There are certainly a lot of options to match to your time and budget. We ended up doing two:
The Highland / Inland Tour
The Highland or Inland tour is the same tour just with different names. Whilst you can book this through an agency, it is much easier and cheaper to find a taxi driver who will do it for you. The husband of the owner of the hostel we were staying at also drove a taxi so was more than happy to take us. Regardless of who you end up going with, the itinerary seems to be the same.
The first stop was to El Junco Lagoon. This is a crater lake that is one of only a few freshwater sources on the whole of the Galapagos. From the road you follow a well marked trail up towards the viewpoint. Here we were met with a view of … nothing. One of the common features of the highlands is that they get very cloudy and misty and we weren’t lucky enough to avoid it. We could just about see to the edge of the lake but not much beyond it. So I’m afraid I can’t help you with whether or not it is worth a visit.
The next point on the tour was Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado. This is the Giant Tortoise breeding centre and reserve on San Cristobal. Despite being to a reserve on Santa Cruz and the breeding centre on Isabella, I still really enjoyed visiting. It’s just such a cool experience to watch them wandering around. This particular reserve has a circular route that you follow through the trees. At various points you’ll see tortoises of various sizes walking along the path or relaxing in the shade. About half way along you’ll reach the breeding centre, where you can see the youngest of the tortoises. Even if you have seen Giant Tortoises before, I’d still definitely recommend having a visit.
The last activity on the tour was a visit to Playa Puerto Chino. This is another beautiful sandy beach. We didn’t end up swimming here, rather we just spent time relaxing with the sea lions and wandered up to the viewpoint on the far side of the beach. After an easy scramble up some rocks you get a really nice view over the bay.
Overall, this is a very pleasant option if you have a spare day on San Cristobal. And it works out pretty reasonable if you find people to fill up the taxi.
The 360 Tour
This is probably the most popular tour you can do on San Cristobal. The concept is that you take a boat around the whole island, stopping off at a few points along the way. We thought that it would be the best way to see as much of San Cristobal as possible in the limited time we had there. Whilst there may be small differences to the itinerary and price if you look around the different tour agencies, we found that they were all very similar and much of a muchness. They generally included wetsuits and snorkelling gear but I don’t know if during non-COVID times it would be different in this regard.
It’s a long day, so you start early and travel through the ocean for quite a while in an anti-clockwise direction to get to the first point of interest, Bahia Rosa Blanca. This bay has a beautiful white sand beach that stretches on for ages. After spending a little while having a stroll and enjoying the views, you start walking to the main purpose of coming here. Not too far inland is a saltwater lagoon. After getting changed into wetsuits and snorkelling gear, it was time for a swim. The visibility was pretty poor, partly due to inexperienced swimmers kicking up a lot of sand from the bottom, but that made it even more surprising when you were suddenly within a metre or two of some amazing animals. This included turtles, white-tip reef sharks, and a fever of spotted eagle rays (yes that is what a group of rays is called and yes I had to look it up). The rays in particular were spectacular. We’d seen a range of rays on our trip to the Galapagos but not generally this close. After a while, it was time to head back to our boat.
The next portion of the tour was a lot of time in the boat as we made our way around the east of the island to the northern tip. As well as being long, this part of the trip was also disappointing. We had chosen this particular tour company because it specifically mentioned ‘Punta Pitt’. This is a point on the south-eastern tip of the island and is famous for being one of the few places where you can find the less-common red-footed booby. After being mesmerised by their blue-footed cousins we were quite looking forward to this part of the tour. But it turns out that whilst we technically did go past it, we were far out to sea and unable to see any of the birdlife that covers the cliffs. Apparently 360 tours don’t have permits to approach these cliffs – you need to go on a specific Punta Pitt trip to be able to access them. Whilst I can appreciate the systems in place to protect the wildlife, it was very frustrating to have come all this way and not be able to see anything. To compound matters, this was about the time when the boat slowed and basically stopped, so that the crew could try and catch some fish. This is again a regulated industry so there are only a certain amount of boats that can fish here but 360 tours tend to combine the activities. Slowing down in these waters made the boat more susceptible to the undulating waves and Radka was not feeling too well by the time we set off properly again.
Our next stop was on the northern most tip of the island. Here we had time to relax on the beach at Bahia Sardina. It was again a beautiful beach but I’m not entirely sure it was worth travelling over half way round the island to get to given how nice all of the beaches on San Cristobal seemed to be. Having said that, it was still nice to get off the boat, lie in the sand and watch the antics of the sea lions (the photo at the top of the page is from here). We were there for a while before getting on the boat and heading to our last destination.
Kicker Rock is an iconic destination and a famous spot for diving to see hammerhead sharks. There are trips that solely come here for either diving or snorkelling. Its weird shape forms an impressive sight as you make your way through the waves towards it. The boat drops you off on one side of the channel between the massive rocks and picks you up at the other side. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky with our snorkelling (you really need to go diving to have a good chance to see the hammerheads) but there were at least some playful sea lions, which are always fun to swim with. After after making it back to the boat, it was time to head back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
I must be honest in that we weren’t particularly impressed with this tour. It is expensive (understandable given the distance covered); you spend most of the day on the boat; and the activities were only okay. With hindsight, we would have gone for a more focussed trip, maybe the one to Punta Pitt. Having said that, I’m not sure how much of that feeling was just because we did this at the end of our trip and we had already been spoiled with such amazing, unbelievable experiences. If it was at the beginning of our trip then maybe we would have been blown away at getting so close to sharks and turtles and by the stunning beaches. So if you are contemplating doing this tour, think about what you are probably going to do and see on the rest on the rest of your trip and weigh up whether it’s best to do a ‘little-bit-of-everything’ tour like this or to spend your money on something more specific.
Summary
When we were on Santa Cruz a friend we’d met on the cruise decided that he’d seen so many things that could not be topped that he wasn’t going to go to San Cristobal and was instead going to get an earlier plane back to the mainland. Well, having ignored his viewpoint we’re so glad that we did. San Cristobal is definitely worth the visit. It’s more quiet and laid back then Santa Cruz and we probably liked the area around Puerto Baquerizo Moreno more than the equivalent area around Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. Whilst the activities that you can do here are fairly similar to what you would do on the other islands, that certainly doesn’t mean that they’re not worth doing! We had a fantastic time on San Cristobal and were really sad when we had to leave.
Brit and Czech Abroad 