Destinations / Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador

Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador

1 itinerary · 0 open departures · 0 missions

Santa Cruz is the most populated and visited island in the Galápagos archipelago, located in the Pacific Ocean roughly 1,000 kilometres off the coast of mainland Ecuador. It serves as the main hub for exploring the islands, home to Puerto Ayora — the largest town in the Galápagos — and the Charles Darwin Research Station, where ongoing conservation efforts protect the islands' iconic giant tortoises. The island is renowned for its extraordinary wildlife encounters, from sea lions and marine iguanas to blue-footed boobies, all in close proximity to humans due to the animals' lack of natural fear. Travellers come for world-class snorkelling, diving, hiking through lava tunnels, and as a gateway to day trips across the wider archipelago.

What travellers are doing

Itineraries

-28%

Save £305 (28% off)

£1,100 retail with Responsible Travel South America → £795 self-launched

Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador · 7 days

Copycat

7-Day Galapagos Self-Launched Escape: Santa Cruz Island on a Backpacker Budget

A self-launched version of Responsible Travel South America's 7-day Santa Cruz Island group tour — same islands, same wildlife, no group markup. You'll fly Quito → Baltra, base yourself in Puerto Ayora, and book the bay tour, Tortuga Bay kayaking and an uninhabited-island day trip directly with local operators (or via GetYourGuide/Klook before you fly). Expect sea lions on the pier, marine iguanas on the rocks, white-tip sharks in the mangroves and giant tortoises in the highlands — at roughly a third of the tour price. Costs are approximate and exclude international flights; note the Galapagos entrance fee (US$200, paid on arrival at Baltra) and the US$20 transit control card are extra for everyone, including on the group tour.

adventurewildlifebeaches

Travel Crew

~£795

Missions

Nobody's posted a Mission for Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador yet — which, frankly, is an opportunity.

Wait, what's a Mission?It's not a scheduled trip with dates and a minimum group size like a Departure — it's a goal. Learn to dive, do a Muay Thai camp, live somewhere for a month and work on something, chase one very specific experience. Post it, and other people chasing the same thing find you.

Be the first to post one: "Eat the strangest thing on the menu every single day for a week and document the regret."

Post the first Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador Mission →

Planning a trip to Galapagos Islands (Santa Cruz), Ecuador?

Paste any operator's itinerary into Tour Buster and build your own departure in minutes.

Try Tour Buster →