Puerto Ayora, Galápagos

World Natural Heritage since 1978, one of the first twelve sites on the List

Puerto Ayora, eighteen thousand residents on Academy Bay, is the largest settlement in Galápagos and the walkable base of Santa Cruz island. At Las Grietas, rainwater filtered through volcanic rock floats on top of seawater: the line where the two part, the halocline, is visible to the naked eye.

What you will see

Las Grietas

Ten metres of turquoise water in a volcanic fissure: water taxi, twenty minutes on foot, 10 USD including a guide.

Tortuga Bay

A paved 2.4-kilometre trail, free of charge, open 06:00 to 18:00, with compulsory sign-in at the ranger hut.

The Pier and the Darwin Station

Pelicans and sea lions wait for the fish market’s offcuts; the Charles Darwin Station is free to enter.

Wildlife & flora

A large marine iguana colony occupies Tortuga Bay, with whitetip reef sharks in the shallows, brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies. Green turtles nest on Playa Brava between January and March, while Playa Mansa lies sheltered behind mangrove. The trail runs through giant Opuntia echios cactus. Off the town, Caamaño islet is visited only by boat, on the Bay Tour.

From our own visits

Puerto Ayora is very quiet, but it comes into its own as the evening falls. There is craft beer in town, such as Reptilia Galápagos Brewery, and places where the people who live on the island go out, like Bongo Bar and La Panga; we recommend those over anywhere built only for visitors. If you travel on to Isabela, the Isabela Sunset Bar has the best sunset. Inter-island ferries connect Santa Cruz with Isabela and San Cristóbal. And the fish market on the pier, where pelicans and sea lions wait for the scraps, happens every day and costs nothing.

What you should know

National Park entry costs 200 USD per foreign adult as of August 2024, plus 20 USD in cash for the Transit Control Card, bought in Quito or Guayaquil before boarding; neither is included in the package price. Rates current as of September 2026. The trail to Tortuga Bay has no shade and the equatorial sun falls straight down.