Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Beaches
One thing that surprised me on this island was that the beaches close at 6pm (so you can’t go for a sunset walk on the beach). There also isn’t a beach with easy access near the town on Santa Cruz. You have to walk a decent ways to get to a beach (there are two near the Charles Darwin Research Center), so I’d recommend renting bikes to make your way around the island easily!
Tortuga Bay
My absolute favorite beach on Santa Cruz was Tortuga Bay (pictured above; photo credit goes out to my friend, Andrea). I would strongly suggest that you go here early in the morning because you have to walk on a trail through the woods for about 45 minutes before you even get to the first part of the beach (or you can take a water taxi). My friend and I did this walk in the middle of the day, and the heat made this very difficult. Once you arrive at the water, walk to the right for about 10 minutes to get to an area that is safe to swim in (they will also tell you this when you first enter the trail). This walk is on one of the most beautiful white sand beaches I’ve seen. Once you round the bend, there’s a quiet bay to swim in and tons of iguanas!! I even got to see a hammerhead shark while swimming (don’t worry, it was small and harmless).
Food & Drink on Santa Cruz
Definitely get a fresh coconut with a straw! Make sure to ask if they can cut in half when you are done drinking the coconut water, so you can eat the meat! A number of places will do this if you ask.
For breakfast or lunch, I’d highly recommend 1835. My friend and I split the fresh tuna sandwich and ceviche. Both were amazing!
You must try Los Kioskos for dinner if you enjoy a more local experience. This street has a number of seafood restaurants to choose from (they all looked equally good). I highly recommend the brujo (scorpionfish), which came highly recommended to me from one of the locals!
Charles Darwin Research Station
The Charles Darwin Research Station was extremely underwhelming, in my opinion. As a science teacher, I was really excited about visiting this turtle sanctuary, but I expected so much more. It is required to book a tour guide if you want to see the turtles (they are available when you arrive for $10), and the tour takes about two hours. They take you on a wooden boardwalk through the woods and tell you about the island’s flora and fauna for the first hour and a half, and then the last 30 minutes is the turtle sanctuary where they teach you about turtle conservation on the island. This part was interesting, so if you have an extra two hours to spare, it might be worth it for you.
The Local Experience
After dinner, head to the pier. This is where all of the locals (and sea lions) hang out in the evening. Be sure to look into the water to see if you can spot some baby sharks!