San Cristobal Galapagos Travel Guide & Itinerary (Under 40$/Day)
TL;DR
San Cristobal Galapagos travel guide: Sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and budget-friendly adventures you can’t miss.
When we first researched the Galapagos Islands, San Cristobal didn’t exactly stand out. We just weren’t sure if this island was worth our time – or our budget. But a cheaper flight sealed the deal, and spoiler alert: we couldn’t be happier with our decision.
If you’re wondering whether San Cristobal is worth it, or how to explore it without blowing your budget, this guide is for you. We’ll walk you through free and affordable things to do, where to stay, what to eat, and how to experience the best of the Galapagos without breaking the bank – all based on our real, firsthand experience. From snorkeling with sea lions at Tijeretas to spotting blue-footed boobies at Punta Carola, San Cristobal turned out to be a wildlife wonderland.
Let’s dive in – sea lions are waiting.
- Budget San Cristobal Galapagos Travel Guide
- San Cristobal Galapagos Map
- Is San Cristobal Worth Visiting?
- Where We Stayed in San Cristobal on a Budget
- How to Get to San Cristobal
- How to Get Around San Cristobal
- Free and Cheap Things to Do in San Cristobal
- 360° Tour
- How Many Days in San Cristobal Do You Need
- San Cristobal Galapagos Itinerary for under 40$ per Day
- Where to Eat in San Cristobal on a Budget
- San Cristobal Tips
Budget San Cristobal Galapagos Travel Guide
San Cristobal Galapagos Map
Is San Cristobal Worth Visiting?
Doing our own online research, we were not quite sure whether San Cristobal was worth a visit or not. Our decision was made for us when we saw that flights to San Cristobal were much cheaper than to Santa Cruz – and dear reader, are we happy that we went!
The dozens of sea lions right in front of the Malecon alone would have been worth the trip. In addition, we found our favourite snorkel spot of the Galapagos Islands on San Cristobal, saw blue-footed booby galore, and swam with more sea turtles than we’ve ever seen before.
Where We Stayed in San Cristobal on a Budget
We stayed at Casa de Alexis and can highly recommend it. The location is within walking distance to the airport and the Malecon. The owners are amazing – they even teamed us up with two other guests for the highland tour, saving us good money. Speaking of: The value for money is crazy for 16$ per person/night. This includes free drinking water, snorkel equipment, and kitchen use.
How to Get to San Cristobal
1. Flying to San Cristobal
San Cristobal is one of two Galapagos Islands (along with Santa Cruz) with an airport. Flights depart from Guayaquil and Quito.
The airport is within easy walking distance of the centre of the capital of San Cristobal, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
2. Ferry to San Cristobal
Ferries from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal leave at 7 am and 3 pm.
We found that there are always several boats from different companies leaving at the exact same time, and it’s a bit of a black box which one you’ll get.
The pier is right in the centre of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, but you have to pay 1$ for the taxi boat from the ferry to the pier.
How to Get Around San Cristobal
Every point of interest in Santa Cruz is walkable – even the airport.
Free and Cheap Things to Do in San Cristobal
1. Interpretation Centre, Tijeretas Viewpoint & Dock
We’re going to group these activities together because, really, it does not make sense to do them separately.
You’ll start at the Interpretation Centre, where you have to register and where you can also learn about the nature of the Galapagos Islands. It’s smaller than the one in Santa Cruz, but still very much worth a stop. From here, an easy paved path leads to your first stop, the Tijeretas viewpoint. From here, you have great views over the Tijeretas dock with Kicker Rock in the distance.
Whether you went to Playa Baquerizo or stopped at the viewpoint, your next stop will be the snorkelling spot at the Tijeretas dock. This was our favourite snorkelling spot in all of the Galapagos Islands. We swam with so many sea lions and marine iguanas!
We strongly suggest you don’t walk directly back, but rather do the loop to Playa Punta Carola. On your way, you’ll pass another cool viewpoint with a giant statue of Charles Darwin and a naval cannon from the 1970s (we’re not quite sure why).
Total cost: Free
2. Playa Punta Carola
Punta Carola is a lovely beach. Again, we swam with sea lions and marine iguanas. There’s an old lighthouse at the end of the beach. We scrambled across the rocks to get closer and saw the most blue-footed boobies of the whole trip, as well as pelicans and more sea lions.
Total cost: Free
3. Playa Mann
Playa Mann is the main beach of San Cristobal. It’s the closest to the centre and it’s the only beach that comes with some amenities. There are local eateries where you can get a surprisingly affordable menu del día and vendors walking around selling drinks and snacks.
While it’s the busiest beach on Santa Cruz, you can still spot wildlife like sea lions.
The sunsets are nice here as well.
Total cost: Free
4. San Cristobal Malecon
The downtown area of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is mostly centred around the Malecon or pier. Right in the heart of the town, we spotted more sea lions than we could have ever imagined. On a stroll, you can encounter many statues, including another one of Charles Darwin with his ship, the Beagle. There’s also a wooden boardwalk with sea lions left, right, and centre (literally).
Total cost: Free
5. La Loberia
La Loberia is a lovely beach, a 30-minute walk south of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. We took our snorkelling gear and saw several sea turtles.
Of course, we also swam with sea lions and marine iguanas.
Total cost: Free
6. San Cristobal Highlands
Again, we group these activities together because it doesn’t make sense to do one without the other.
A typical highlands tour includes three stops:
- El Junco volcano crater
- Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Terrestres David Rodriguez
- Playa Puerto Chino
We couldn’t find any group tour offers or public transport, so the only option seemed to be to hire a taxi (let us know if we missed something). You do not have to pay an entrance fee for any of the stops, so this is a great, affordable day trip.
We first did the short hike up the volcano to admire the views, then visited the giant tortoise reserve – we were super lucky that we arrived at feeding time – and last but not least, relaxed at the beach.
Total cost: The cost strongly depends on your haggling skills. On our own, we were quoted 80$ for the taxi. Our accommodation helped us to secure a taxi for 50$, which means **25$ per person** (actually, we paid even less because we split the taxi with two other guests).
360° Tour
By all means, we could not include the 360° tour in our list of budget-friendly things to do in San Cristobal. On the other hand, we couldn’t exclude this activity from our travel guide as it’s the quintessential thing to do on this island.
You’ll circle the whole island on a boat
- Going snorkelling at Kicker Rock.
- Visiting the beaches at Bahia Rosa Blanca and Bahía Sardina.
- Spotting birds at Punta Pitt.
Read our full review to find out if this tour is for you (or not):
How Many Days in San Cristobal Do You Need
By far the most expensive part of the Galapagos Islands is getting there. If you can afford a budget of 40$ per day, we recommend staying 3 days in San Cristobal to get the full experience without rushing.
In case you want to go on the 360° tour or scuba dive at Kicker Rock, plan for at least one more day – and also to ditch your 40$ budget.
San Cristobal Galapagos Itinerary for under 40$ per Day
Day 1 – Interpretation Centre, Tijeretas Viewpoint & Dock, Playa Punta Carola & Playa Mann
Start at the Interpretation Centre before you make your way to the Tijeretas viewpoint & snorkelling dock. On your way back, loop around to Playa Punta Carola and make one last stop at Playa Mann for a drink and sunset.
Total cost 26$:
- 16$ Accommodation
- 10$ Food
- 0$ Activities
Day 2 – La Loberia & Downtown
In the morning, head to La Loberia to swim with sea turtles, sea lions, and marine iguanas.
In the afternoon, stroll along the malecon – and spot even more sea lions.
Total cost 26$:
- 16$ Accommodation
- 10$ Food
- 0$ Activities
Day 3 – Highlands
Tour El Junco volcano crater, the Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Terrestres David Rodriguez, and Playa Puerto Chino.
Total cost 51$:
- 16$ Accommodation
- 10$ Food
- 25$ Activities
Where to Eat in San Cristobal on a Budget
While we found restaurants on the Galapagos Islands to be notoriously expensive, there’s a variety of budget-friendly food options:
- We found the cheapest menu del dia (5$) at the food court on the second floor of the market building.
- Restaurante El Encanto also offers an affordable and yummy menu del dia (6$).
- We were surprised to find a 6$ menu del dia at Arena Blanca with a sea view right at Playa Mann.
- Some bakeries like Panadería Super Sammy are super affordable!
We managed to keep our food budget below 10$ per day, eating oatmeal for breakfast, something affordable from the bakery for lunch (also great to take with you on your adventures), and a cheap menu del dia in the evening.
San Cristobal Tips
ATMs in San Cristobal
We used the Pacific Bank ATM at the municipal market, which worked fine. We also saw various ATMs walking around the Malecon area (more than on Google Maps).
Supermarkets in San Cristobal
We mostly used Foods & Healthy Market because it was close to our accommodation, had transparent price tags, and we could pay by credit card. We also saw plenty of other shops dotted around.
Internet in San Cristobal
Overall, the internet is not great on the Galapagos Islands. The WiFi at our accommodation worked well enough for video calls. We were also happy with the connection of our Airalo eSIM card. hallo
Is San Cristobal Safe
The Galapagos Islands are remote and sparsely populated. Crime rarely travels here. Most travel advisories deem Galapagos safe – even if the rest of Ecuador is not. Of course, you should not throw carefulness overboard completely.
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