Romance in Puerto Ayora is quiet and outdoors. The town has a waterfront, a few calm beaches, boat trips and highland scenery, and the pleasure is in the setting more than in nightlife. This page collects the options for couples, from a sunset on the sand to a stay in the hills. Prices are in US dollars. Sunset by the water Playa Mansa, Tortuga Bay. The sheltered bay is the best beach for two, with calm water for swimming, snorkelling or a shared kayak.

Puerto Ayora is the largest town in the Galápagos, on Academy Bay (Bahía Academia) on Santa Cruz Island. Most of the best things to do are a short walk, a water taxi hop or a drive into the highlands away, and several of them cost little or nothing. Prices here are in US dollars, so carry cash in small bills for boat taxis, reserves and Las Grietas. Check current government advice before you travel.

Puerto Ayora is a good town for walking, and the best routes need no booking. Some paths are self-guided and others are guided only, because the national park requires a naturalist guide at protected visitor sites. Sun, heat and mud are the main things to prepare for, so bring water, a hat, reef-safe sunscreen and sturdy shoes. Carry small US dollar bills. Self-guided walks Avenida Charles Darwin waterfront. The avenue follows the harbour from the municipal pier east to the Charles Darwin Research Station.

In the Galápagos, most of the places worth seeing can only be visited with a naturalist guide and a licensed operator. That rule covers every protected park visitor site, including all landings on uninhabited islands. From Puerto Ayora, the tours below are the ones that come up most, and the details are worth knowing before you pay a deposit. How tours work here Only the town beaches, the Tortuga Bay trail, Playa de los Alemanes and the Avenida Charles Darwin waterfront are self-guided.

Most sightseeing in Puerto Ayora happens on foot around Academy Bay, with a few stops further out on Santa Cruz Island. The core sights are the research station, the waterfront and the beaches. The highlands add craters and lava tunnels. Everything is priced in US dollars, so carry cash. Charles Darwin Research Station The station is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00, including holidays, and the exhibition hall is free. Inside are natural history collections and whale skeletons, and the giant tortoise breeding programme has run here since 1965.

Multi-day travel from Puerto Ayora is mostly land-based island hopping. There is no single standard multi-day package out of town, so the usual plan is to sleep on one island at a time and cross between them by fast boat. Cruises are a separate way to see the archipelago, and this page covers the stay-on-land alternative, including pre- and post-cruise time on Santa Cruz. The three-island circuit Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Puerto Villamil (Isabela) and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristóbal) are linked by speedboats called lanchas.

Puerto Ayora suits families because the main sights are close together and many involve animals you can watch from a safe distance. The town is small, the waterfront is easy to walk, and most days can be built around one outing with a rest in between. Prices are in US dollars. Park fees for children Children pay a reduced Galápagos National Park entry fee on arrival, in cash. Currently it is USD 100 for foreign children under 12, and USD 50 for children from Andean Community and Mercosur countries.

Day trips from Puerto Ayora fall into three kinds: boat days to uninhabited islands, a speedboat crossing to Isabela, and half-day outings on Santa Cruz itself. Every landing on an uninhabited island is guide-only and needs a licensed operator, so you book a tour rather than turning up at the dock. Paying the park entry fee on arrival (currently USD 200 for most foreign adults, in cash) is separate from the cost of any day trip.