Puerto Ayora for Couples
A couple’s guide to Puerto Ayora
This is a town for couples who like their romance outdoors and low-key. The best moments here are a shared swim, a boat under the sky and dinner by the harbour. The town is on Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island, and the currency is the US dollar.
Pick your setting
The sheltered beach
Playa Mansa at Tortuga Bay is the beach to choose. Walk the paved 2.5 km trail from the edge of town, which takes 30 to 45 minutes, and sign in at the park booth. The path first meets Playa Brava, a surf beach where rip currents make swimming unsafe, so keep going another 20 minutes or so to Mansa. Its water is calm and you can swim, snorkel or kayak. A water taxi from the pier saves your legs for about USD 10 each way. The beach is open until about 6 pm, so leave time to walk out. The park can shut it without much warning if the sea turns rough.
On the water
A private or small-group sailing tour with a licensed operator is the most intimate boat day. Operators decide the route, the price and the group size, so ask what you are paying for. A naturalist is required at protected landings, and guests keep 2 m from every animal.
The quiet cove
Playa de los Alemanes is across the harbour by a short water taxi and is free to visit. It is on the route to Las Grietas, where a guide can take the two of you for about USD 10 each. Budget 1.5 hours, including the 15 to 20 minute walk.
The harbour at dusk
Avenida Charles Darwin follows the water from the municipal pier to the research station, and it makes a pleasant evening stroll. Dinner here is fresh seafood. Early in the day, the Pelican Bay fish market is the place to see fishermen filleting the catch among pelicans and sea lions, though opening times vary.
A night in the hills
The highlands around Santa Rosa have lodges, and a night there breaks up a harbour-side stay. Read recent reviews and see what is included. During the day, the neighbouring reserves of El Chato and Rancho Primicias let you walk among wild tortoises with a guide for about USD 10 each.
Small things that matter
- Carry cash in small bills.
- Pack reef-safe sunscreen.
- Apply for drone permission about two months before you travel.
- Read the UK’s Ecuador advice before booking. The islands sit outside the mainland areas it advises against.
Read more: multi-day trips from Puerto Ayora covers a longer stay, and the Galápagos Islands guide covers the wider archipelago.
Sources: the Darwin Foundation and the park rules . Search for rooms on Booking.com .