Top Things to do in San Cristobal
Top Restaurants in San Cristobal
What to do and see in San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands: The Best Free Things to do
Ages ago, a few volcanoes got together and decided to form an island. Gorgeous San Cristobal is a jewel of the Galapagos, where plump sea lions sun themselves on coral beaches and hermit crabs scuttle along peaceful lagoons. Snorkel or dive at Kicker Rock to explore the intricate remains of a lava cone, spot beautiful wildlife along the walking trails to aptly-named Frigatebird Hill, or frolic—slowly—with the legendarily large tortoises at the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado nature preserve.
Restaurants in San Cristobal
1. Puerto Chino Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 324 reviews
Reviewed By CherieC72 - Sydney, Australia
My husband and I have recently returned from a trip to the Galapagos Islands. The day that we went China Beach on San Cristobal, it was spectacular. Blue sky, perfect small waves, fabulous water temperature and super white sand. It was gorgeous. Coming from Australia where we have amazing beaches, this certainly compared to them. Unfortunately we had no wildlife around on our day, but that didn't spoil it for us. From the car park, I think it is about a 10 - 15 minute walk to the beach along a path where you can see many different cactus. We LOVED it. The only negative for me, is that there is no shade on the beach. I am very fair and really need to try and stay out of the sun if and when possible. However, I did my best to stay protected and we both loved. Take plenty of water and snacks. Enjoy.
2. Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 252 reviews
Reviewed By ChrysalisTravel
Galapagos tortoise breeding center that rescues and raises hatchlings and keeps them in a safe, protected environment for several years until they are old enough to release and have a much better chance at survival in the wild. Monday mornings is feeding day -- enjoy seeing many tortoises together as they come in for nutritious taro leaves.
3. La Loberia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 497 reviews
Reviewed By myom624 - Coquitlam, Canada
After about a 10-minute walk along the seaside trail from the entrance area was arriving at this crescent-shaped beach just with a "moderate length" of about 300 meters (or just about 200 meters of it in a crescent preceded by about 100 meters of a straight line) where unfolded in front of my eyes was an estimate of about 15 adult sea lions (& may be about the same number of tiny young ones) mostly on the sand but also some in the water, and yes that "amazing spectacle" (without exaggeration since it was really pretty much the "next-to-best" scene featured on my Galapagos tourist card which features a number of sea lions on the long Tortuga Bay beach on Santa Cruz which I found in reality was just with iguanas and no sea lions at all) was what made my "day trip" to this island "absolutely worthwhile" (and that despite a pretty limited time of only about 6 hours spent on the Island before returning to Santa Cruz); also quite enjoyable at this beach site apart from seeing the sea lions was the wide-open sea view (although this beach being nowhere in comparable length to the Tortuga Bay beach on Santa Cruz & the "long beach" on Isabela), and yes it's actually from the trail to it than from the beach itself I would say that the sea view is a "more mesmerizing" one (with also a "high ridge" at some distance seen past the water). Leaving Santa Cruz at about 6 45 am on the boat LP Andy II (a round trip ticket of about 70 US$ which you can just get on like the day before from the ticket office near the pier on the "west end" of Ave. Charles Darwin) for about a 2.5-hour ride with my arrival time shortly after 9 am at the boat dock of this island, it was also pretty easy to find a taxi on the waterfront street for just a 5-to-10-minute ride to this beach site (actually only after breakfast at a 2-storied restaurant just across the street from the boat dock). And with only somewhat over an hour spent at this site (won't need much more at this relatively small beach unless you plan to swim), I walked about 40 minutes back to the town's waterfront passing by: this island's airport (which is right alongside the "solitary road" leading from this site shortly after leaving), the nice "street art scenes" (featuring some Galapagos animals & such) along a street section, the big fish statue (a marlin or such with a long snout) at a small roundabout where nearby is also a playground with a big "bronze sea lion", and the sizeable "name sign" of this island (a beautiful one if you look closely with each letter kind of "artistically designed") which is displayed right on the waterfront. And yes, back on the waterfront with still about 2 hours to spend before the "return boat" at 3 pm, it was a nice time spent watching the boats in the water & the sea lions on shore (including those among the rocks around the boat dock where actually I saw just about the same number of them as had been seen at this beach site).
4. Playa Punta Carola
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 74 reviews
Beach with snorkeling, wildlife, lighthouse
Reviewed By J5694RXleer
Lots of sea lions everywhere! We stopped here after a short hike up to Cerro Tijeretas. We knew San Cristobal had quite a few sea lions, but this place had the most sea lions of the places we saw. Lots of fun watching them, and at one point two bull sea lions got territorial with each other and were fighting. The bull sea lions can get aggressive if they feel their territory is being infringed upon, so it pays to be aware of your surroundings and walk away if one of them gets testy. Took lots of photos and wished we had brought some snorkel gear to get in the water!
5. Cerro Tijeretas
6. Playa Mann
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 224 reviews
Reviewed By duhoz - Beroun, Czech Republic
One of my favorite beach even it is not spectacular beach as the others. The reason is that early morning, while being alone on the beach and in the sea I got chance to swim with juvenile sea lions who came to me to play with me . The day before they came to try me shoes. Unforgettable experience. The beach very clean, with plenty of shade, with showers, toilets and restaurant.. Also some street-food stalls nearby, Sea water clear, on low tide be aware of some stones or rocks. Apart from sea lions plenty of crabs, iguanas and fishes can be spotted here. It is easy – minutes walk from down town.
7. Cerro Tijeretas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 349 reviews
Reviewed By J5694RXleer
A nice hike that's easily accessible from town. We only had one full day on San Cristobal to explore (wish we had more, there's plenty to do here!) and spent part of the afternoon walking up to Cerro Tijeretas. There's a path that connects this to the interpretation center, Playa Carola, and a few other viewpoints. The pathway is paved and easy to navigate. We wished we had more time to snorkel at one of the bays, but didn't have the gear/time to do so.
8. Catedral Inmaculada Concepcion
9. Malecon San Cristobal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31 reviews
Reviewed By Ali921 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This can be a start point or end point for cruises. If it's the end then this will be no different from Santa Cruz and if it's the start then the animals and sea front will look interesting. Full of souvenirs shops and cafes. Just nice to promenade up and down taking in life. It's a busy place full of locals (all involved in the tourist trade) and tourists looking to spend their last bit of currency.
