Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz

Tortuga Bay at a glance

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   Santa Cruz — Tortuga Bay

   Tortuga Bay is a long white beach on Santa Cruz reached on foot from Puerto Ayora along a paved trail through cactus forest. It is one of the few National Park sites you can visit without a guide and without paying. There are two beaches: the first one you reach is not for swimming; the sheltered one beyond it is.

Photographs

Tortuga Bay, photographed on our own trips

Our own photographs, not stock. Each caption says exactly where and when it was taken.

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How you get there

On foot

A paved trail from the edge of Puerto Ayora. You sign in at the gate. It is a genuine walk in full sun with no water on the way — take a bottle. There is a closing time and the wardens enforce it.

By water taxi

From the pier in Puerto Ayora straight to the sheltered end. Costs a little, saves the walk, and is what we suggest for anyone travelling with small children or in the middle of the day.

It sits on Santa Cruz, so how you reach the island decides how you reach this.

What you actually see

Playa Brava — the first beach

Long, white, spectacular, and dangerous to swim. The surf breaks hard and there are rip currents. Marine iguanas lie on the sand in numbers and barely register you. Walk it; do not swim it.

Playa Mansa — the far end

Round the point at the end of Playa Brava is a shallow, protected lagoon backed by mangroves. Calm water, white-tipped reef sharks in the shallows, rays over the sand. This is the swimming beach and it is the reason to keep walking.

The cactus forest on the way

The trail runs through tall opuntia. It is not filler — it is where the finches and mockingbirds are, and it is the only stretch with shade.

What goes wrong

We run these trips, so we know what people complain about afterwards. Better to read it here than find out on the day.

People swim at the wrong beach

Playa Brava looks inviting and is not. The current takes people out. The swimming is at the far end, past the point.

Arriving in the middle of the day

Full sun, no shade on the trail, and a closing time at the other end. Early morning or late afternoon is a different place.

Missing the closing time

The site closes in the evening and you must be back through the gate. If you have walked to the far beach, allow for the walk back — it is the same distance and you will be tired.

Who this is not for

Saying this costs us bookings and saves the trip. If any of these is you, tell us and we will build the day differently.

• Anyone expecting facilities. There is no restaurant, no shop, no shade at the beach itself.
• Strong-surf swimmers looking for waves — the safe water is flat and shallow.
• Visitors with mobility limits, unless you take the water taxi.

What lives here

• Marine iguana — In large numbers on Playa Brava, indifferent to people.
• White-tipped reef shark — Resting in the shallows at the sheltered end.
• Galápagos sea lion — Regular at the far beach.
• Darwin’s finches — Throughout the cactus forest on the trail.

Nearby

Every visitor site we have written up → · Santa Cruz, the whole island →