San Cristobal island, Galapagos is the perfect starting point or base for a Galapagos holiday.
The Galapagos Islands have long had the reputation of being out of reach of the budget traveller. When planning my trip, I found a real lack of information online about how to visit the Galapagos Islands on a budget, without taking an expensive cruise or loads of expensive day trips.
San Cristobal island in the Galapagos is a place that can be enjoyed on almost any budget. It is easy to spend a lot of money in the Galapagos. However there are also many things you can do to can keep your costs lower. Here is everything you need to know about visiting San Cristobal island in the Galapagos on a budget.
Getting to San Cristobal island, Galapagos
San Cristobal is one of the easiest islands to access as it has an airport with direct flight connections to mainland Ecuador. This is where we flew in and it is a great place to start your Galapagos Islands holiday.
I’ve written another more general post about the Galapagos and everything you need to know before you arrive. This details more practical information about the arrivals process, tourist card and park entrance fees etc. You can read it here.
The airport in San Cristobal is located right near the main town, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. If you want to keep your costs low, you can walk to most of the accommodation in town. It will take around 20 minutes.
There are also plenty of taxis around if you have heavy bags.
There is no toilet in the arrivals area of the airport, but if you exit and head left, you will find toilets and a few shops in the departures area.
If you are travelling to San Cristobal from another island, tickets can be booked at one of the many tour agencies in the main town on each island. Tickets are generally $30. For each route there is a morning and an afternoon boat, usually leaving at 7am and 3pm. You can check updated times for boats here.
Getting around in San Cristobal
Good news for the budget traveller, most of the places you will want to visit around San Cristobal are easily walkable. If you’re travelling out of town, you will likely be on a day tour which includes transportation.
There are also taxis available in the town and they are generally pretty reasonably priced.
Where to stay in San Cristobal island, Galapagos
The main town on San Cristobal island is called Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. There are plenty of accommodation options here to suit all budgets. Here are a few top rated options.
Best budget accommodation options on San Cristobal island, Galapagos
The cheapest places to stay in the Galapagos are generally family-run guesthouses.
We stayed at Hostal Nathaly and really enjoyed our stay. We found it to be the best value option on San Cristobal at the time. There seems to be more of this style of accommodation popping up all the time though, so it’s worth checking on Booking.com for other similar options.
Best mid-range accommodation options on San Cristobal island, Galapagos
If you’re looking for a bit more comfort, Hotel Islas Galapagos is a great mid-range option. It is in a nice quiet location close to everything. It offers more hotel style facilities such as luggage storage and tour bookings.
Best luxury accommodation options on San Cristobal island, Galapagos
The overall best option if you’re ok with spending a bit of cash is the Hotel Casa Blanca. There are more luxurious options on the island but Hotel Casa Blanca is in the perfect location with sea views and a great bar/restaurant downstairs.
Do I need to do a tour or cruise in the Galapagos?
I’m going to start this off by saying “No!”. You can absolutely have a great time in the Galapagos islands without paying for an expensive cruise or land based tour.
There are obvious advantages to doing a cruise. You can access different islands and have all your food, transport and accommodation taken care of. Anyone that has done a cruise in the Galapagos will likely tell you that it is the best/only way to see the islands.
I personally haven’t done a cruise, so can only speak from my own experience. I had an amazing time just exploring the islands at my own pace, hiking, snorkelling and doing a few organised day tours.
If a cruise is out of your budget, don’t let it stop you from visiting the Galapagos. I met lots of people on my travels that also travelled to the Galapagos islands on a budget, and no one was disappointed!
Free/cheap things to do in San Cristobal island, Galapagos
There are a lot of activities to do in San Cristobal that won’t break your budget but are still super unique and special. Here are some of the best things to do in San Cristobal island, Galapagos.
Visit the Interpretation Centre
The Interpretation Centre on San Cristobal island is a great way to start your time in the Galapagos. It has a lot of interesting information about the formation and history of the islands. Here you can learn about the volcanic origins of the islands, their unique climate and how different species arrived and evolved.
There is also a room dedicated to the human history of the island. You can learn about the impacts of colonisation and some of the important conservation programs that exist on the island today.
You only need about an hour here and you can combine it with a walk to Cerro Tijeretas.
Walk up to Cerro Tijeretas (Frigate Bird Hill)
A trip to Cerro Tijeretas is one of the best things to do in San Cristobal, Galapagos. Named Frigate Bird Hill because of the large amount of frigate bird nests located along the pathway.
The male frigate birds inflate a red coloured pouch near their throats to attract females during mating season. The best time to spot this is from March to May. If you’re there outside of this time, you can still enjoy the beautiful views from the hill over the surrounding beaches.
Along this walk is a great snorkelling spot, down hill from the Charles Darwin statue. Make sure you bring your own snorkel and mask because it is well worth having a look under the water here. You can swim with sea turtles, rays and sea lions as well as vibrantly coloured fish. Snorkelling is one of the best things to do in San Cristobal!
Have a sunset beer at Playa Mann
Playa Mann is one of the busier beaches on the island and might be too crowded for some. Unlike most of the other beaches, there is a restaurant and a kiosk where you can buy ice creams and beers. I don’t recommend it as a snorkelling spot, but it is the perfect place to come and have a beer and watch the sunset.
There is a sea lion colony that live at the beach which make for an entertaining afternoon. If you’re after a quieter place to watch the sunset, Playa Punta Carola is nearby and also offers up one of the best sunsets in San Cristobal, Galapagos.
Eat at MUYU restaurant
Eat at MUYU restaurant. MUYU restaurant was named one of Latin America’s top 50 restaurants in 2020. If you’re on a budget, it might be a bit of a splurge meal. Or, you can go for breakfast! The breakfast menu is really reasonably priced, the coffee is great and you can watch the sea lions playing on the beautiful Playa de Oro from your table.
They also have the best internet I found anywhere on the Galapagos. You can pay on card with no extra charge.
Walk around downtown Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
One of the most unique things about the Galapagos islands is that so much of the wildlife can be experienced just by strolling through town.
Walking along the water, near the ferry dock, you will be able to see sea lions, iguanas, crabs and tons of other bird and marine life. This would be a great activity if travelling with children because there is a boardwalk where you can view the sea lions swimming around making a racket. We watched a group of baby sea lions ducking and diving in the water. It was so cute!
Visit Playa La Loberia
La Loberia beach is located about 3km north of the town. It’s a white sand beach where you can see marine iguanas and swim with playful sea lions.
To get there, you can either walk or take a taxi from downtown for around $2-5.
There is a decent surf break there and we saw quite a few surfers catching waves while we were there.
There isn’t a lot of shade around so make sure you bring sunscreen. If you plan on going in the afternoon, it is also a good idea bring insect repellent. There aren’t any facilities at this beach, so bring all the food and water that you will need.
The best tours in San Cristobal island, Galapagos
There is a wide selection of day tours that you can do from San Cristobal island, Galapagos. You can explore around the town and some nearby beaches independently, but to venture further out you will need to do a certified tour.
Walking around San Cristobal you will have no shortage of options for tour agencies. It is worth asking around for prices because some agencies will do last minute pricing for the next day. Here are some of the most popular and highly rated tours in San Cristobal island, Galapagos.
360 tour – circumnavigate San Cristobal island
The 360 tour is by far the most popular tour in San Cristobal. It is a boat tour that circumnavigates the entire island. A highlight is snorkelling at Kicker Rock, a towering rock formation out in the ocean. We saw so many sea turtles, sea lions, eagle rays, sharks and a ball of fish that was HUGE.
The tour also visits some secluded beaches and snorkelling spots that are absolutely incredible. If you can only do one tour in San Cristobal island, it has to be the 360.
You can book the tour at most tour agencies in town. If you are visiting during high season, or just prefer to book in advance, check out this tour on Viator.
Kicker Rock diving trip
If you’re a qualified diver, diving at Kicker Rock is one of the best things to do in San Cristobal. It is recommended that divers have their Advanced Open Water certification for this location. If you’re Open Water certified with enough diving experience, it is still worth going into a shop to chat about your options.
We only did a snorkelling trip to Kicker Rock, which was still AMAZING! But we did see a couple of hammerhead sharks quite deep below us. The SCUBA divers got to see them a lot closer and I’m still infinitely jealous!
Practical information for visiting San Cristobal island on a budget
As with all of the Galapagos islands that you can visit independently, there are a few hidden costs.
- If you are catching a boat from another island, you will need to pay $1 pier tax when you arrive in San Cristobal. You will also need $1 for the water taxi to take you from the pier to the boat, and then again for the boat to the pier when you arrive. Make sure you have this in small cash.
- There are 2 ATMs on San Cristobal where you can withdraw US dollars.
- If you need to do washing, San Cristobal is the cheapest island to do so. There are lots of small family-run laundries that will wash and dry your clothes for $1.50 per kilo.
- WiFi is generally not very good, particularly at smaller guesthouses or hostels. Head to MUYU restaurant at Playa de Oro for a drink if you need some reliable internet speeds.
No trip to the Galapagos is complete without visiting beautiful Isabela island. Check out my post about how to visit Isabela island here!
