Almost everyone will visit Santa Cruz during a Galapagos stay.
It’s popular because of the incredible variety of habitat and animals go alongside its strategic location.
The famous Charles Darwin Centre is a must, as is a visit to see Giant Tortoises and a kayak in the turquoise waters at Garrapatero beach.
There are a plethora of great dive and snorkel sites nearby, lively bars and some good beaches for relaxing, like Tortuga Bay.
Most cruises start or end here, and the majority of flights come to Santa Cruz, plus there are many accommodation options, from basic to luxury.
Curious, dark sand greets the visitor to this centrally-located island.
Marine iguanas may join you for a snorkel after warming up in the sun, along with white-tipped reef sharks, rays, surgeon and parrotfish and turtles.
Crabs, sea lions and spectacular blowholes line the shore.
On the other side of the island, red sand cliffs are home to many seabirds, and Bucaneer cove tells its own whaling and pirate history.
A group of nearby small rocky islands called Bainbridge Rocks feature a stunning, turquoise saltwater lagoon that is home to flamingos.
Santiago de Cuba lies at the foot of the Sierra Maestra Mountains on the southern coast of the island and has around 500,000 inhabitants.
It is the second largest city in Cuba after Havana, and is undoubtedly the most important city for Cuban music and dance, and the local people are known for their warm hospitality.
The city has a strong cultural identity, evident in numerous dance and music groups based here and the variety of music venues.
The historic centre is a mix of colonial style architecture and grand civic buildings. The promenade area of La Alameda has been renovated recently and the central avenue of Enramadas is pedestrianised, offering the chance to browse a wide range of shops, craft markets and to enjoy the many bars and restaurants.
The Sierra Maestra mountain area is the highest part of Cuba, with Pico Turquino at 1,974m (6,477ft) the highest peak in Cuba.
The Sierra Maestra has a long history of guerrilla warfare. After Fidel Castro returned to Cuba in 1956 from exile, he and the few other survivors from the failed 1953 attack on Moncada Barracks hid out in Sierra Maestra.
This is where they planned and started the revolution that eventually overthrew Fulgencio Batista on 1 January 1959.
La Comandancia, Fidel Castro’s secret hideout is now a national monument and museum.
One of the highlights of your trip is likely to be the iconic red dunes at Sossusvlei, a formidable sea of rolling sand.
The light over the vast sea of dunes is most stunning at sunrise and sunset and it’s well worth making an extra effort to get out and explore before the heat kicks in.
Climbing to the top of a dune is worth the effort. From the top you can see the vleis, the Afrikaans word for a shallow depression sometimes filled with water.
Water is normally scarce here but life still exists. You will see the tiny track of the toktokkie beetle. Other creatures have evolved to live under the hot sand such as the shovel-snouted lizard and Grant’s golden mole.
Black-backed jackal, springbok and ostrich, and larger animals like Gemsbok (oryx) that can last weeks without drinking water have evolved to live in this extremely hostile environment.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Get in Touch
+44 (0)131 378 5593
+44 (0)131 554 6025
info@andeantrails.co.uk
M. Cook and D. Heyburn. Jan 2025, Paine Circuit Self-Guided. UK » Paine O Circuit Full Trek: Self-Guided
Deb O. and Lisa B., USA, Self-guided Tailormade Patagonia, Feb 2025. There were so many highlights! The summits and glacier excursions were magnificent. We were blessed with great weather most of the time. Having our own guide in Chalten was great and our guide was fantastic! There were a lot of details to this trip and they all came together nicely. The accommodations were very good. Very clean -no complaints. Guides were wonderful. Food was amazing -everything homemade. I think we benefited the local people. We acknowledged their services with appropriate tips and we patronized many local establishments while there. I can’t think of anything right now that I would do differently! Patagonia has been a “bucket list” trip for me. I will turn 60 and retire this year so it was my treat to myself. It was everything I hoped it would be. I hope it doesn’t change with the ever increasing tourism. It’s such a special place. They are very proud of their heritage and it deserves to be preserved. We found Andean Trails online and the e reviews were good and prices reasonable. It was a leap of faith that paid off. Thank you so much for bringing this experience to me.
» Patagonia Highlights Trekking Trip
