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.
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Pam and Paul, Australia, Paine W self-guided, Chile. March 2025 As an older non Spanish speaking couple hailing from Australia, booking our 5 day solo Torres del Paine W trek with Andean Trails was the perfect start to realise our adventure. Having all our accommodation, transfers, inclusive meals and comprehensive pack list sorted to suit our itinerary by such knowledgeable, professional and amenable travel experts meant we could focus our efforts entirely on the trek. We were blessed by great weather - a considerable bonus given we took a few hours longer to complete each daily walk as some of the trails were challenging too but the stunning views that unfolded along the trails provided impetus for us to persevere. We also found our walking poles were essential for ascents and descents on steeper slopes. Our last night was a fixed tent camping spot - comfortable enough and allowed for unreal Milky Way stargazing in the wee small hours. Our 3 nights in Refugios were good - took a bit of getting used to sharing space with 4 other bunk bed mates and it helped being organised the night before when setting off for a pre-dawn start with head torches. The food provided was fine and portions adequate to needs and the Chilean staff were all friendly and helpful. In summary whilst we have physically come down from the mountain tops we are still on an emotional high! Our entire Patagonian trip was nourishment for the heart and soul and a truly awesome experience to be immersed in such an incredible, diverse and unique natural environment - the sound of roaring rivers, the thunder of shifting glaciers , the winds through the forest and high peaks further complimented our sensory experience. There are many options for trekkers to explore in terms of walks and destinations within this mighty National Park to suit fitness and/or time constraints. Our advice would be take your time considering what you feel comfortable with challenging yourself (I was certainly apprehensive about my ability to complete the full 70km circuit and we ended up doing less kms towards the end which felt just fine and meant we we could have more time sitting on a rock admiring Grey glacier from a greater distance) and then make it happen, one beautiful step at a time - you might even glimpse a Puma along the way!
Pam Christmas » Self-Guided Paine W Trek
C. Cooper, UK. Photography Tour, Chile and Bolivia, April 2025 We had a truly amazing experience. Chile and Bolivia are stunning. Our guides were professional, knowledgeable and friendly. All of the guides said we had a very well planned itinerary that gave us the best chance of acclimatising to the altitude properly (the hike in Atacama and the trek to the Hot Springs before departing for Bolivia). Our driver in Bolivia was fantastic. He was professional and very competent. Despite the condition of the roads and the amount of time we spent travelling we always felt completely safe. The hotels in Bolivia were basic but charming. Some of the facilities were a bit more rustic than we had expected (no heating and/ or no hot water in the mornings) but we managed. Food was simple but good. Overall, it was a very special trip and has given us a lot of amazing memories. If someone asks what the best part was, I couldn’t decide because there were so many best bits….Moon Valley, the flooded Solar de Uyuni, The Milky Way, Sunsets & Sunrises, the Flamingos at Laguna Colorado. It was exhausting and unforgettable - just how we like it :-) I will eventually get to reviewing my photos and will send you some. Many thanks for your help in organising everything.
C. Cooper » Bolivia Uyuni Salt Flats 4WD Tour
