White sand
Flour-soft.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · David Adam Kess — CC BY-SA 3.0 · David Adam Kess — CC BY-SA 3.0
One of the Galápagos' loveliest beaches, a long stretch of flour-soft white sand on the ocean, reached on foot by a paved path through a forest of giant cacti, about 45 minutes from Puerto Ayora. The first beach, Playa Brava, is wide with strong waves and dangerous currents, so swimming is banned, but it is superb for walking and watching black marine iguanas basking on the rocks by the dozen, plus pelicans and surfers. At its end lies calm Playa Mansa in a bay sheltered by mangroves. At Playa Mansa you swim in calm, shallow water and may see small white-tip reef sharks, sea turtles and rays up close. You can rent kayaks to explore the bay. Register at the start of the path; the site is open by day only. There are no services on the beach, so bring water, food and reef-safe sunscreen. Do not approach or touch the animals. Foreign visitors pay the US$200 national park fee and the US$20 transit card to enter the Galápagos, per 2026 visitor guides.
Flour-soft.
Calm swimming.
A giant forest.
South-west of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island; a paved path of about 2.5 km
Only at calm Playa Mansa; swimming at Playa Brava is banned because of waves and dangerous currents.
