A Hiker’s Guide to Playa Baquerizo, Galápagos

The hike to Playa Baquerizo is one that few visitors to the Galapagos Islands undertake. It is not your typical walking trail maintained for tourists and cruisers. This is a local trail, often overgrown in areas.

At only 2 km in length, it doesn’t sound very difficult at all, but there is a considerable amount of scrambling to be done, and it does go up and down the edge of Tijeretas on San Cristobal Island, so expect to have to do a bit of a hike up at the end upon your return.

The top of Tijeretas is where this trail begins. That means you’ll already have hiked a decent amount from town to get here, so the 4 km roundtrip distance to Playa Baquerizo is really only about half of the overall hike you’re going to have to do — keep that in mind.

By far, the best time to do this hike is early morning, before the sun comes up over Tijeretas and starts to bake everything. There is little shelter along this trail, which opens up to some beaches and stunted shrub forests after circling around Darwin Bay.

Expect to see plenty of frigate birds at the start, then likely some blue-footed boobies further along. Marine iguanas will also be quite common along the beach areas that you will pass by.

Depending on tides, there may be next to no actual beach for lounging around. So ideally, a morning that has low tides is best if you want beach time. Snorkelling can be quite choppy, but if you go at slightly higher tides, there may be some areas worth exploring where you will likely be the only people in the water, sharing it with marine iguanas and sea lions.

Watch carefully for the trail markers along this hike. While it is easy at first, after you go past some of the beach areas, the trail turns inland for some time, and meanders through some dense bushes. It can be easy to lose the trail while climbing over sharp and rough lava rocks.

This is a trail that you should not undertake on your own. Be sure to have a hiking partner, and be sure to bring a lot of water (about 4L each is suggested). If you are traveling on your own, then it is easy enough to find a guide in town that will take you here for a reasonable fee.

Once out on the trail, away from town, cell reception will stop working, and nobody else will be around. So go slow and be safe! The reward of this trail is coming across marine iguanas on some isolated beaches, and being able to enjoy the quiet serenity and nature of the Galapagos.

If you’re looking for more of a relaxing, sandy beach experience then stick to Playa Mann, Puerto Chino or Carola Beach or Loberia.

Allow at least 4 hours for the entire experience, especially if you plan to stop to snorkel or take many photos along the way. Don’t forget to sign in at the Interpretation Center as well, which you pass through on the way to Tijeretas. That way if something happens, they will know you haven’t returned.