The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador is one of my favorite places we’ve EVER been! I quite literally cried multiple times in our 10 days there just because of how incredible the whole experience was. Something you should absolutely consider for your itinerary is Las Grietas, Galapagos!

What exactly IS Las Grietas, Galapagos?

Located on the island of Santa Cruz, Las Greitas, Galapagos translates to “the cracks”. This brackish pool spans 32 feet (10 metes) deep between two towering cliffs formed from a crack in the earth. If like me you forgot what brackish water is – it’s when fresh and salt water mix! The pool is fed from a fresh water river on one side, and the ocean on the other. It’s a popular swimming hole for locals and tourists alike, and a really unique spot to spend some time taking a dip in the cool waters.

Because it’s a mix of salt and fresh water, there’s not much underwater life to see, but we did see a few river looking fish, and one very large and very colorful parrot fish! Other than that, the water is just crystal clear and empty straight down to the bottom of the earth (kidding, just down the 32 feet haha).

Is It Worth the Time?

Honestly I think that depends! If you have a few days in Santa Cruz, then YES! Absolutely! But if you only have one day, or even just a few hours before/after you get on/off a catamaran tour, I’d recommend visiting Tortuga Bay instead. It’s on the most pristine and beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen in the world.

Cost to Visit Las Grietas, Galapagos

Las Grietas on it’s own is free. The only costs you will have to pay depends on how you get there!

What to Wear

Clothing: I’d recommend wearing shorts, and a tank top or t-shirt. It can get REALLY hot, so you’ll want to be wearing something breathable. Make sure to have your bathing suit on underneath or at least bring it with you to change into! (If you bring it to change into, there’s no where to change, you’ll just have to do it under a towel or in front of everyone haha)

Shoes: waterproof shoes are a must in my opinion since you have to walk on some slippery rocks to actually swim in Las Grietas Galapagos and the path there can be pretty muddy. I personally wore my Mephisto sandals for the mini-hike (but probably should’ve worn my waterproof Teva boots) and then changed into my Chacos once we got there!

What to Bring

Underwater Phone Case: I am SO MAD at myself for not having this underwater phone case before we went to the Galapagos. The amount of photos and videos I didn’t get because I didn’t have it hurts my soul. Guess I just have to go back and do it all again! I have it now and have used it for over a year all over the world and love it!

Snorkel & Mask: if you go on a tour they will provide you with a snorkel and mask. Personally, we travel with our own set which we invested in AFTER we got tired of the low quality ones in the Galapagos. We also travel with our own set of travel fins, but you won’t really need those for Las Grietas Galapagos.

Travel Towel: we pretty much never travel anywhere without our compact travel towel. This was no exception! If you swim, you will definitely want to be able to dry off afterwards before walking back through the lava fields.

Binoculars: I’d HIGHLY recommend bringing a pair of binoculars with you to the Galapagos! We had a really tiny like $10 pair which was just okay, but now we travel with these binoculars which are AWESOME and come with a phone attachment so you can take pictures through the binos!

How to Get to Las Grietas, Galapagos

If you weren’t already aware of this, most things you do in the Galapagos will require a naturalist guide. They do this to ensure that the wild life and flora are being protected and experienced in a sustainable way. If you’d rather adventure on your own, Las Grietas is one of the things you can do in Santa Cruz without needing to hire a guide!

Option 1: Paid Tour

In my opinion, the easiest way to visit is with a guide on a mini Santa Cruz tour. We did one with Chamaco Tours and paid $55.00 for 2 people, including tips. The tour lasted around 4 hours and included:

• Loberia (the Sea Lion island), we snorkeled here but didn’t actually see any sea lions. Lots of colorful fish though!
• Canal de Tiburones – a little canal with beautifully colored milky turquoise water frequented by small reef sharks. You don’t swim here, just look at it from above.
• Canal del Amor – the local saying is this canal is named the “canal of love” because it’s where local high school kids come to get a little ~alone time~. Regardless of where it got it’s name, it’s a really pretty canal, we saw a few small sharks swimming here too! Again, no swimming here, you just can walk down to the platform to admire the bright colors of the water.

There are LOTS of tour companies offering very similar (if not exactly the same) tours. You shouldn’t be afraid to walk around and get prices from multiple vendors to get the best deal, this is expected! And don’t just say yes to the first price they throw out! It’s not uncommon to get the tour for 30% – 50% less than the originally quoted price. They’re not trying to rip you off, just seeing what they can get you to say yes to!

Option 2: Visit On Your Own

If you would rather visit on your own, you will need to go to the main dock area in Puerto Ayora, the Malecon, and get a water taxi. Ask the water taxi to take you to the other side, or you can tell them to take you to Angermeyer Point, either way they will know what you mean! The water taxi only takes a few minutes and shouldn’t cost you more than a few dollars.

Once you get off the boat, follow the walking path signs for Finch Bay Hotel. You’ll follow the path around a stone wall, the path looks unassuming at first, but chances are you see other people on it. Worst case if you get a little confused just turn around & go the other way, you really can’t get too lost out here as long as you stay on the paths, you’re surrounded by houses and hotels!

The last 15 minutes of the walk you quite literally can’t get lost unless you try to trudge through cactus forests because there’s only one path! You’ll walk past a few salt pools, which depending on the season may be dried up – when we were there it was very wet, and pink! The rest of the walk will be through lava fields and possibly mud puddles. You’ll pass lots of cactus trees, finches, and maybe even some colorful lizards!

What to Expect When Visiting Las Grietas, Galapagos

Regardless of whether you go on a tour or do it on your own, you’ll start your trek to Las Grietas, Galapagos the same way: with that hike through the lava fields surrounded by cactus trees. Fun fact: these awesome cactus trees are called Opuntia Cacti and are actually descendants of the prickly pear cactus! According to our guide, these cactus trees have fruits that are LOVED by the Galapagos tortoises. The tortoises use their tough shells to break off the spikes so they can safety get to the fruit. What BLEW MY MIND is that these trees have evolved so that once they’re tall enough to where the tortoises can’t reach the top, they stop producing spikes on the lower trunk because they don’t need them anymore! Nature is WILD y’all. Anyways – back to Las Grietas Galapagos.

Once you get to the end of the trail, you’ll be able to look down and see the pool beneath you! Be careful, it can be slippery up here so I wouldn’t recommend getting too close to the edge. To the right you will see a (semi-sketchy) wooden staircase down to the pool. Put waterproof shoes on before going down. From there you will be able to jump right off the little platform into the pool for a nice swim!

Bring your snorkel and underwater phone case and swim all the way to the end, or just float around and enjoy the unique pool! If you swim to the end, you can actually climb out and see another small pool on the other side. It was REALLY slippery so we opted to not try to go any further.

PS: you may see locals or brave souls jumping from the top of Las Grietas Galapagos into the pool. I would NOT recommend this. You have to be super careful which areas to jump into. Any slight misstep and you could end up really injuring yourself. There’s lots of places you can safely dock or cliff jump into the water in the Galapagos, just not here!

Time to Head Back!

If you go on a tour, you’ll have about 30 minutes allotted here. If you went on your own, enjoy anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours here, then dry off and head back along the same path you came. Once you make it back to the dock you can get another water taxi to take you back to the main pier of Puerto Ayora.

The best way to finish off a visit to Last Grietas Galapagos? Getting a beer at Santa Cruz Brewery and watching the sunset from their rooftop patio!

Have you been to Las Grietas? Or have any questions about visiting? Let me know in the comments below!