Plaza Sur is a small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz Island. It has an area of ​​11.9 hectares and a maximum altitude of 23 meters. Despite its small size it is home to a large number of species and is famous for its extraordinary flora.

On Plaza Sur Island there is an important colony of land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus), which are the smallest in the entire archipelago and survive thanks to the fruits and flowers of the opuntia cacti, which are very abundant on the islet. With a steep cliff filled with nesting gulls, Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, red-billed whitetails, frigatebirds, pelicans and Audubon's shearwater.

Snorkel in Punta Carrión, one of the places to observe sharks, sea turtles and many fish. And due to its cliffs it is also very common to observe a wide variety of birds flying over the place.

DEPARTURE TIME 8:00 AM

APPROXIMATE RETURN: 4:00PM

The tour departs from Puerto Ayora at the scheduled time, accompanied by a bilingual Naturalist Guide from the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

We start the tour from Puerto Ayora, taking 45 minutes by bus or taxi to the Itabaca Channel and 1 hour by boat from the Port of Itabaca to Isla Plaza Sur.

The Plazas Islands are actually two islands, although visitors only land on Plaza Sur Island; the channel between the two islets is home to one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the archipelago.

1.- During the South Plaza Island tour you will be able to observe the beautiful hybrid land iguanas that are a cross between land iguanas and marine iguanas. Plazas Islands is the only place where it is possible to observe them and they predominate in this place. It is common to see them feeding on opuntia cacti or resting on rocks.

This island is a wonderful place with golden beaches, green bushes and cacti with a beautiful blue sea in the background, where you can do bird watching. A steep precipice filled with seagulls, Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, red-billed whitetails, frigatebirds, pelicans, and Audubon's shearwaters.

These islands are very peculiar for their vegetation, in the rainy season you will find an island covered with intense green vegetation and during the dry season a reddish orange vegetation.

2.- Snorkeling will be done in Punta Carrión , a place located on the coast of Santa Cruz Island between cliffs and a sandy and rocky bottom among its crystal clear waters.

During snorkeling it is possible to observe large quantities of fish, galapagos sharks, blue sharks, sea turtles and rays.

It should be noted that it is not every day that you can observe the species mentioned above since they are animals that are in their natural environment.