Playa Punta Carola
Playa Punta Carola
4.5
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Beach with snorkeling, wildlife, lighthouse
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48 within 3 miles
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15 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
83 reviews
Excellent
40
Very good
33
Average
9
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Lee R
Caribbean17 contributions
Sep 2020
Lots of sea lions everywhere! We stopped here after a short hike up to Cerro Tijeretas. We knew San Cristobal had quite a few sea lions, but this place had the most sea lions of the places we saw. Lots of fun watching them, and at one point two bull sea lions got territorial with each other and were fighting. The bull sea lions can get aggressive if they feel their territory is being infringed upon, so it pays to be aware of your surroundings and walk away if one of them gets testy. Took lots of photos and wished we had brought some snorkel gear to get in the water!
Written September 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just Joe
Napa, CA203 contributions
Jan 2024 • Solo
Stunning beach to relax, snorkel, swim, or paddle out to surf. Quiet, beautiful, uncrowded, great to hike to. LOTS of fish/wildlife for snorkeling, sea lions everywhere. Best place on island for sunset. Highly recommend.
Written January 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janine S
Temecula, CA10 contributions
Jan 2022
Great little place to snorkel and be with the sea lions not too far away from town. We rented gear and got in our first day here. We were able to see lots of fish, turtles, and the sea lions were playing with us.
Written January 31, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jennifer
Montreal, Canada22 contributions
Dec 2015
Do you want to see turtles, sea lions, rays and schools of fish without having to dive? Punta Carola is the place to go. At only a 15-minute walk from Playa Man, and about 30 minutes from the passenger dock, Punta Carola is one of the easiest places to recommend. You could alternatively take a taxi to the entrance of the trail to the beach, which is about a 5 to 7 minute walk. Surfing and checking out the lighthouse are two other activities to do here.
Written December 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FlightlessBird75
Sydney, Australia192 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
This beach is a short walk from town, you can take the path through the Interpretation centre or walk to the end of the dirt road and there is a rocky path leading to the beach. The path through the Interpretation centre does go up the hill.
There is no shade or shop here so bring your own drinks.
The beach was empty when we arrived just sea lions, iguanas and birds.
The cove did have a lot of plastic that had washed up so we spent about 20min picking up plastic. It didn't take long to pick up and hopefully removing the plastic will help the animals.
There is no shade or shop here so bring your own drinks.
The beach was empty when we arrived just sea lions, iguanas and birds.
The cove did have a lot of plastic that had washed up so we spent about 20min picking up plastic. It didn't take long to pick up and hopefully removing the plastic will help the animals.
Written November 6, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ricardo R
Mogi das Cruzes, SP1,882 contributions
Oct 2018 • Solo
Great beach to visit in the morning to watch sea lions behavior and marine iguanas or at sunset for the best view of all San Cristóbal beaches.
To get there pass playa Mann entrance and goon the road, it´s also possible to reach this beach from the Tijeretas Hill path, there are signs pointing the direction.
If you try to take photos of sea lions with sunset at background maybe you need to use flashlight but remember in Galapagos it´s not allowed to use it when taking photos of animals, you will be warning by a guardian park, there is Always one of them around.
To get there pass playa Mann entrance and goon the road, it´s also possible to reach this beach from the Tijeretas Hill path, there are signs pointing the direction.
If you try to take photos of sea lions with sunset at background maybe you need to use flashlight but remember in Galapagos it´s not allowed to use it when taking photos of animals, you will be warning by a guardian park, there is Always one of them around.
Written November 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jacquelyn J
52 contributions
Jan 2018 • Friends
This is one of the beaches they don't recommend you swim in because of the tides, so I'm a bit confused by some of the other reviews... You can definitely surf here and it's a great place to see the sea lions without so many people. We got the best photos of babies here.
Written January 30, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Blabbott
Aurora, IL683 contributions
Jan 2016 • Family
There isn't much shade available here, but you may not need it as you will be in the water so much. Because of the abundance of moss on the rocks under the water here, it is a great place to see turtles and if you're lucky some marine iguanas munching away. The stirring up of the moss does make the visibility less than ideal, but the animals are often so preoccupied with eating that you can get closer than you normally would.
Written January 11, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beth P
Sydney, Australia18 contributions
Feb 2015 • Solo
Beautiful beach which has the perfect mix of swimming, sand for relaxing, Sea Lions for watching and taking photos, and even surfing if you head out of the bay. Great place for watching the sunset in the evening (if its not peak time).
If you're up for it and wearing decent shoes, head to the lighthouse and the rocks on the far side of the beach. You can see pelicans, sea lions, blue footed boobies, crabs and Iguana. HOWEVER, be aware that there are slippery and loose rocks, waves and wildlife so you need to be careful. Furthermore, if a park ranger tells you to leave, listen to them, they are doing it for the safety of you and the wildlife.
Overall my favourite place on the island, with great views and wildlife.
If you're up for it and wearing decent shoes, head to the lighthouse and the rocks on the far side of the beach. You can see pelicans, sea lions, blue footed boobies, crabs and Iguana. HOWEVER, be aware that there are slippery and loose rocks, waves and wildlife so you need to be careful. Furthermore, if a park ranger tells you to leave, listen to them, they are doing it for the safety of you and the wildlife.
Overall my favourite place on the island, with great views and wildlife.
Written September 17, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Archie
Glenmoore, PA7,749 contributions
Jan 2022 • Family
This was such an amazing experience. We walked here after our hike around the area. We encountered so many sea lion colonys. Mamma and babies. They were absolutely incredible. We were amazed by the number of sea lions playing in the water. The male sea lion protecting his turf. The babies playing around with each other. You can all evening watching them. Its a must visit.
Written January 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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