La Loberia Beach
In San Cristobal, Galapagos
- Last Updated: September 23, 2024
La Loberia beach is the best place to go on San Cristobal island if you like surfing and also want to see sea lions and marine iguanas.
It’s easily accessible, it’s free to go and you can enjoy an amazing day on this beach.
The beach’s name in English basically means “Place of the sea wolfs”, as Lobería comes from lobos mariños which oddly is the Spanish word for these cute sea lions.
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Where is La Loberia Beach?
The beach is located about 3kms from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno town, on the Southwestern tip of San Cristobal Island.
If you’re like me and caught a late flight to San Cristobal or you just have the afternoon available to explore, please do visit La Loberia. It’s one of the few free places in the Galapagos and if you’re lucky you can have a beautiful surf afternoon with a gorgeous sunset.
Usually is not packed at all so you will have plenty of space for yourself.
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La Loberia Beach: Curiosities
La Loberia beach has its name as I said before from being the place where you usually found the majority of the colonies of sea lions on San Cristobal Island, however today most of them have relocated downtown to the Playa de Los Lobos beach next to the main pier of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
According to what is said locally this shift has happened due to some man hurting the sea lions in La Loberia beach forcing them to leave that place and move to the present day more compact and small place downtown.
How To Get to La Loberia Beach?
There are three main ways to reach La Loberia beach in San Cristobal:
By foot, by bike, or by taxi.
- Distance: 3kms.
- Walking time: Around 35 minutes. If you’re a good hiker. Take into consideration you’ve to go up and downhill to get there.
- Taxi duration: Around 10 minutes.
- Taxi cost: Around 2-3 dollars. It depends on your bargaining skills.
What to Bring to La Loberia Beach?
Clothing & Accessories:
- Tshirt: Breathable Tshirt (Tech or Merino), or a Lycra
- Jacket: Waterproof Jacket
- Shorts: Shorts, and Swimming Clothes
- Shoes: Hiking Shoes, and Flip Flops
- Hat: Cap
- Sunglasses
- Dry-fast Towel
- Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag
- Change of Clothes
Useful Extras:
- GoPro/Camera
- Snorkeling Gear: Mask, Tube, and Fins
- Mosquito Repellent: The beaches on the Galapagos islands, especially at sunset, have a lot of mosquitos and usually also horseflies or “Tabanos” as they are called in Spanish and they are silent and leave you with a huge unpleasant swollen bite.
- Surfboard: If you’re a surfer this is one of the best places to surf on the island.
- Sunscreen +50 SPF
- Food / Snacks
- Thermos or Water-filtering Bottle
- First-Aid Kit
Check out my complete guide on What’s in My Backpack – From photography gear, and clothing for Hiking, Mountaineering, Scuba Diving, Rainforest, and City-Street Photography.
What Can i See at La Loberia Beach?
Usually, you will be able to see many sea lions resting on the beach or playing around in the water, marine iguanas sunbathing, beautiful fish and turtles, and if you’re lucky perhaps a blacktip reef shark.
For your own safety and for the animals, don’t touch any of the animals or corals as they are all living things and can get damaged if you do so.
In the special case of sea lions, the human scent left on them when you touch them can make them get kicked out of the colony and later die alone so respect the 2m distance rule from them.
Also for your own safety, the sea lions are the bosses on the Galápagos so avoid being in their path or messing around with baby sea lions (which are the most playful ones) cause their parents might be around and you don’t want to be around an adult male sea lion protecting its cub.
Good luck if you happen to be ahah.
If you want some more information please check the official San Cristobal island website.
My Experience at La Loberia Beach
I went three times to La Loberia beach (two times in April 2022, and one last month April 2023), the first time it was raining on the island and it was just after arriving on the island and the second one was the day before leaving for Santa Cruz Island.
The first time it was raining but the water was warm and pleasant.
So don’t give up on this beach if it happens to be raining, it has a little wooden watch tour where you can hide your belongings from the rain.
When I arrived there was a Swiss young couple waiting for someone else to go inside the water with them cause the guy had some ear problems and the girl had no company to go inside.
I went in with the extra snorkel kit they had and had an amazing experience.
As soon as we got in the water a baby sea lion swam by and started playing around with us, he was super curious about our GoPros and kept swirling and provoking us. I made a small race with him at the distance and he of course won but it was adorable.
Moments later a big sea lion (probably the father) appeared and we moved away from them.
As soon as we turned around we saw three turtles on the bottom and also some beautiful fish. Really incredible experience.
At the end we tried going to some place more to the right and see if there were more sea lions on the water but the current after some corals was too strong and we couldn’t pass, so be careful with currents here if you’re in the water.
The second time I went there I went just to say goodbye to the island as it was the first place I’d visited it made sense to be the last one to visit too.
This time I went with Diogo, (a Portuguese guy I met the day before) and he took his surfboard, we watched a partial sunset and got attacked by mosquitos but it was beautiful anyway.
This time many sea lions were on the beach chilling and some people were swimming too.
Last month, I had the opportunity to visit La Loberia Beach for the third time with a group of friends. It turned out to be a popular holiday, and the beach was filled with people. However, the weather was absolutely amazing, and I was pleasantly surprised to see several sea lions relaxing on the sand. As I explored further, I stumbled upon a lagoon tucked behind the beach, which was home to countless little birds.
One of the most incredible experiences during this visit was witnessing the numerous surfers and bodyboarders riding the waves. Inspired by the lively atmosphere, we decided to indulge in a peaceful yoga session on the beach.
Whether it’s a sunny or rainy day, I highly recommend paying a visit to La Loberia Beach. Its beauty is truly captivating!
