The Galapagos Islands are truly an amazing place – tons of wildlife, but simply unafraid of people. Here are our tips for getting there, having an authentic experience, and not overpaying!
- Fly through Quito. It’s a much safer city than Guayaquil and there are actually things to do there (unlike Guayaquil). Even in Quito you have to be careful though, FYI.
- Book last-minute, unless you’re visiting between June and August (due to it being the high season, with school and summer vacations in the US and Europe).
- You can either book last-minute in Quito or in Santa Cruz (flight would be to “Baltra”, then).
- There are two types of tours: speedboat, and cruise ship. We did speedboat tours – they’re usually cheaper than the cruises, and you stay in hotels on the different islands (which is kind of cool, you can see different restaurants and bars).
- The standard tour goes to about 8 different islands, including the 4 populated ones. These can range from 4 days to 8 or 10. 8 or 10 days is probably too long for just those islands.
- A good “cheap” price target should probably be between $120-$140 per day, all meals and hotels included. Expect to pay more to rent snorkel gear, but not much.
- There are lots of other beautiful islands, like Bartolome. They don’t get included on the standard tours; if you go for a much longer cruise (10+ days), it might be included on your cruise (expect this to be a bit pricier, though).
- If you think you might like it and can budget for it, plan your flights so that you spend 3-5 extra days on Santa Cruz after your tour. You can jump onto one or two all-day tours that are really cool and worthwhile. Again, price between $120-$140 per day for these. A lot of them (like Bartolome) start really early – think 5 am pickup, because it’s a 4-hour boat trip, and the marina is an hour’s drive from the town.
Want to see some of our Galapagos photos? Check them out here.
