Getting There

How to Reach the Galapagos

The Galapagos has four inhabited islands, each with a main town. Depending on who you speak to, you may hear them referred to by either the island name or the town name - the table below clarifies both.

Flights to the Islands

The Galapagos Islands can only be reached by air. There are no international airports in the Galapagos, so all commercial flights transit through Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) on mainland Ecuador.

Multiple daily flights operate from both cities, especially in the morning, with the latest flights leaving Guayaquil or Quito at ~13:30. So most of the times an overnight stay in either city is required.

If you’re trying to catch a connection coming straight from an international flight, I would recommend allowing at least 2-3 hours between flights, as flights to Galapagos require extra checks before boarding, which we will talk about below.

Two airports serve the Galapagos:

• Baltra Island (GPS) - serves Santa Cruz Island
• San Cristóbal (SCY) - serves San Cristóbal Island

Airlines serving the Galapagos:

• LATAM Ecuador
• Avianca Ecuador

Flight time from Guayaquil: ~1hour 45mins. From Quito: ~2 hours.

Entry Requirements

All visitors to the Galapagos must:

1. Have a valid passport - (tourists of most nationalities do not need a visa for Ecuador)
2. Transit Control Card (TCT) - $20 USD. You can fill and purchase your TCT now online. It generates a QR code containing your TCT. If you do not do this online, you’ll have to queue in the airport and purchase in person before boarding the plane.
3. Sworn Declaration of Goods - Fill declaration of goods online 48 hours before your flight.
   It will generate a QR code you must show to the biosecurity inspector upon your arrival to Baltra or San Cristobal.
4. Pay the Galapagos National Park entrance fee -

4. Have proof of onward travel — return flight ticket

Getting to the islands

Regardless of which airport you choose as your starting point (Guayaquil or Quito), before being allowed to board your flight in either airport, you must:

1. Buy/Collect your TCT - See above in entry requirements.
2. X-Ray Inspection - All luggage, whether checked or carry-on, must be X-Rayed by the Galapagos Biosecurity Agency (ABG), to ensure you are not introducing forbidden items. You usually find this inspection next to the booth where you collect your TCT.
3. Bag Drop - Proceed to drop your bags at the airline counter if you have any checked luggage.
4. Fill Declaration of Goods - See above in entry requirements.

Queues can build up at each step, so it is recommended to arrive at least 2 hours before your flight. If you’re connecting from an international flight, you must also clear immigration and collect your luggage before completing the steps above.

Upon landing at either San Cristóbal or Baltra, you will pay the National Park entrance fee in cash before leaving the airport.

Arriving through San Cristobal

If you decide to fly in through San Cristobal, the airport is right beside town, so you can just take a short taxi ride to your hotel.

Arriving through Baltra

Baltra is a small island north of Santa Cruz island. This island hosts the airport that serves Santa Cruz and only a small number of military and navy personnel that inhabit the island.

If you arrive through Baltra, it is recommended that you carry some extra cash as everything you’ll see below only accepts cash.

At the airport, you must purchase a shuttle/bus ticket for $5 per person. This bus will drive for 10 minutes to the Itabacca Channel, where you will take a 10 minute ferry into the north of Santa Cruz for $1 per person.

As Puerto Ayora, the town, is on the south side of the Island, once you get off the ferry you have 2 options:

1. Taxi - $30 total and it can fit 4 people. Drops you right off at your hotel (or wherever you want them to drop you off).
2. Bus - $5 per person. Drops you off at the bus terminal, just at the entrance of town, where then you can take a taxi to you hotel for $2.

It may seem choosing Baltra as your fly-in option can be over complicated, but Santa Cruz lays in the middle of the archipelago, providing more tour options and better connections to the rest of the islands, for this reason it is the most popular option for many travelers.

Moving Between Islands

Once in the Galapagos, inter-island travel options include:

Speed Boat (Lancha)

• Most popular option
• Connects: Santa Cruz ↔ San Cristóbal | Santa Cruz ↔ Isabela | Santa Cruz ↔ Floreana - As you can see, Santa Cruz can serve all the islands through speed boats, there are no direct ferries between San Cristobal and Isabela
• Takes 2:00–2:30 hours depending on route
• Cost: $30–$35 USD per trip
• 2 schedules - 07:00 or 15:00
• Can be rough in choppy seas

Domestic Flights

There are 2 airlines that operate small aircraft between Baltra, San Cristobal and Isabela.

• Much faster (~30 min) but more expensive ($150–350 USD)
• Recommended for those prone to seasickness

Airlines serving domestic flights:

• EMETEBE
• ESAV Airlines

Just consider that if you decide to take a domestic flight to Santa Cruz, you will land in Baltra and have to do everything stated above in Arriving through Baltra

Packing for the Journey

I will eventually add more to this later, but these are the main things that pop into my head that may not be so obvious:

• Credit cards are accepted in many places, but cash is still king, so it’s recommended to carry cash. You can find ATMs in most towns (I’m not sure if Floreana has an ATM).
• It is recommended to carry at most $20 bills, most places won’t accept $50 or $100 bills.
• Sunscreen! Sunscreen is very expensive in galapagos and you will need lots.
• Long sleeved t-shirts, hats and sunglasses - the sun is no joke here.
• We have mosquitoes! So bring some repellent/bug spray if you react bad to mosquito bites.
• Comfortable shoes. I would not consider the hikes you will do in Galapagos “physically” challenging as in long hikes, most hiking trails won’t be longer than 1 mile, however the terrain is what makes them tricky.