Cost of 10 night DIY, land-based trip to Galapagos

hugheskevi

My wife and I have just finished a visit to the Galapagos Islands (May 2023). I thought it might be helpful for others to detail the cost of this trip in case anyone is considering doing something similar. We stayed 10 nights in total, 6 on Santa Cruz island and 4 on Isabela island. 

You can see the Galapagos either land-based and do boat trips from the islands, or sea-based. You can do it by organised tour, or DIY. Doing it DIY and land-based is the least expensive combination, and is extremely easy as you only need to book flights (we flew with Avianca) and accommodation in advance then everything else can be booked once you arrive - this will be cheaper than booking tours online in advance. The costs below include all costs from leaving Quito airport until returning to that airport and cover everything myself and my wife spent (no kids). If flying from UK, then return flights to Quito (or Guayaquil) would be additionally required.

Return flights from Quito	£490
Park fees (mandatory)	£161
TCT (mandatory)	£32
Transport to/from airport	£50
*Accommodation - 10 nights	£301
Inter-island ferries	£113
Entry fees and tours	£396
Food and drink	£236
Other	£79
Total	£1,858 (total cost for 2 adults)

 *Air con, private ensuite rooms in basic hotels

We did the following day-trips, all of these can be very easily booked at one of the many agencies when you arrive - prices vary a little between agencies.

1. Santa Cruz Bay tour - Las Greitas, Playa del perros, Canal de Amor ($40 per person)
2. Sierra Negra volcano trek on Isabela ($30 per person)
   
3. Tintoreras day trip from Isabela ($45 per person)
4. Los Tuneles day trip from Isabela ($110 per person)
   

We visited the following land sites, no need to book any of these in advance.

1. Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise reserve and lava tunnels ($10 entry per person)
2. Charles Darwin Research Centre (free)
   
3. Isabela Giant Tortoise centre ($10 entry per person)
   
4. Playa Tortuga Bay and Playa Mansa (free)
   

We spent more than the minimum on food and could probably have negotiated better for tours and paid a little less for ferry tickets, although I doubt much more than £100 or so per person could be shaved off the cost - the biggest saving would have been taking less luggage as we paid for two checked bags and two carry-on as this was part of a much longer trip hence we have a lot of luggage.

Some travel tips are:

• There are high fixed costs to visiting Galapagos due to the costs of flights and entry charges, but once you are here hotels and food that are not very expensive are readily available.
• You can book accommodation via Booking.com in advance - air-conditioning isn't absolutely essential, but I would highly recommend it
• Taxis from the airport carry 4 people - find others to share with as you take the ferry across the canal, which is just before the buses and taxis
• Pack swimming goggles - this will save on hiring snorkel gear for beach visits
• Food can be very expensive - but if you go to a bakery for croissants for breakfasts ($1 for 2 or 3), eat an empanada from a street vendor for lunch ($1.50 - $2.25), eat menu del dia for dinner ($5-$7) and have snacks of apples ($0.50) or ice-creams ($1) costs will be low. Hotels usually have drinking water freely available.
• Consider flying into and out of airports on different islands if it will save a ferry journey, as the ferry between islands is around $35 per person ($30 base rate, plus some mandatory water taxi fees and port fees) and takes around 2 to 2.5 hours and can be a little rough. Pack sea-sickness tablets if you are prone to sea-sickness - both for ferry rides and also for day trips on water.
• Wifi is not good on the islands, but there is a decent phone signal in the towns. You can easily get a Claro local SIM with 10 gig of data for $15, available in many shops.
• Download Maps.me, and get offline maps of the islands for both Google Maps and Maps.me
• Laundry is readily available on the islands, and the weather is warm so you can pack very lightly which would reduce the cost of airfares as you pay for carry on and checked luggage. To use ferries you have to take a taxi tender boat to and from the ferry, so you have to carry and move bags around a lot - having light bags will make this much easier as you change islands.
• Bring a lot of US dollars in cash, and small denominations if you can get them - cash is still king here, there are ATMs on Santa Cruz and Isabela and some places take cards but there are likely to be ATM charges and venders may well charge extra to pay by card, and cash is much more convenient. I didn't use a card my entire time on the island. You will need $100 in cash to enter Galapagos, $20 to pay TCT charge, $5 for the bus to the ferry, $1 for the ferry and $5 for bus or $25 for a taxi to town, so be sure to have at least this amount per person before you arrive.
• If you want to do additional day trips to other places, it is likely to cost about $120 per person, with some trips being more expensive than this. Next on my list would have been a day trip from Santa Cruz to Pinzon island.
• If you want to stay in Quito before/after the trip, Cotopaxi is a great day trip to do ($50 - $65 each) but does get up to almost 5,000 metres of altitude, so best to try to at least have a day in Quito beforehand to adjust to the altitude. Lake Quilotoa can be done as a day trip from Quito too. Decent apartments in Quito will cost around £30 per night on AirBnb and other sites. Ubers from Quito city to the airport are around $25 or buses are also available. You can get US dollars from Banco Internacional ATMs without any withdrawal fee (I didn't see any of these ATMs on the Galapagos Islands though) - I'm not sure of the withdrawal limit, but it is at least $400.

NoodleDoodleMan

Very comprehensive - you missed your vocation in life !!!

Simon Calder has competition.