Galapagos on your own - Planning and Arrival
SOLEQMASTER
The Galapagos Islands are one the most worth seeing places in Ecuador and are considered a paradise destination with an untouched nature. They are also called “Islas encantadas”, meaning “islands that inspire” or “enchanting islands”. I, Elisabeth am currently an intern at SOLEQ.travel and have already visited the mountains, the coast, and the Amazon rainforest during my time in Ecuador. I only needed a trip to the “enchanting islands” to know all four worlds of Ecuador. Many tourists visit the archipelago by cruise ships or book the trip through travel agencies like SOLEQ.travel. These agencies book and plan your stay in the Galapagos and make sure you see the most important and amazing things.
Organize Galapagos on your own
Booking through agencies is more costly than planning and organizing your trip on your own. As a current intern at the Ecuadorian partner agency in Quito, I had limited funds available, so it was clear to me that I wanted to explore the Galapagos on my own and book without an agency.
In addition, I had already discovered Ecuador on my own during the previous 4 months, so I was familiar with the culture and with organizing and structuring trips.
Nevertheless, I received helpful tips from my colleagues at work. They gave me advice about activities I could do on the individual islands and generally on the process of entering the islands. In this respect, the planning went relatively smoothly, and I immediately had an idea of what I would do during my 10 days on Galapagos and what to expect.
From the beginning it was clear to me that I wanted to get to know the three largest islands Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal, because each of these islands has a lot to offer. In addition, I wanted to see as much as I could while I was there.
In this part, I will cover my planning, my departure in Quito, and my arrival on Santa Cruz Island. The other parts of this blog series will each be about my stay and activities on the three islands of Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal.
Planning before the trip
I had already booked the outbound and return flights in advance with the airline “Avianca”. My plan was to fly first to Santa Cruz Island and then take the boat to Isabela. From Isabela Island I wanted to get to San Cristóbal Island with a stopover in Santa Cruz. This stopover has to be arranged, because due to the distance no boat goes directly from Isabela to San Cristóbal. However, it is also possible to get from Isabela to the capital island by plane. With a flight back to Quito I wanted to leave the archipelago.
In advance, I had already created an Excel spreadsheet that recorded all activities, accommodations, times, and prices. A detailed daily planning was important for me to get an overview of my expenses.
As a tip for planning activities: Galapagos National Park closes at 5:00pm in most places, so it should be planned that all activities must be done by 5:00pm. Also, tours take place in the morning hours and last from 12pm to 3pm, depending.
My pre-calculated cost called for about $1100 for 10 days. Small spoiler: In the end, the costs were a bit higher than planned.
I booked the flights about a month before directly through the Avianca website. My outbound flight from Quito to Santa Cruz cost $150 and my return flight from San Cristóbal to Quito via Guayaquil cost about $120.
I had the option to stay on Santa Cruz and Isabela at hotels that SOLEQ.travel works with. For my stay on San Cristóbal, I reserved an Airbnb a month before, which was centrally located and cost only $50 for three nights.
For food, I planned to spend 10-15 US dollars a day, since I didn’t plan to eat at restaurants that already charge 15-20 US dollars for a meal. My idea was to buy rolls from bakeries or chips on the side of the road to save money. I also bought a pair of diving goggles with a snorkel in Quito because I knew there were many places suitable for diving. This investment turned out to be very useful because I was able to discover the underwater world on my own.
The departure to the Galapagos Islands
As my departure day approached, I could feel the anticipation of the coming experience spreading through me. Fortunately, I had an idea of the entry process through the stories of my colleagues at work. So, my excitement about the flight and the process at the airport was relatively low. I took the bus from the Quitumbe terminal to the Quitorian district of Pifo for about 1.50 US dollars, since there were no more direct buses to the airport at around 8 p.m. I had to take the bus from the Quitumbe terminal to Pifo. From Pifo, I took a cab for about US$4 for about 15 minutes to Mariscal Sucre International Airport, where I stayed for the night.
At the airport I waited for the Galapagos migration office “Ingala” to open. It is mandatory for all people who want to enter the Galapagos Islands to register at the “Ingala” beforehand. The counter opened at 4:30 in the morning, but since I was already in line at 4am, I was the second person in the queue. The papers required by the Ingala staff are a valid passport, booking confirmation of the outbound and return flight, and 20 US dollars per person. In return, one receives a so-called “Green Pass”, which allows entry and exit of the island groups.
Here’s another note: Take enough cash with you to the islands to pay for all fees and cabs until you arrive in the cities on the islands. There are also ATMs on the three major islands of Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal. If you want to book tours, it is also advisable to pay cash here, because if you pay by card, about 15% will be added to the quoted price.
After you receive the Green Pass, check-in and baggage drop-off takes place. Since I was only traveling with carry-on luggage and had already checked in online, I walked straight on to security and then on to the gate.
Boarding was on time, but unpleasant news awaited me. My boarding pass with the QR code, which I had on my smartphone through my online check-in, did not let me pass the barrier to the plane.
The Avianca staff explained to me that the flight I had previously booked online was for Ecuadorians, but not for foreigners. For this reason, I had to pay an additional fee of 150 US dollars and was then able to board my flight. So, in total I paid 420 US dollars for my flights.
Finally arrived on Baltra
The plane took off on time at 6:50 in the morning and landed after 2 hours of flight time at about 8:00 in the morning on the island of Baltra. The Galapagos Islands have a time difference of one hour compared to the Ecuadorian capital Quito. So, on the archipelago it was 8:00 am, while in Quito it was already 9:00 am. In the airport of Baltra I paid the entrance fee of 100 US dollars.
Also, in the Baltra airport, I again passed through a security checkpoint that was careful not to import any foreign food or pests. I had to hand in two granadillas, but I was allowed to keep other snacks. Here again a hint: On the plane all passengers get a document on which you have to tick and sign if you import food etc. Be sure to tick the questions truthfully here, otherwise you may face penalty charges of up to $700.
After the inspection, I boarded a bus that took me and other tourists* to the “Itabaca” canal. The bus ride took 5-10 minutes and cost 5 US dollars. The canal “Itabaca”, which separates Baltra and Santa Cruz, we passed with a ferry and cost 1 US dollar per person. Now I was finally on Santa Cruz and so slowly relaxation came. On Santa Cruz there is the possibility to go to Puerto Ayora by cab for 25 US dollars or by bus for 5 US dollars per person. Puerto Ayora is the port city and the place where most tourists* stay and locals live. I decided to take the bus, which took about 40 minutes. On the way I saw some Galapagos giant tortoises, which made me directly speechless and made me realize that my Galapagos adventure would start now …
You also want to fly to the Galapagos Islands and need support in planning? We will be happy to help you and enlighten you about all possible ways to travel and discover the Galapagos Islands. Do not hesitate and contact us. We look forward to welcoming you soon in Ecuador!
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